Common misconceptions about the way we allocate houses

We asked our tenants and people on our waiting list if they thought the Common Allocations Policy is fair in terms of the types of applicants who get the highest priority. A total of 41 respondents said yes and 107 (72%) said no.

The answers we received showed that many people had misconceptions about how we allocate homes, and who we allocate them to.

You can read below what the common misconceptions are, and what the reality actually is:

People from outside Perth and Kinross or the UK get priority over local people

This is not true. Our Common Allocations Policy must comply with relevant legislation and guidance. The law dictates who is eligible for social housing and the Allocations Policy assigns priority fairly and consistently to individual applicants who are eligible. 

Most allocations go to people with substance or alcohol issues

People who struggle with addiction do need support and housing like everyone else. Whilst some social housing vacancies are inevitably allocated to people with such issues, the Allocations Policy does not contain a mechanism to award priority for this reason.

Council tenants who live in flats and need more space should get priority to move to a house

We understand this point of view, but legislation prevents us from having a policy which gives preference to existing tenants for larger properties. We do however try to allocate vacancies in a way that creates vacancy chains where possible. This can mean that we can meet the housing needs of multiple households from one initial vacancy. Through our buy-back scheme, we try to target properties that would enable vacancy chains, and we are introducing an enhanced downsizing scheme for tenants which will result in more larger homes becoming available for allocation.

Some applicants are untruthful in their applications to improve their chance of getting an offer of housing

We have a range of measures in place to assess the accuracy of information provided by applicants. The Common Allocations Policy contains a suspension penalty for applicants found to have provided false or misleading information.

In rural areas, local people should get priority for housing

We understand this point of view, but legislation prevents us from having a general policy which gives preference to local people. We do however recognise that this is an important issue for rural communities and, where it is possible and appropriate to do so, we will use vacancy chains, Local Lettings Plans or other measures to allocate vacancies to local people. For example, in 2025 we purchased a number of homes in Dunkeld and a local lettings plan is in place that gives priority over these homes to people with a link to Dunkeld. 

Applicants who are overcrowded should get more priority - they currently have to wait too long

We recognise that overcrowding causes significant challenges for families. We are mindful of this when designing new-build housing and when purchasing buy-back properties. The enhanced downsizing scheme is intended to free-up larger housing that can be allocated to applicants who are living in overcrowded conditions.

People living in the private-rented sector and paying high rents won't get a social housing offer, as they are considered to be adequately housed but often have property condition issues and unaffordable rents

Private sector tenants are eligible to apply for social housing and their applications are assessed in line with the Allocations Policy. There is provision in the Policy to consider rent affordability or property conditions and applicants from private-rented housing are routinely rehoused through the Common Housing Register. Where there isn't sufficient priority awarded for rehousing, we have various options which can assist private tenants with affordability or property condition issues.

More priority should be given to applicants with disabilities or mental health issues

There is already a mechanism in the Allocations Policy for awarding medical priority. We don't believe that increasing the level of priority compared to other types of applicants is necessary as it is often the availability of suitable properties that is the issue rather than the level of priority awarded. Where an accessible or adapted property becomes available for allocation, we will always try to allocate to an applicant with medical priority.

People who are under-occupying should be 'forced' to move to a smaller property

We are not permitted by law to force people to move to a smaller property, so our approach is to encourage tenants who are under-occupying their homes to move by providing incentives. We do this through our downsizing scheme.