Dear resident, 

You are receiving this communication because you are an applicant on Lambeth Council’s housing register.

This is to update you on further important changes to Lambeth’s Housing Allocation Scheme. These changes are designed to make the system fairer and more responsive to the needs of our community, particularly for those in the most urgent need of social housing. With over 43,000 households on the housing register including 4,700 in temporary accommodation and only about 800 council and housing association tenancies available each year, we face a challenging task.

Imminent Changes

• Offer Limits: For properties advertised from the 2 October 2024, the majority of applicants will have a limited number of offers they can receive.
• The number of offers you can receive will depend on the reason for your Banding on the housing register:
  • Applicants with an accepted Main homeless duty S193(2) will have a maximum of 1 offer
  • Applicants who are under occupying and will be down sizing and care leavers (who do not have a main homeless duty) will have no maximum to the number of offers they can receive
  • All other applicants will have 2 offers

What do you need to do?

Ensure that you are only bidding on properties that are suitable for your needs which you would accept if offered. Even if you do not have a maximum number of offers you can receive we still encourage you to only bid on properties in which you are genuinely keen to live.

When you are shortlisted for a property, if you have a maximum number of offers, you will be sent a conditional offer along with the details of when you can view the property. After the viewing you will be asked if you wish to accept or reject the property. If you reject the property, and you are not outbid, this will count towards your offers.

If you do not attend the viewing, without good reason and letting us know first, this will be considered as a rejected offer.

When you are shortlisted for a property you will be sent the conditional offer and viewing details by email. The email will be sent from noreplyhomeconnections@lambeth.gov.uk. You will also be sent a text to notify you that you have been shortlisted. Make sure your email address and mobile phone number are up to date in Home Connections so you receive these messages.

Home Connections

What happens when i have reached my maximum number of offers?

If you reach your maximum offers your housing register application will be closed. You can then reapply however you may not be eligible to join and if you are you will rejoin with a lower priority. If you have a main homeless duty (Section 193), you will also be discharged from your temporary accommodation. After each offer you will have 21 days from the date of the viewing to request a review to count an offer towards your maximum number of offers. Details of how to request a review will be included in the conditional offer letter.

Future changes: Closing of inactive accounts

What do you need to do? From April 2025 any Home Connections account not logged into for 12 months will have their application closed. You will be notified when your account has been inactive for 11 months, prompting you to sign in to keep your application active. Those applicants with a medical priority and with a main homeless duty S193(2) will not have their applications closed if their account is inactive. You can then reapply however you may not be eligible to join and if you are you will rejoin with a lower priority. We encourage you to log in to your account annually to keep it active and update any changes to your circumstances.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work together towards a fairer and more effective housing allocation system.

If someone helps you with your housing application and bidding on properties, please share this information with them so they also understand the changes.

For more information please see our FAQs.

To request the information in this letter in (*name of language) please e-mail communications@lambeth.gov.uk

Thank you

Housing and Adult Social Care, London Borough of Lambeth