The new national housing plan, Building Homes, Delivery Communities, commits to reviewing the Code of Practice for the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Allocation Process which is an agreed set of arrangements between the local authority and AHB sector, dating from 2022. The Code seeks to establish a collaborative and efficient approach to the social housing nomination and allocations processes. It's timely that the Code is reviewed to ensure in the first instance, that the nomination and allocation processes are working to avoid unnecessary vacancy periods in social housing.
In order to reinforce this collaborative approach, a Working Group, comprising my Department, the local authorities (CCMA), the AHB sector (represented by the Housing Alliance and the Irish Council for Social Housing) and the Housing Agency, has been established to carry out a review of the Code.
The purpose of this Working Group is to undertake a review of the Code, assessing its operation in practice, and identifying any amendments or recommendations required to improve effectiveness and consistency of practice in the allocations process, adopting the same collaborative approach underpinning the Code.
A number of meetings of the Working Group have been held to date, and both sectors have been asked to complete a comprehensive survey. The Housing Plan requires that the review is completed by mid-2026 with arrangements for its implementation also in place at that time.
