Housing associations and local authorities - the legal differences in relation to housing of new migrants
This page covers the whole of the UK
Contents:
What is the 'housing authority'?
Great Britain: Housing associations and local councils
Northern Ireland: Housing Executive and registered housing associations
What is the 'housing authority'?
In Great Britian, the housing authority is the local (unitary, district or borough) council. In Northern Ireland, the housing authority is the Housing Executive, but local councils also regulate some aspects of privately rented housing.
In Northern Ireland and some local councils in Great Britian, the housing authority is also a landlord (i.e. council housing/Housing Executive housing). In England, council housing management is sometimes carried out by a separate company (called an arms-length management organisation, or ALMO). However, the ALMO’s practices should be the same as if it were the housing authority itself.
Great Britain: Housing associations and local councils
Each housing authority is required by law to produce a race equality scheme. The authority must comply with legislation when it allocates housing or when it carries out its duties to secure housing for homeless applicants. In either case eligibility for these services is restricted – see the law on housing eligibility for details.
Housing associations are independent organisations, regulated and often funded by the government, providing housing for people in need. They are expected to have equality schemes in place.
In Great Britain, local authorities and housing associations are governed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations. This means that they should each have a proper scheme, available to the public, for deciding who gets any vacant homes.
Housing associations in Great Britian must co-operate with the housing authority and most have nomination or referral agreements with them. This allows the local authority to send recommendations to the association to fill a certain percentage of their vacant housing each year. Some associations allow local councils to fill all the vacancies they may have. The people nominated or referred must come from the council allocations scheme and be eligible for housing.
Some associations run services for councils on contract. These services may include allocations schemes, homelessness services, or housing management. When they run these contracts, they have to operate within the law as it applies to councils, which includes testing applicants for eligibility.
When housing associations are deciding for themselves who is to get their housing (not accepting a referral from a local authority or carrying out a contract for them), they are independent bodies who must make their decision within the law and according to their own policies. These policies should not discriminate, directly or indirectly against any applicants, and if you believe they do you can get further help from the page on challenging discrimination. But in England when a housing association applies its own policy, it must conduct the same 'right to rent' checks as a private landlord before offering a tenancy.
In England, Wales and Scotland, a housing association is likely to be discriminating unlawfully through its allocations policy if, for example:
- the policy adopts the local authority rules, including in England, because anyone who has leave (with or without access to public funds) has a ‘right to rent’, or
- the policy excludes anyone whose leave prohibits access to public funds even if the home was built using government grant (only local authority allocations are ‘public funds’).
In Scotland, local authorities and housing associations must not consider the applicant's income when making an allocation decision. However, it is good practice (in any part of Great Britian) to ensure that prospective tenants can afford the tenancy. Housing Migrants and Refugees (pdf) published by Glasgow Housing Association includes guidance on this issue (caution: published 2011, parts may no longer apply).
Northern Ireland: Housing Executive and registered housing associations
In Northern Ireland, the Housing Executive must have an Equality Scheme that has been approved by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The Housing Executive’s approved scheme is published on its website. A registered housing association in Northern Ireland must not accept an applicant for housing without the Executive’s consent if they are not eligible under its Housing Selection Scheme rules.
