Common Allocations Policy (CAP) Update
Beyond Housing and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council operate within a Common Allocations Policy (CAP) for the allocation of social housing, working alongside Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, and North Star Housing Group.
A joint review was undertaken of the policy last year, resulting in proposed changes to ensure our most vulnerable applicants are given the appropriate banding to support their search for accommodation. These groups include young people leaving care, applicants who have been hospitalised and unable to return to their home safely, and people leaving our armed forces.
A six-week public consultation on the proposed changes took place in autumn 2024. We invited residents, applicants, registered providers, commissioned service providers, and the voluntary sector to take part and received nearly 700 responses. The results demonstrated that the majority agreed with the proposed changes.
The new Common Allocation Policy has now been formally approved by all Tees Valley Lettings Partnership members and will be implemented from Monday 7 July 2025.
Key changes are:
- A new ‘Band 1+’ priority has been created for applicants who are losing their home due to demolition or regeneration, and for those leaving the armed forces with an urgent need for re-housing
- All applicants must now have a local connection to Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough or Stockton-on-Tees to register and apply for housing via Tees Valley Home Finder
- Applicants who have been served notice, evicted, or had a property closure due to unacceptable behaviour will be excluded from registering a housing application with the partnership for at least 36 months
- Applicants in Bands 1, 2 and 3 will be expected to bid for suitable properties using the priority awarded to them. Applicants who do not bid, may have their priority removed if there have been suitable properties advertised and they have failed to place bids on them
- Young people leaving the care of the local authority who have been assessed as ready for independent living will be awarded Band 1 Priority
- A new category of ‘Emergency Medical’ has been created within Band 1 for individuals who have an emergency housing need due to medical problems which are made worse by their current housing situation. This includes applicants being discharged from hospital where their housing is unsuitable and cannot be adapted
- Following assessment by the Local Authority Homelessness Teams, homelessness applicants will be split across three priority bands depending on their circumstances
- A new category of acute overcrowding is introduced and awarded Band 2 priority. This category will be awarded where a household is severely overcrowded, requiring two or more additional bedrooms according to the criteria set out by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Next steps
The new policy will be applied to new applications from Monday 7 July 2025.
Existing applicants will not be adversely affected by the changes. If you do not have a local connection or your circumstances would result in a lower band in the new policy, we will honor your current band if you are actively bidding for suitable properties.
Applicants who do not bid may have their priority removed if there have been suitable properties advertised and they have failed to place bids on them.
Current applicants do not need to take any action. We will contact applicants affected by the changes by email by Friday 18 July 2025 at the latest.
If you have any questions, please contact redcarhousing.admin@beyondhousing.co.uk.
