Research and analysis

Social housing allocation: Evidence collection exercise

The overall objective of this research was to contribute to the evidence base on how homes in the social rented sector in England are being allocated.

• From: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Published: 29 January 2026

Applies to England

Documents

Social housing allocation: Evidence collection exercise

PDF, 1.98 MB, 196 pages

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Details

This report was commissioned by a previous Administration and is being published for reasons of transparency. This is an independent report which represents the views of the authors. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Department and not is it a statement of policy.

This research was run to contribute to the evidence base on how homes in the social rented sector in England are being allocated. It forms part of an evidence collection exercise announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the social housing green paper published in August 2018.

The research involved consultation with key stakeholders and rapid review of the literature, followed by 10 in-depth case studies of local authority allocation schemes, and 9 focus groups held throughout England and attended by local authority officers, housing associations, organisations working with housing applicants, and other experts.

Published 29 January 2026