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England’s largest council considers closing housing waiting list
England’s largest council is considering closing its social housing waiting list to new applicants, Inside Housing can reveal.
Leaders of Birmingham City Council are discussing the dramatic move as they struggle to process a backlog of tens of thousands of applications for social homes.
Confirming the plan was on the table, the local authority told Inside Housing 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 400 new applications a week, while Birmingham Council is only able to allocate 2,000 to 3,000 social homes to applicants in a typical year.
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The council is currently reviewing all its services after it issued a Section 114 notice in October 2023, effectively declaring itself bankrupt.
Its housing department faces steep cuts of £7m, which is equivalent to 28% of its £25m budget.
However, the council said the proposal to close its waiting list was not related to the issuing of the Section 114 notice.
A spokesperson for Birmingham Council said: “We are currently reviewing our services and the social housing register is included in this. As part of that consideration, we have been raising the option of closing the housing register to new public applications with a number of stakeholders to understand the impact this might have.
“No decision has been made at the moment.”
They added that before final decisions are made, “we will ensure that a route remains for exceptional circumstances to be considered”.
The council will continue to “provide information, advice and guidance” to households in housing need, the spokesperson said, including on “how to approach other social landlords” and make help available to secure a home in the private rented sector.
Birmingham is not the only council with a vast backlog of housing applications to clear. Last year, Bristol City Council said it would effectively remove around half of the 19,000 households on its waiting list after chiefs said they had “little chance to no chance” of being allocated a home.
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