Addressing occupancy in social housing

Policy responses to occupancy in social housing

There have been various attempts over the years to address under-occupancy issues in social housing, including fixed-term tenancies and the bedroom tax. These national policy interventions, even by the government’s own evaluations, have had little impact on addressing the issue.

“Support was needed to help tenants understand their options and the process for moving”

With supply limited, local authorities and housing associations need to consider alternative approaches to addressing demand and making the most effective use of existing stock, such as rightsizing.

Rightsizing to address occupancy

Rightsizing is about social housing tenants inhabiting homes of a size suited to their needs. Altair recently conducted research to inform a new policy on rightsizing for a local authority. We found that social housing providers offered a mix of support and financial incentives for moving to more suitable accommodation, with three ways for existing tenants to move: housing register, mutual exchange and internal priority move lists.

While the financial incentives were important, particularly to tenants, these were not enough. Support was needed to help tenants understand their options and the process for moving. This was felt to be most effective if it was dedicated officer time, such as through a rightsizing officer.

Drivers and barriers to rightsizing

A tenant’s circumstances change throughout the course of their tenancy, which means there are different drivers and barriers around moving. While much of the literature on rightsizing focuses on owner-occupation and older households, many of those in social housing might be younger, particularly if their need to move is driven by the bedroom tax.

“Our advice for social landlords is to find out what is important to their tenants and structure any policy or approach in response to this”

The biggest challenge for tenants and housing providers around rightsizing is finding the right home in the right location to meet a tenant’s needs and circumstances. Housing providers cannot forecast which homes will be available for let and must manage expectations accordingly. Support needs to be flexible to address the different needs and challenges tenants face in relocating.

What can social housing providers do?

We found that there is no silver bullet to resolving occupancy, but the sector is testing approaches, including developing rightsizing offers or using fixed-term tenancies for larger homes. More innovative practice is also being developed; one housing association is piloting vacancy chains, while another is exploring AI to match under and over-occupying tenants for mutual exchange.

Our advice for social landlords is to find out what is important to their tenants and structure any policy or approach in response to this, based on what solutions are suitable, feasible and acceptable to them and their stakeholders. Partnering with stakeholders maximises the effectiveness of any approach.

Information is also key, to help tenants know and understand their options for moving, but also for sharing data on occupancy with stakeholders. Data can help assess potential demand, shape approaches and feed into development pipelines. This data could come from mutual exchange websites, internal transfer lists and/or housing management data.

Bekah Ryder, research and insights manager, Altair