Social housing shortage: 743 homes receive 31,000 bids

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities

A housing association has said it attracted over 31,000 bids for just 743 properties it advertised between January and July this year.

Salford-based City West Housing Trust - which manages over 14,500 homes - revealed the figures in written evidence it submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee - which is examining the progress being made towards the implementation of the Universal Credit.
 
The huge number of bids suggests a chronic shortage of social housing which is unable to meet demand.

City West said it was conscious of the "negative outcomes" that the current tax/benefit system had had on some of its customers, and it acknowledged that "long term reliance of out of work benefits" is a problem on the estates it manages, adding that many of its customers are the "target audience in respect of return to work initiatives".

In its evidence, City West wrote that it believes housing problems will worsen after April 2013, ahead of Universal Credit.

It wrote: "The ongoing tension between households’ relationships with the properties which have become their homes and the affordability of maintaining rent payments will become worse from April 2013 onwards and we believe we will face increased demand for stock from existing customers, demand which already cannot be met."