Proposals to make it easier for social housing tenants to move to new areas for employment have been put to consultation by communities secretary, Eric Pickles.
The ‘Right to Move’ proposals would mean social tenants who secure work in another local authority area would no longer be pushed to the back of the housing waiting list.
Pickles said: ‘In the past tenants may have felt trapped in their existing accommodation when they needed to move to take up a job. We want to make sure that people who have a social tenancy but need to relocate to a new community because of work or training will no longer find themselves back at square one – at the back of the housing waiting list in a new authority area.
‘Tenants who want to work hard and get on should be supported in this goal not penalised because of it. Councils will have to work together to make sure tenants across the country will not have to make the choice between employment and housing.’
The new measure would give social tenants relocating for work greater priority for housing, enabling councils to apply the ‘hardship reasonable preference’ for people moving for work or training.
The consultation will also seek views on councils setting aside at least 1% of their housing stock for tenants who move for these reasons.
Later this year, the Department for Communities and Local Government will launch a new fund for councils to trial new ways of helping people looking to move for work in their area.
