Council plans to ban housing applicants who give false information

An interesting proposal from Norwich Council that those in temporary accommodation on the waiting list will be banned from making further applications if they make a false claim. Sounds reasonable to me. In fact surprised this is not already the rule.

They also propose that those who keep turning down offers should have to wait six months before applying again. Often those turning down properties will make a good case that they were all pretty dreadful or unsuitable. Yet I think the restriction is probably right.

When housing is allocated not by the market but by rationing, which is the system with "social housing", there is inherent inefficiency and bureaucracy in the process. But how could this be minimised? What could be done to limit the time wasted by applicants and housing officers in viewings for unwanted properties? Allowing unlimited viewings means employing a lot of housing officers.

Another way of reducing the administrative burden would be to limit who can go on the waiting list. At the moment a large number are included without a hope of being allocated the prize of a tenure for life in a home with a heavily subsidised rent. What is the point in maintaining the delusion by including them on the waiting list?