SARAH Warriner, Martin Lambert and their children Nathan and Hayden are the human faces of York's housing crisis.

Crammed into a one-bedroom house in Acomb, they have been on the waiting list for a new home since the dawn of the millennium. Yet they have plummeted down the list in the last 18 months. No wonder Sarah says the system "is unfair and has let us down".

That system looks set to change. York council wants to ditch points and introduce bands, which favour people brought up in the city.

This is an overdue reform. There is nothing more galling for a York family languishing on the housing list than to see a newcomer leap ahead of them thanks to their points total. This injustice was a catalyst in the creation of Keep York Local, the political party which demands the city's natives should come first.

Another benefit of bands is they will give priority to those who have been waiting longest.

Although these changes are to be welcomed, they will not alter the fact that York has far too few council houses to go around. It is infuriating that hundreds of new homes have been built here in the last few years, yet the housing waiting list remains as high as ever.

Until the politicians can solve this conundrum, people such as Sarah and Martin will continue to feel the system is against them.

Updated: 10:54 Wednesday, August 31, 2005