England’s largest council considers closing housing waiting list

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.