• The statutory responsibility for ensuring that suitable accommodation is available for vulnerable and homeless households rests with council. The council is reliant on housing associations’ support and cooperation to discharge these duties.
• All housing authorities should operate a nominations process in accordance with the Housing Act 1996, as amended. Government guidance indicates that council’s should have nomination agreements with each registered provider working in their area, covering a range of topics including the percentage of vacant properties available to the council, the grounds for rejecting council nominees and how disputes will be resolved.
• Housing associations have a duty under s.170 Housing Act 1996 to cooperate with housing authorities, where the authority requests it, to such extent as is reasonable in the circumstances in offering accommodation to people with priority under the authority’s allocation scheme. Similarly s.213 provides that where a housing association has been requested by the council to assist them in discharge of their homelessness functions under Part 7, it must also cooperate to the same extent
• Housing associations are expected to ensure that the properties available for council housing register nominees reflect the mix of the property type, stock and location that become vacant in their stock.