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Housing strategies

While St Helens Council is no longer a landlord, it still has responsibilities in relation to housing.

Meeting Housing Need

The council has a responsibility to meet the housing needs of all its residents and is currently developing a new Housing Strategy, which will outline how the council will achieve its responsibilities. 

In addition to the existing overarching Housing Strategy (under review), there are also several separate strategies in place covering specialist areas of Housing. Copies of these are available in the Housing Strategies and Policies section below.

The current Housing Strategy sets our vision for housing in St Helens. The main objective in the strategy is to ensure that the residents of St Helens have choices to live in a decent affordable home within a sustainable neighbourhood and where the right support is available where required.

The Housing Services section will carry out the following to meet the housing needs of the community:

  • Work with Registered Providers of Social housing to provide new affordable accommodation. 
  • Work with landlords to improve the standards of private rented accommodation. 
  • Work with developers to provide new build housing including affordable housing when required.
  • Work with specialists to provide housing for people with disabilities or in need of support.

Understanding the Local Housing Market

We have worked with Halton and Warrington borough councils and commissioned a Strategic Housing Market Assessment. This document gives the council an estimate of the need and type of affordable housing it needs to provide over the forthcoming years.

Allocations Policy/Choice-based Lettings

While the council transferred the housing stock in July 2002, it still has a legal duty to have an Allocations Policy. The council and Helena Partnerships have developed UnderOneRoof, which is the one-stop way of renting an affordable home from a registered provider in St Helens.  

Preventing Homelessness

We have a duty to prevent homelessness and as such the service works to deliver good quality advice. 

Working with the Private Rented Sector

We have created a Private Rented Sector Strategy 2008-2012 revised 2014, as there is a growing private rented sector in St Helens. The council want to ensure that the standards in the sector are raised and that good landlords are created.

Reducing Empty Homes

The council's Empty Homes Strategy sets out the approach and measures available to tackle this issue of empty properties in the area. These empty properties are a wasted asset, especially as there are people in housing need waiting for properties in St Helens.

Liverpool City Region Tenancy Strategy

St Helens Council, along with the other local authorities in the Liverpool City Region, signed up to a Tenancy Strategy. This document sets out how local authorities would wish registered providers to issue tenancies to their tenants and the types of tenancies.