Plans to make it easier for council house residents in St Albans to downsize have been approved by councillors.
Under the changes, residents who only need one bedroom but currently live in homes with four or more bedrooms will be given priority if they want to move to a property with two bedrooms.
Three-quarters of the 194 respondents supported the change to a public consultation last year.
Anybody looking to move under the policy will be asked whether they would prefer a two-bedroom or one-bedroom home.
In a further change, the age limit for being offered a bungalow for people with a disability will be reduced from 60 to 55.
A council report said it is “difficult to satisfy the demand” for bungalows adapted for people with mobility issues when they are offered only to those over 60.
But at a meeting of St Albans City & District Council’s housing and inclusion committee on Monday (January 20), several councillors questioned why there is an age limit at all.
David Reavill, the council’s strategic housing manager, said: “There is always scope within the policy to approve exceptional cases … at senior management level.
“It’s certainly not the norm, but there are cases where people who are under certain age limits … can be approved for housing. It’s not a blanket policy by any means.”
He added that the primary aim of the new policy is to “release more larger properties which we’re desperately in need of” but that it would also give “more choice” to people who want to downsize.
However, not all major changes that were initially planned as part of the revised policy will be implemented.
A move to accept people living in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) onto the housing register was rejected because council officers said it would mean “saying they are in unsuitable accommodation, whereas in our view they are adequately housed”.
Officers also turned down the possibility of adding people in hostel accommodation to the housing register.
Currently, people living in hostels and supported accommodation are only able to bid for properties after they are deemed to be ready to move into independent accommodation.
Mr Reavill warned that the change could have given “false expectations” to hostel residents that they would quickly be moved into long-term accommodation.
A council report said officers will “continue to monitor the number of applications we receive from hostels”.
It continued: “We do not wish to allow applicants to bid until we are satisfied that they are ready to live independently without ongoing support.
“Given the shortage of social housing in St Albans, we must use the resources we do have appropriately by allocating housing to individuals who are sufficiently ready for independent living.
“This approach will help to ensure that individuals can sustain their tenancies, avoiding the risk of tenancies failing and the potential for individuals to become threatened with homelessness.”
Officers will monitor the situation with hostels for a further year before deciding whether to implement the proposed change.
The revised policy was approved unanimously by the council’s housing and inclusion committee.
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