Six out of 10 people on lower incomes believe they have little or no chance of getting a social home - with the same number not understanding how they are allocated, according to new research.

The National Housing Federation said the results showed there was a desperate need for a radical overhaul of the way social homes are allocated, with the organisation calling for the allocations system to be made fairer and more transparent.

The Federation also said the system needs to be changed, so that it is easier for working people to benefit from social housing.

The poll, commissioned by the Federation to highlight the recommendations in its housing election manifesto, being published today, also revealed that 62% of people with a household income of £30,000 or less, thought workers had less chance of being allocated an affordable home than their parents did in previous decades.

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Over the last seven years, demand for social housing has increased by 70%, and the number of people on waiting lists is expected to hit a new record high of five million next year, as the recession and rising unemployment further fuels the crisis.

The chronic shortage of affordable housing means homes are increasingly allocated to people in acute need, such as those classed as officially homeless, over other groups in desperate need of housing.

Chief Executive David Orr said: "The chronic shortage of social homes in this country has created an allocations system whereby only the most desperate and vulnerable have a realistic chance of getting a home.

"This creates neighbourhoods where the most vulnerable and marginalised are housed together, resulting in areas of high economic inactivity, poverty and disadvantage.

"Under our draft proposals, more mixed communities would be created, tenants would have a choice over where they live, and we would avoid the pitfall of pushing the most vulnerable people into the same areas."

The Federation will be consulting on the plans with its membership of 1200 housing associations over the coming weeks.

(CD/KMcA)