Council housing allocations policy

Throughout this policy you will see terms listed in bold print. These terms are explained in an alphabetical document (Glossary) that goes with the policy.

For the purposes of the document "We"/"our"/"us" means:

• Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, its officers and agents.

Right to Information, Advice and Assistance

The Council must publish a summary of its Allocations Scheme and provide a free copy of that summary to anybody who asks for one. The whole Scheme is available via www.welhat.gov.uk and contact details are at the back of the Glossary. We will also provide a printed copy of the whole scheme on request but may make a charge for this.

You have a right to general information to help you assess how your application is likely to be treated. For example, whether you are likely to be offered housing and, if so, how long it is likely to take. We will help anyone who has difficulty in making an application by helping them to apply on line at www.welhat.gov.uk or in exceptional circumstances, sending a paper application form. This will need approval from the Housing Allocations Manager.

How do I complain about the treatment of my application?

If you are unhappy about any aspect of the process we have followed in handling your application, you may use the Council's complaints procedure. Details of this are available on the Council's website www.welhat.gov.uk

Equality and Diversity

The Council is committed to ensuring equal access and treatment for all applicants. No one will be treated any less favourably because of the protected characteristics which are age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity and marriage/civil partnership.

The operation of a clear and consistent Housing Allocations Policy goes hand in hand with careful monitoring to ensure that housing allocations are fair and non-discriminatory.

The council will abide by the Equality Act 2010.

An Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out on this policy to assess and mitigate any undue disadvantage to any group.

The council believes that social rented housing should be seen as one of a range of options available to applicants, which include:

• Low cost home ownership/home ownership
• Mutual Exchange (for existing tenants)
• Renting in the private sector
• Intermediate rent products