Promoted as a tool to simplify and maximise access to social housing, a CHR is made up of a single application form, which allows applicants to apply to multiple Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) at once.

The CHR includes a database that holds the application information in a single waiting list which is then shared with the RSLs chosen by the applicant.

A report set to go before Glasgow City Council’s regeneration and the economy policy development committee today will outline plans for a pilot project to cover the North West of Glasgow.

Expected to ‘go live’ in Autumn 2016, the pilot will run for two years to allow for a detailed evaluation and to plan for citywide rollout.

At present, there are around 110,000 social rented houses in Glasgow, owned and managed by 68 RSLs. Compared to the rest of Scotland, the RSL sector in Glasgow is skewed towards smaller associations, reflecting the community roots of many housing providers operating in the city.

There are a very small number of locality based CHRs already in existence in Glasgow but, under the current system, in the vast majority of cases people need to apply to separately to each organisation with stock within the area(s) they wish to be housed. This means that there are multiple waiting lists across the city and no mechanism for accurately measuring demand for social housing as applicants can be on many different lists at the same time.

Some of the housing associations involved in the scheme include Cadder, Cernach, Charing Cross, Drumchapel Housing Co-op and Wheatley Group.

The report said: “The introduction of a Glasgow housing register will bring significant benefits to applicants, landlords and to the city council as strategic housing authority for the city.

“It will make it easier to apply for social housing, reduce duplication and increase operational efficiency for housing providers and provide a more robust estimate of housing need for strategic planning in the city.

“Due to the large number of registered social landlords operating in Glasgow, each with differing processes and policies for allocating housing to applicants, it has been agreed a pilot common housing register should be established in the North West of the City.

“It is proposed it will be rolled out citywide following a robust and positive evaluation process.”