Request
This information is requested from the Strategic Housing Unit.
A
Confirm whether credit record checks or any other types of checks designed to discover outstanding debts are undertaken on people applying for inclusion on the Affordable Housing Gateway List, either by the Strategic Housing Unit or by the Social Housing providers themselves;
B
If such checks are undertaken, confirm whether the applicants are expressly informed of this and whether their written consent is always obtained;
C
Confirm whether any Affordable Housing Gateway applicants have ever had their applications for social housing rejected due to an outstanding debt;
D
If any such applications have been rejected due to an outstanding debt, how many such applications were refused during 2017?
Response
A
The Affordable Housing Gateway does not carry out credit record checks or any other checks to determine whether a person registering on the waiting list has any outstanding debts.
The ‘Strategic Housing Unit’ has been incorporated into the Department for Strategic Policy, Performance and Population. The Department is responsible for housing policy and not operational functions. It does not, therefore, carry out any assessments in relation to social housing applications.
Social housing providers do not determine who is eligible for social housing. The Affordable Housing Gateway provides an independent assessment process and waiting list from which social housing providers allocate their accommodation.
Each social housing provider may determine its own procedures to allocate accommodation to applicants registered on the Affordable Housing Gateway waiting list. This may include carrying out credit checks to determine the potential risk that a prospective tenant may not be able to pay their rent and sustain a tenancy as a result.
In such circumstances, social housing providers will work with a prospective tenant to make sure they are able to meet their debt repayments before offering a tenancy.
B
This is for each social housing provider and their managing agent to determine. Each housing provider processes personal information in compliance with their privacy notices and in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation.
C
The Affordable Housing Gateway has never rejected applications as a result of an applicant having outstanding debt.
The Department for Strategic Policy, Performance and Population does not hold this information in relation to the allocation of accommodation by social housing providers.
D
The Department for Strategic Policy, Performance and Population does not hold this information in relation to the allocation of accommodation by social housing providers.
