Council considers reducing housing priority for applicants with rent arrears

Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

Changes are being considered for how housing is allocated in one Welsh county which could see those with rent arrears of more than eight weeks bumped down the priority list.

Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council is proposing potential changes to the housing allocation scheme which would see applicants with rent arrears, or former tenant debt equivalent to more than two months, having their priority reduced to the next band down until they have adhered to a repayment plan and made regular payments for three months.

Another change would be to allocate adapted properties by matching the applicants needs to the most appropriate adapted homes while also considering the priority of need and time waited to date.

And the final change would be to ensure the new policy includes hate crime and equalities definitions and processes to protect those experiencing severe harassment

The report says that these changes aim to improve fairness, legal compliance, and responsiveness to housing needs.

A six week public consultation was held between July and August 2025, receiving 435 responses with the majority supporting the changes, the report says.

The council has a statutory duty under the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to maintain a housing allocation scheme that ensures fair and transparent access to social housing.

The current scheme, delivered through Homefinder RCT in partnership with registered social landlords, has been in operation since 2015.

The scheme uses a banding system where applicants are placed into a band according to their housing need, with band A being urgent need, band B being high need, band C being low need, and band D being no need.

A review was commissioned to ensure the scheme remains compliant with legislation and responsive to local housing needs, a report to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee says.

The review focused on four key areas which were rent arrears policy, band D eligibility, allocation of adapted properties, and hate crime protections.

Findings

The findings of the review included:

• Change the rent arrears process to a duration-based threshold. Therefore, applicants with the equivalent of eight weeks (or two months) of arrears are ineligible to join the register unless they have made regular repayments for 12 weeks (or three months) or before this time in accordance with an agreed repayment plan
•  Removal of Band D. A pre-assessment form should then be used to capture lower-level need of everyone who applies to the register. This should include signposting for housing advice and Homeswapper
• Allocate adapted properties by matching the applicants needs to the most appropriate adapted homes while also considering the priority of need and time waited to date
• Ensure the new policy includes hate crime/equalities definitions and processes to protect those from minority backgrounds

Legal advice was sought to ensure the proposed amendments were lawful and as a result, the rent arrears recommendation was revised to reduce priority rather than exclude applicants.

In terms of potentially removing Band D, this is currently being reviewed by the Welsh Government as part of the white paper on ending homelessness in Wales, so it was advised that the council wait for the outcome of this review before making any further recommendations.

The proposals will go before the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday, November 19 before going to cabinet for a decision.