PEOPLE who take advantage of way housing waiting lists work to try and jump the queue could be banned from the council register.

Under proposals currently being considered by the borough council, priority for housing in the borough will also be given to local people.

The council is considering not accepting applications from people with no job or family links to the borough, not accepting people who already own property, not accepting those whose household income is above a set threshold and temporarily preventing people from joining the register if they have a history of serious bad behaviour.

The proposals come in the wake of the Localism Act 2011, which means councils no longer need to accept all comers to their housing lists.

Some local authorities have already restricted the availability of social housing to those with strong local links, with earnings and savings under threshold levels and other criteria.

There are 7,000 names on the current borough waiting list, but less than 4000 of them ever bid for housing association properties they are eligible for and there are a large number of priority ‘bands’ to navigate.

Residents are being urged to have their say in a consultation on the changes.

The council has launched a borough-wide public consultation to gauge views on the proposed changes and will feedback to the Cabinet later in the year. To have your say visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/go/housinglist.

The results of the consultation will be taken into account when the council considers whether to change the policy later this year.

Cabinet Member for housing and regeneration Cllr Rob Golding said: “This consultation is a great opportunity to hear views on how our housing allocations system works and could work in the future.

“We have a unique chance to rethink the system to make it more transparent, more honest about who we can help and who we can’t, and more streamlined for everybody.

“At the heart of these proposals is our commitment to local people and their need for local affordable housing. We hope as many people as possible will take part in the survey so their views are represented.”