A major shake-up of social housing could impact thousands of people looking for a home in Salford.
New changes to allocation rules are being brought in up to 2028, as part of a bid to turn around the ‘severe housing crisis’ in the city.
The council’s updated allocation policy sets out how social rented housing is allocated within the area, and how people on the housing register are prioritised.
A total of 16 changes were approved by the council’s cabinet during a meeting on April 22, aimed at reducing homelessness and lowering the time people spend in temporary accommodation.
A report on the plan laid bare the scale of Salford’s housing problems, with 4,500 applications on the city’s housing register – Salford Home Search – and less than 900 properties advertised or rented out each year.
Salford deputy mayor Tracy Kelly said the changes will help the council to “support those that are most in need for the scarcity of housing stock that we have.”
She added: “We recognise that social housing is in high demand, both in Salford and across the country, which is why we are continuing to deliver on our pledge to build good quality homes as well as truly affordable homes for social rent alongside support for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.”
Some the key changes to the council’s allocations policy include:
- Increasing the residency criteria from two years to five years,
- Raising the household savings threshold to exclude those with more than £30,000 from the housing register other than in exceptional circumstances,
- Automatic bidding on Salford Home Search for those owed a homelessness duty,
- Changes to points awarded to applications for factors such as overcrowding, non-physical health needs, and under-occupied households.
An officer from Salford council’s housing strategy team said the changes will be reviewed in two years to check they are helping to reduce homelessness and temporary housing stays.
They added that social housing applicants will be given three months’ notice of the changes.
Figures shared by the council last month about homelessness revealed that growing numbers of families are struggling to find homes in Salford.
A report in March showed there were 1,146 children in the borough living in temporary accommodation, up from 329 in April 2021.
This marked a 19 per cent increase in numbers of children in temporary accommodation between 2024 and 2025, although this was less than the previous rise of 34 per cent between 2023 and 2024.
Council staff said high private rent charges, a lack of affordable housing options, and the rising cost of fuel and food were behind the surge, which has led to ‘significant’ numbers of people ending up in desperate situations.
Salford mayor Paul Dennett said at the time that work is ongoing in Salford to build new homes at scale, with the council’s own housing company, Dérive, having created more than 20,000 new properties, including 3,201 new affordable homes, over the past ten years.
He added: “The housing and homelessness crisis we’re facing today has been a long time in the making.
“It is a direct consequence of failed national housing and planning policies, and a disastrous belief in the ‘sovereignty of the market’ to meet housing needs over many years from previous governments.”
