Birmingham City Council decides not to close housing waiting list

Birmingham City Council told Inside Housing that it currently has more than 23,000 households on its housing register, as well as 11,000 applications to the housing register that are yet to be assessed.

The register receives more than 450 new applications a week, while the council is able to allocate only 2,000 to 3,000 social homes to applicants in a typical year.

While other councils including Bristol and Leeds have proposed removing thousands of households from their waiting lists, there is no recent precedent for a council closing its housing register to new applicants entirely.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “The country is in the grip of a severe national housing crisis, one that is putting an immense strain on Birmingham City Council’s existing housing stock.

“In response to the overwhelming demand for housing, the council has considered various measures, including the possibility of closing the register to new applicants. This would have allowed the council to focus on clearing the existing backlog of applications.

“But, we recognise how important it is for citizens to be able to apply for a home. On this basis, our housing register will remain open to new applications, and we will do all we can to keep it open.”

The council is currently conducting a complete review of its services after it issued a Section 114 notice in October 2023, effectively declaring itself bankrupt.

Birmingham’s housing department faces cuts of £7m, or 28% of its £25m budget. However, the council said last month that the proposal to close its waiting list was not related to the issuing of the Section 114 notice.