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Need to increase housing stock, says Action for Housing
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Action for Housing says it welcomes the Government's decision to drop the entry age for applicants on the housing waiting list from 21 to 18.
They add: This long-awaited, and long-promised measure makes good sense, given that people can vote at the age of eighteen and even join the armed forces and go to war. However this three years drop will increase the demand for Government housing at a time when Government has taken the decision to put up for sale its post-war housing stock. It is therefore imperative that the existing housing stock is not only maintained but increased, and Government replaces the number of flats sold over and above the 490 flats for rental being constructed and the other 200 flats which were promised as far back as November 2006.
Reducing the time that applicants have to wait on the pre-list from two years to one year is a step in the right direction, although it does not go far enough.
Ideally the pre-list should be scrapped altogether as it does not benefit those on the waiting list. Allocations are made according to the number of flats available, and if, for arguments sake, the average time for an allocation is four years, it does not make any difference to applicants whether they are kept waiting for two years on the pre-list and two years on the waiting list proper, or one year on the pre-list and three years on the waiting list proper.
It can only be adduced that the pre-list, which is not displayed publicly, only serves to hide from the general public the true figures of those waiting to be allocated Government rental accommodation. Therefore for the sake of openness and transparency the pre-list should be done away with, said Henry Pinna for Action for Housing.
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