Nomination of Public Housing Applicants to Community Housing Providers - EST0140A

Policy

The Department of Housing has nomination (referral) rights over:

• The initial tenanting of Public Housing redevelopment sites that have been transferred to the Community Housing sector
• A proportion of vacancies in Community Housing properties managed by providers that have acquired redevelopment properties under the Community Housing Assistance Program, and/or Public Housing properties transferred under the Stock Transfer Program.

The Department of Housing may nominate (refer) Public Housing applicants to a Community Housing Provider for consideration for an offer of Community Housing accommodation.

A nomination (referral) of a Public Housing applicant to a Community Housing Provider may occur when:

• The applicant meets Public Housing eligibility criteria
• The applicant has expressed interest in being housed by a Community Housing Provider, and
• A Community Housing Provider requests nominations from the Department to fill a vacancy that is subject to Public Housing nomination rights.

Nominations are subject to the following conditions:

• Nominations will be made from applicants listed on the Public Housing or Transfer Registers
• Applicants nominated by Public Housing will meet the Community Housing Provider’s Allocation plan and may include applicants who have priority needs, wait-turn applicants and/or transfer applicants. Applicants with priority needs may be by-passed if they do not meet the Community Housing Provider’s Allocation Plan.
• Applicants who do not express interest in Community Housing will not be nominated

The Department will nominate (refer) more than one Public Housing applicant for each Community Housing Property that is available under Public Housing nomination rights.

The Community Housing Provider will assess the housing needs of each nominated applicant and determine who is the best suited for the property. This means that all applicants who are nominated to a Community Housing Provider will not necessarily be offered housing.

Community Housing Providers will ensure that offers of accommodation made to nominated applicants will match their needs as closely as possible. Housing will be allocated where:

• The special needs of the applicant and their household are addressed
• A sustainable tenancy is likely to be created

Nominated applicants who receive an offer of housing will be informed of the implications of accepting an offer of housing managed by a Community Housing Provider.

At any time the applicant can decide that they are no longer willing to be nominated to Community Housing. This will not effect their position on the Housing Register. However, if a reasonable offer of Community Housing has already been made and the applicant rejects the offer, it will be treated as a rejection and counted as an offer under the two-offer policy. See policy on Offering a Property to a Client (ALL0100A).

Public Housing will determine if an offer of accommodation made by a Community Housing Provider was reasonable.

If the applicant rejects two reasonable offers, including those made under the nomination rules, that is, offers made by Public Housing, a Community Housing Provider, or a combination of both, their application will be removed from the Public Housing Register.

Information on the Housing Register will not be made available to Community Housing Providers that have not given appropriate confidentiality undertakings or without the consent of the nominated applicant.

For more information on this policy, look in Entitlement, Background and Business Rules.

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Entitlement

1. Clients can expect the Department to:

• Ensure that nominations will only be made for Community Housing accommodation which meets the client’s needs as closely as possible
• Withdraw a nomination where an offer of accommodation was made that is not reasonable
• Maintain and respect client confidentiality

2. The Community Housing Provider can expect the Department to:

• Ensure nominated applicants meet the Community Housing Provider’s Allocation Plan as closely as possible
• Provide the shortlist of nominated applicants within specified timeframes.

3. The Department of Housing can expect the Community Housing Provider to:

• Provide sufficient information for Public Housing to determine if an offer of accommodation made to a nominated applicant was reasonable
• Provide advice of nomination outcomes for nominated applicants

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Background

Community Housing is very much like Public Housing. It offers secure, affordable, long-term housing, and most of the houses are owned by the Government. The difference is that it is managed by non-government, non-profit, Community Housing Providers.

A number of properties and redevelopment sites have been transferred from Public to Community Housing to assist the growth of the Community Housing Sector. As a result of the transfer of these sites/properties, Public Housing has nomination rights over:

• The initial tenanting of new projects arising from the transfer of Public Housing redevelopment sites to Community Housing
• A proportion of vacancies in Community Housing capital properties acquired from Public Housing redevelopment sites or Stock Transfer.

These nomination, or referral rights, ensure that priority approved, transfer and wait-turn applicants on the Public Housing Register are not disadvantaged, and can access accommodation opportunities across the Social Housing Sector.

Business Rules

Provision of Information

Information on the housing register will not be made available to Community Housing Providers that have not given appropriate confidentiality undertakings or without the consent of the nominated applicant.

An applicant's consent may be given by:

• Signing the Department of Housing - Community Housing Direction and Authority Form (DH3027), or
• Signing 'Annexure A' - Community Housing Direction and Authority

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Redevelopment Sites

Public Housing has nomination rights over the initial tenanting of properties on Public Housing redevelopment sites that have been transferred to Community Housing, except in cases where the Office of Community Housing has designated properties as being:

• Subject to nomination rights from other support providers, where formal support arrangements exist.
• Available to house clients exiting SAAP/CAP services

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Requests from Public Housing Tenants to Return to Community Housing Redevelopment Sites

A request may be made by a Public Housing tenant to return to a Community Housing redevelopment site. When this occurs, the Department will undertake to seek concurrence from the Office of Community Housing to house the tenant in a redevelopment site, or a property that is part of a redevelopment site.

Public Housing tenants do not have an automatic right to return to a redevelopment site. In order for a request to return to be made, they must meet the relevant criteria for the site. This may include:

• Conditions contained in the development consent, ie SEPP5
• The bedroom entitlement of the household must match the bedroom category of the dwelling
• If the property contains specific features, eg modified for wheelchair access or ground floor, the household must require those features

Requests to return to Community Housing Redevelopment sites may be made by:

• A Public Housing tenant occupying the property prior to redevelopment who chooses to return to the site upon completion and become a Community Housing tenant
• A Public Housing tenant occupying the property prior to redevelopment, who chooses to be relocated to an alternate Community Housing redevelopment site, and become a Community Housing tenant.

Requests to return do not apply to:

• Public Housing tenants occupying properties that have not been targeted for
  redevelopment
• Public Housing applicants

Public Housing will have an automatic right to request that 25% of allocations across all sites be made to Public Housing tenants who request to return to these sites.

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Nomination Rights for Tenants Exiting SAAP/CAP Services

Up to 20% of accommodation on new Community Housing redevelopment sites with Public Housing nomination rights will be designated for clients exiting SAAP/CAP services. To access this accommodation, clients exiting SAAP/CAP services must be eligible for Public Housing, and will be directly selected by the Community Housing Provider.

Offers

Nominated applicants who receive an offer of housing will be informed of the implications of accepting an offer of housing managed by a Community Housing Provider.

When accepting an offer of Community Housing, the applicant can expect that:

• All aspects of their tenancy, eg rent, repairs, subsidies, transfer requests etc, will be managed by the Community Housing Provider, not the Department of Housing
• They may be required to pay a bond
• Their application will be removed from the Public Housing Register

If an applicant rejects an offer of Community Housing, Public Housing Client Service Teams will determine whether:

• The offer was reasonable and will be classed as a rejection
• The offer will be cancelled.

Community Housing Providers are not responsible for determining the outcome of a rejected offer.

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Appealing Decisions or Actions

f a client disagrees with a decision the Department has made, they should first discuss their concerns with a Client Service Officer. The next step if they still believe we made the wrong decision is to ask for a formal review of the decision. For information on how reviews work, the client can ask the Client Service Officer for a copy of the fact sheet ‘Reviewing Decisions’, or go to our web site www.housing.nsw.gov.au to read the Appeals and Review of Decisions (EST0015A).

A client may not appeal the following decisions:

• Selection or non-selection of the client for nomination to a Community Housing Provider
• Non-selection of the client by a Community Housing Provider for an offer of Community Housing
• Removal of their application from the Public Housing Register once an offer of Community Housing has been accepted.

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