Hounslow Council is intensifying its efforts to address the growing social housing waiting list, with a motion presented to the Borough Council on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, aiming to improve the utilisation of existing social housing stock. Councillor Sampath Mudaliar proposed a motion that sought to introduce several measures, including an enhanced downsizing incentive for tenants in larger homes, a time-limited tenancy fraud amnesty, stronger action against illegal subletting, a review of tenancy succession rules, and a 'three strikes' policy for tenancy breaches.
Councillor Mudaliar stated that there are currently around 5,100 households on Hounslow's housing register waiting for social housing. He proposed an enhanced downsizing incentive for tenants in larger homes, offering an additional £500 for every bedroom released, up to a maximum of £2,000 per household, plus moving costs. He also put forward a 'time-limited tenancy fraud amnesty' to give people unlawfully living in or retaining a council property an opportunity to come forward and return the property voluntarily. Furthermore, his motion called for a review of Hounslow's discretionary tenancy succession policy to ensure it remains fair and reasonable, particularly concerning larger family homes and specially adapted properties, which should be recovered and offered to households who genuinely need them. Finally, he proposed a clear 'three strikes' policy for repeated and proven breaches of tenancy, including anti-social behaviour, with a presumption of possession action after a third breach.
However, an amendment proposed by Councillor Sue Sampson sought to reframe the motion, emphasising existing council policies and downplaying the need for new measures. Councillor Sampson highlighted that Hounslow has the third lowest number of households in temporary accommodation in London. She stated that Hounslow already offers a £2,000 per bedroom incentive for downsizing, plus moving costs, which has resulted in 117 properties being released over the last two years. This incentive is competitively benchmarked against all other London boroughs and was reviewed just last year.
Regarding tenancy fraud, Councillor Sampson noted that Hounslow tackles it through a combination of tenancy verification, enforcement, and prosecution, having recovered 22 council properties and refused 17 Right to Buy applications. She implied that Hounslow does not support a 'get out of jail free card' approach, contrasting with Hillingdon's similar scheme which recovered 112 properties in 2025.
Councillor Sampson also stated that Hounslow tackles illegal subletting using information-sharing mechanisms and welcomed the government's new partnership agreement with Airbnb. On tenancy succession, she noted that the council's discretionary tenancy succession policy was reviewed in November 2024. Over the last two years, 46 applications have been considered, with a 57% success rate. Under the current policy, larger family homes and specially adapted properties are recovered and offered to households who genuinely need them.
On anti-social behaviour, Councillor Sampson explained that a 'three strikes' policy would be unworkable due to the high legal threshold for eviction, which she described as 'far too high'. Instead, Hounslow assesses each case on its merits using a structured escalation framework. This approach has resulted in 50 warnings and early interventions, 26 Acceptable Behaviour Agreements, 30 households moved due to ASB concerns, six evictions, and three dog removals.
After considerable debate, the amendment was accepted by the council, significantly altering the original motion's proposals. The amended motion noted Hounslow's relatively low temporary accommodation figures compared to other London boroughs and highlighted existing downsizing incentives and efforts to tackle fraud. The council resolved to continue these existing measures rather than introducing the new proposals outlined by Councillor Mudaliar.
Public reports pack Tuesday 15-Sep-2026 19.30 Borough Council.pdf