People in work will be given priority on the waiting list for council housing, under new changes. 

Applicants including members of the armed forces, foster carers and volunteers will be fast tracked under criteria agreed by Waltham Forest council's cabinet this week. 

Local authorities were given powers to change the Housing Allocations Scheme under the Localism Act.

Councillor Khevyn Limbajee, cabinet member for housing, said: “The changes mean that we can use housing to improve people’s lives by ensuring that we continue to focus on those in greatest need, while at the same time encouraging people to improve their circumstances.

"The Housing Register was previously reduced from over 26,000 to around 16,600 as the result of the removal of non-bidders, no preference cases, and those not meeting the residency requirement.

“This time we have further restricted eligibility for people based on residency, upping the criteria from those who have lived in the borough for two years to four years.

“We’ve also awarded extra priority to applicants who are making a ‘Community Contribution’ by working, volunteering, fostering, or who were previously in the armed forces or are in training which will lead to employment,” Cllr Limbajee continued.

Other changes include amending the bedroom size rules so that two children of the same gender up to and including the age of 21 can be expected to share a bedroom before incurring priority for overcrowding.

Currently the criteria is up to and including the age of 16.

There will also no longer be priority given to applicants whose only housing problem is sharing facilities with people outside their own household, including relatives.