Housing Allocation Policy Review 2026
A housing allocation policy is a set of rules that local councils use to decide who gets a social home, which is a house, flat or bungalow that costs less money to rent than private sector properties.
Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council want to change the rules for how they provide social housing, to ensure people are treated as fairly as possible.
We are asking people what they think about these new plans. Right now, the system isn't working well. There are thousands of people on a waiting list, but many of them will never actually get a home. This gives people false hope, and makes it harder for the councils to help the families who need a home the most.
The new rules are meant to be fairer and easier for everyone to understand. The councils want to make sure they can help people who are homeless and find them a place to live more quickly. This will also help the councils save money because they won't have to pay as much for short-term housing, such as B&Bs or hotels.
The councils also want to help people find good homes to rent from private landlords. This means temporary housing can be kept for people who are in a real emergency. By being more honest about who can get social housing, the councils won't be making promises they can't keep, since there are many more people who want these homes than there are homes available.
We want to hear what you think about this plan. After we listen to everyone's ideas, the leaders of the councils will look at the feedback and decide how the councils' approach should change.
You can share your thoughts for four weeks, starting on 22nd September 2026 and ending on 20th October 2026.
Even though both councils are using the same rules, there will be two separate documents: one for Adur and one for Worthing.
Below is some information and a table that explains exactly what is changing.
Housing Allocation Policy Review - details of proposed changes 2026 (99KB)- Note: Please read this document first because it will help you answer the questions in our survey.
Please give us your feedback by clicking this link by 20th October 2026. The survey is very short and your opinions are very important to us.
If you have any questions, please email us putting "Allocations Policy" in the subject line:
Page last updated: 22 September 2026