In November 2025, Salford City Council changed its social housing allocation policy. The new rules state that, in order to join the housing register, you must have lived in Salford for five continuous years in “settled accommodation”. If you have spent even a single day in temporary accommodation during the last five years, you are no longer eligible to join the register. This also affects people who have more than five years' residency in Salford but have moved out of the area at any point during that period.

This means that someone who has lived in Salford all their life, but suddenly becomes homeless and is placed in temporary accommodation, may no longer be eligible for social housing unless they joined the register before becoming homeless. People who were already on the register and have spent time in temporary accommodation within the last five years have also been removed. The council estimates that around 1,300 people have been taken off the register.

Who is social housing for, if not people who have experienced homelessness?

We urge you to sign this petition and call on Salford City Council to reconsider this policy and the impact it will have on thousands of families who have experienced homelessness.

Greater Manchester Tenants Union has been approached by members of the Salford community who have shared shocking stories about being removed from the social housing register and the devastating impact this policy change has had on them, their families, and their children.

Instead of being given access to the social housing register, residents are being forced into private tenancies that they simply cannot afford. Many report being told that they will receive no help from the council if they refuse these offers. We are currently seeing charges of more than £500 per week for a single room in a homeless hostel. Increasingly, housing offers are being made outside the area, tearing already vulnerable people away from their communities, support networks, schools, and healthcare services, and leaving them even more isolated.

The council has a duty to ensure that changes to policy do not disproportionately affect vulnerable people. However, this policy appears to do exactly that, impacting those who are most in need of support.

This issue extends beyond Salford. If this policy is allowed to go unchallenged, it risks setting a precedent for councils across the country. Local authorities elsewhere could adopt similar rules, resulting in more vulnerable people being excluded from social housing when they need it most.

If you would like to join us in opposing this policy, please:

Sign the petition and add your voice to the campaign
Share the petition as widely as possible
If you have been affected by this policy change and would like to get involved, or would like support in requesting a review of the decision to remove you, email info@tenantsunion.org.uk.