Overcrowding

The Council has a dedicated team which aims to advise on and help to resolve overcrowding. There are many families in the borough who are overcrowded and waiting for larger properties.

Unfortunately there is a significant shortage of properties with three or more bedrooms in Kensington and Chelsea. If you seriously want to move, you should consider the alternatives!

What the Housing Opportunities Team can do for you:

Advice and home visits

We can discuss all the options that may be available to you to help you solve the problems caused by your overcrowding, and offer advice on the likelihood of you being re-housed through the Council’s Common Housing Register. If you are severely overcrowded (lacking two bedrooms or more) we may visit you and your family in your home.

Help within your current home

We will look at your property to see if we can help by providing space saving furniture or if adaptations can be made to your home to ease the pressure of living with overcrowding. We can also offer advice on using the time in your home more effectively.

Re-housing to the private rented sector

We can help severely overcrowded families (or their household members) to move to private rented accommodation. We have already helped a number of families who faced cramped housing conditions, and little prospect of being re-housed through the Common Housing Register due to the lack of larger sized Council and housing association properties. We helped these families to move to larger private rented properties.

Mutual Exchange

Mutual Exchange is for people who are already housing association or Council tenants and want to swap their property with another tenant. This could be because they want a larger or smaller property or wish to move to another area. It is entirely possible for someone to move to a larger property if the other tenant wishes to downsize.