PEOPLE will have to have lived in the Dudley borough for at least two years to qualify to go on the council’s housing list – if new plans are approved at a meeting next week.

The council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the proposal which has been drafted after the Department for Communities and Local Government issued new statutory guidance on social housing allocations for local authorities at the end of last year.

The new guidance states residents should live within a borough for at least two years before they qualify to go on the council’s housing waiting list.

People living in neighbouring authorities for a period of two years or people with a strong local connection may also be accepted.

At their next meeting on Wednesday February 12, cabinet members will be asked to agree to include the new guidance within the council’s own qualification criteria for housing.

Exemptions will apply and could include people moving to escape violence and homeless families.

Armed forces applicants and their families would also be exempt.

Councillor Steve Waltho, cabinet member for housing, said: “In the past couple of years all local authorities have been given greater flexibility to determine how we allocate our homes.

"Through this new guidance that we are adopting we hope to continue to instil confidence within the local community that we are fair in our approach to accepting people on to our waiting list.

“Before recommending this change to cabinet, the council has talked to local people about the proposed changes.”

Cabinet will be asked to approve a 12-month trial, after which the impact of the changes will be assessed.