More tenants will be able to have a greater say over their housing options and where they wish to live following a £1 million allocation announced by Housing Minister Iain Wright.

Over 30 councils, with their partner housing associations, will be able to offer greater choice to new and existing tenants after successfully bidding for funding to develop their Choice Based Lettings Schemes.

The schemes offer tenants greater mobility, choice and flexibility when looking at their housing options enabling them to move across different local authority areas.

The money from the Government’s Regional Choice Fund today means that in total over 80 per cent of local authorities will have choice based lettings schemes in place once these new schemes go live. Nearly £20 million has been allocated for CBL schemes over the last 7 years.

The new successful sub-regional schemes are:

* Cumbria scheme
* Dorset Home Choice
* Tyne and Wear scheme
* Nottingham Outer Housing Market Area scheme
* North Northamptonshire scheme

Housing Minister Iain Wright said:

“We have seen councils across the South of England and other areas embrace the choice based lettings scheme and its benefits for tenants, and it is good to see the rest of the country is keen to offer this service too. Choice based lettings gives tenants greater control and choice over their housing, and by offering services across traditional local authority boundaries the costs for councils and housing associations reduce, while the housing opportunities for tenants increase, meaning a win for all concerned.”

The funding announced today will also develop the services of the Greater Manchester pilot scheme, Pinpoint, which launched this July. Pinpoint offers housing choices across Greater Manchester and the increased funding will enable them to offer additional features, including a sub-regional accessible housing register. The register will help disabled people across the Greater Manchester region get the housing they need, and enable social landlords to make the best use of their adapted and accessible housing.