Allocations list maintenance overview

An allocation list is a method of grouping applications together ready for processing, usually by priority or need. Any number of lists can be maintained to match the type of resources available or to focus on specific applicant needs. Lists are there to serve the housing organisation in managing the allocation of resources – assets, non-organisational assets and services – in the most efficient and logical way. Maintaining separate lists allows for application subsets to be more closely managed and ensure that only relevant applications are included. Their usage can also help to assign application types to different members of the processing team. For each list in operation, it is possible to define its behaviour through several key attributes:

• Linking it to a room need calculation - Social housing applicants who are part of the same household can be more effectively matched to suitable properties based on their different relationship types, with these being used to define the practicality for bedroom sharing. Partners and spouses are routinely identified for sharing but age thresholds can also be set for sibling sharing opportunities and restrictions. The results of this analysis determine the room need.
• Applications on a waiting list may be assigned priority based on the date the application was first received, or when the application was made live e.g. following verification of all information included on the form. This choice of preferred rank date can be linked to the allocation list and then used to control the priority sort order. A change of band is commonly applied in conjunction with the rank date in order to ensure that applicants who have been in a band for the longest period of time are processed first.
• Where applicants are bypassed i.e. they are not matched to a property despite achieving the required number of points or awards, the list can be configured such that a reason must always be recorded to uphold transparency. For instance, the applicant may have provided very specific needs around location which do not form part of the list prioritisation criteria and are therefore bypassed because these needs have not been met.
• A maximum threshold can be set to limit the number of applicants that can be included on the list, thus ensuring that the process is more manageable.

For each list, any number of priorities can be linked i.e. to automatically order the applicants included on the list. These can be a combination of points-based and awards-based priorities e.g. local connection, medical condition, overcrowding (which could be further categorised into, say ‘high’, ‘medium’ and ‘low’), homeless, etc. Bands can also be defined to categorise applications according to points thresholds or key awards, with applications moving between bands as the circumstances change. Joining rules can also be defined for each list to control the applicants that are included, prior to any prioritisation analysis. These qualifying rules would ensure that only relevant applicants were matched. For instance, a list might be created to manage applicants for adapted housing and therefore it might be appropriate to set joining rules based on disability need. More detailed applicant needs can also be defined as match criteria for the list, specifically to link those applicants awarded the highest priority or band rank to the most suitable property or service.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of allocations list maintenance, including:

• To create a new allocations list
• To add a priority weighting to an allocations list
• To assign a rank order to an allocations list
• To assign a revised priority weighting to an allocations list
• To add a joining rule to an allocations list
• To add match criteria to an allocations list
• To add a case creation rule to an allocations list
• To add an offer approval rule to an allocations list