YOBS who terrorise their neighbours could be banned from social housing for up to five years, ministers announced today.
Under a fresh crackdown on antisocial behaviour, tenants who “repeatedly make their neighbours’ lives hell” face being evicted under a “three strikes and you’re out” policy.
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Convicted terrorists and those with unspent criminal convictions could also be blocked from social housing.
The major reforms will be put to an online public consultation that will run until the end of March.
Then, ministers say they will make the policies law as “soon as possible”.
Among changes to social housing will also be a new rule that families with the closest ties to the UK and their local area will be prioritised in the queue for a home.
Applicants will be required to prove a connection to the UK for at least 10 years and their local area for at least two years.
Meanwhile, tenants with high incomes will no longer qualify for social housing to guarantee homes go to those most in need.
Housing Minister Lee Rowley said: “Today we are proposing further steps to make the allocation of social housing fairer for people.
“If you abuse the system, making peoples’ lives a misery or actively work against our British values, you are making a choice – such choices will have consequences and our proposals seek to stop such people getting a social home.
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“The message is clear: play by the rules, pay in and we will support you. If you choose not to, this country is not going to be a soft touch.”
Mr Rowley added: “The public want to know decent and hardworking people that have contributed to this country will be prioritised for new social tenancies.
“People already living in social homes want to know that anyone moving near them will be respectful of their neighbours with their communities protected from those who persistently break the law.
“That is why it is right that the finite resource of social housing is allocated fairly and local law-abiding citizens in need have more access to a home in their own communities.”
