South London Health and Housing Coalition has produced a poster to explain to patients that logging into the NHS App should be the default action when asked to provide medical information for a housing application.
The group has also produced this resource pack for GP practices to support explaining the guidance to patients.
Londonwide LMCs’ guidance on requests for letters to support housing applications was amended at the end of 2025 as part of this work.
Representatives from Londonwide LMCs and our individual LMCs in South London have been heavily involved in the discussions that led to the creation of a commonly agreed position on housing letters, including a commitment across local government and the NHS to clarify the process with patients. While this approach currently only covers South London, practices in other areas may wish to highlight it to other local authorities as an example of good practice
This represents a win for general practice, who can expect to receive fewer letter requests, and for patients who can progress applications quickly by accessing their own records online. Where patients have difficulty getting online or using phone apps practices should still expect to provide copies of relevant records.