Access to social housing 

Our North Lanarkshire Common Housing Register (CHR) enables people to apply for social rented housing via a single application form, from the council, housing associations and co-operatives who have properties in North Lanarkshire, making the process as convenient and efficient as possible for potential tenants.

We also offer all applicants the opportunity to meet with a Housing Officer who can provide personalised guidance on their housing options. This approach ensures that each applicant's needs are carefully considered, and all suitable housing solutions are explored to find the best fit for applicants.

New lets in 2023/24 

In 2023/24 we successfully housed 3,140 applicants from our waiting lists. As properties become available, we aim to re-let them within as short a timescale as possible to minimise rent loss.

We continue to rigorously monitor and review our void processes, working with our Contractors to ensure void properties are turned around efficiently, whilst maintaining a high standard of repair that meets the expectations of our tenants.

Although our Average Days to Relet increased by 2.7 days in 2023/24, our performance of 35 days remains significantly lower than the Scottish LA Average which increased by 5.7 days in 2023/24 to 72.6 days.

Tenancy sustainment

We recognise that Tenants living within our communities have a wide range of different housing and support needs.  Our dedicated staff work with tenants and partner agencies to offer relevant assistance, advice and support, assisting our tenants with any issues that may affect their ability to remain in their homes.  This can include carrying out financial assessments, income maximisation and making referrals to partner agencies like NHS Lanarkshire, Social Work or Citizens Advice.  Building and maintaining strong relationships means we can intervene and provide support at the earliest possible time.

Consequently, our tenancy sustainment level for new tenancies sustained for more than a year continues to improve, up from 91% in 2022/23 to 91.5% in 2023/24.

Adaptations 2023/24

We carry out adaptations to people’s homes, including the installation of wet floor showers, handrails and ramps. This year we invested £1,854,724 completing 1867 adaptations to our tenants’ homes, ensuring those tenants can continue to live independently and more safely in their homes. 

In 2023/24 our average days to complete adaptations was 29.21 days, which is below the Scottish Average of 44.77 days and a big improvement on our previous year’s performance. Our aim is to carry out adaptations as quickly as possible, however different types of adaptations can take longer than others to complete.  This depends on the nature of the work required, for example an external handrail can be fitted much quicker than a wet floor shower which needs more work.