Public House lotteries fairly and efficiently assign rank order to households. A lottery does not award housing directly—it determines who is invited to apply, and in what order.
🎯 Key Objectives
- Reduce staff workload by processing applications only from top-ranked households
- Limit burden on households who may not be matched immediately
- Ensure transparent, auditable selection using randomized and weighted mechanisms
- Enable time-limited selection windows to prevent ongoing, unmanageable lists
⚙️ The process
- Enter via Screening Form: Households submit a screening form during a defined time window, confirming eligibility and (if applicable) weighted criteria for weighted lotteries.
- Eligibility is Assessed: Public House evaluates each submission against programme rules. Only eligible households are included in the lottery.
- Ranking is Generated: Once entries close, all eligible households are assigned a random rank. The process emulates a physical lottery — entries are placed in a pool, randomized, and drawn one at a time, with each draw assigned the next rank. The pool is re-randomized between each draw. In weighted lotteries, households may receive multiple entries, with their best-ranked entry determining their final position.
- Results are Shared: All participants are notified of their ranking and can access a public, anonymized results page for transparency.
- Invitations are Sent: Staff invite households to apply in rank order, typically in small batches, focusing only on those most likely to receive an offer.
- Lottery Completion Shared: Once all ranks have been assigned, a notification is sent to all participants informing them that the lottery has concluded and the opportunity has been awarded.
- Lottery is Archived: All information is saved and archived each step of the process.