Plans to enforce new rules on who is allowed on North Northamptonshire Council’s housing register could be approved next week

Under the proposed changes, a swathe of people who the council has determined to have ‘no housing need’ will be cut from the register, alongside awarding care-experienced young people, victims of domestic abuse and families living in severe overcrowding higher priority.

North Northamptonshire Council’s (NNC) current Keyways Housing Allocation scheme ranks households based on how long they have been waiting and the priority of their needs, ranging from bands A to E.

The new policy would completely remove the Band E waiting list, which currently allows people who have no housing need but a local connection to a S106 or village exception site, or those with no need who are seeking sheltered accommodation.

People currently placed in Band D who are sharing accommodation with their family or another household and have no dependents would also be removed from the list.

According to Keyways housing data published by NNC, as of June last year, there were 1,700 people on the waiting list under the sharing accommodation with no dependents category. They also reported 1,300 active households placed in the Band E criteria.

All of these could be removed if the new policy is approved next week.

The council previously stated that rehousing from these bands is already ‘highly unlikely’ due to the size of the waiting list, which sat at 6,760 as of June 2025.

The monthly average of new housing applications received for assessment for 2024/2025 was 560 per month.

The council says applicants who may no longer qualify to join Keyways may approach the housing advice and options team for advice and assistance in relation to other viable housing solutions.

Care leavers, individuals living in adult social care, households with severe overcrowding and domestic abuse victims ready to move on from refuge accommodation in North Northants would be moved up to a Band A priority.

This category already prioritises applicants with the highest needs, including homeless applicants who are owed a ‘main duty’, those who have been discharged from hospital and have no accommodation to return to, and members of the armed forces with an urgent housing need.

NNC carried out a six-week consultation on the draft policy in October last year. It reported that out of ten questions posed about the proposals, 57 per cent of the 355 respondents said they agreed to the changes, compared to 19 per cent who disagreed.

The most supported proposal, with 72 per cent of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing, was to increase weekly bids per cycle from three to five for all households.

The least supported was the proposal to disallow access to those applicants with no housing need, which had 43 per cent who agreed and 34 per cent who disagreed overall.

The report, which will go to executive on Tuesday, May 12, recommends that the new Keyways Housing Allocation Scheme be approved.

NNC has said that, if implemented, all service users affected by the proposed Scheme will receive written notification with advice and assistance specific to their circumstances.