The oversight and management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant housing authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations.
Where a voluntary housing/approved housing body (AHB) tenant was drawn from a local authority social housing waiting list in the first instance, there is no particular legislative provision that prevents that tenant from applying to go onto a local authority transfer list.
Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires all housing authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households. Under section 22, an allocation scheme shall apply to dwellings owned or under the control of a local authority, as well as dwellings provided by AHBs with Exchequer funding. It is a matter for the housing authority to provide in its allocation scheme as to whether AHB tenants may apply to go onto their local authority transfer list. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is underpinned by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. Under section 45 of the 2014 Act which sets out conditions for ineligibility for HAP, a household in receipt of a form of social housing support other than housing assistance shall not be eligible for such assistance, except where a housing authority is satisfied that the household is unable to continue to live in the dwelling concerned due to exceptional circumstances, including displacement by fire, flood or any other emergency, that was not caused by an act, or a failure to act, by the household or a household member.
