Hillingdon Council faces a significant challenge in allocating larger properties to residents with specific housing needs due to a chronic shortage of social housing. Councillor Nick Denys, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing & Property, stated during a council meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2026, that while the council carefully considers medical, disability-related, and welfare requirements, larger properties are only considered in exceptional circumstances.
These exceptional circumstances typically involve cases with multiple serious factors affecting a household, particularly where there are safeguarding concerns or a risk to life, all of which must be supported by relevant and up-to-date professional evidence. Councillor Denys emphasized that simply having a medical condition does not automatically grant additional housing priority.
For residents who disagree with a housing priority decision, even with supporting professional evidence, there is an appeals process. The meeting information states that If an applicant disagrees with their housing prior to your banning decision, they can ask for the decision to be reviewed. Details of how to do this are included in the decision letter.
The council's commitment to providing affordable homes was also highlighted, with 510 social housing lettings delivered in the past year, 271 of which were council homes allocated to local residents. Despite these efforts, the overarching issue of housing availability continues to limit the council's ability to meet all housing allocation requests for larger properties. Further details on the council's housing policies can be found in the Public reports pack.