Housing allocation

Due to the shortage of available properties and the high numbers of people on the waiting list we cannot offer a home to most applicants.

Allocations scheme

Registered applications are dealt with in line with our Housing Allocations Scheme (pdf, 613 Kb).

Properties available

We only receive around 350 properties from our partner housing associations and over half of the properties we receive for nomination tend to be bedsits and 1-bedroom properties. 

Waiting lists

As of 31 August 2024, there were 3,735 on the housing waiting list:

• Homelessness households - 419
• General needs queue - 2,909
• Sheltered queue - 349
• Other queues (referral) - 39
• Under-occupier - 69
• Physical disability queue - 19

Properties received for allocation from April 2023 to March 2024:

• Studio/1 bed - 175 (including 32 sheltered properties)
• 2 bed - 69 (1 property adapted for a person with a physical disability)
• 3 bed - 19 (0 properties adapted for a person with a physical disability)
• 4 bed - 4 (0 properties adapted for a person with a physical disability)
• 5 bed - 1 (0 properties adapted for a person with a physical disability)

Criteria

There are a number of criteria which you need to fit in order to be able to apply for social housing.

Under the allocations scheme, applications once registered will be placed in one of seven housing access queues.

For the majority of the queues, we use a points system to work out the priority of each housing application we receive. You will be given points based on the information you tell us in your application. You must give accurate information in your application in order for us to properly assess your application.

The total number of points then places your application into one of the four bands (A to D, with A being the highest priority).

Those most likely to be offered housing

Offers of accommodation are made to high/urgent priority cases, usually those in Bands A and B. The households typically rehoused are:

• Homeless families in temporary accommodation
• Applicants accepted onto the Council’s homeless prevention scheme
• Older persons requiring sheltered accommodation
• Social housing tenants wanting to downsize and move to a smaller home
• Referrals from other Council departments for people moving to settled accommodation from a supported environment.

Priority bands

How long you may have to wait depends on the band you are in. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do speed up the waiting time, or be given a higher priority.

Priority band A or B

Although we may be able to offer you a property in these bands it is likely it will take several years before this happens, particularly if you are waiting for family sized accommodation. This is because of the high numbers of people already registered on the waiting list.

As we do not know when we will be able to offer you a property because we do not know when or if any suitable properties will become vacant, you should consider looking for other housing options, such as moving to the private rented sector.  

For households needing large accommodation (4 or more bedrooms) the waiting time for a vacant property will be considerably longer.

Priority band C or D

If your application is assessed and placed in Band C or D, we are very unlikely to be able to offer you a property. This is because we have a very limited number of properties, we can offer each year and a high number of applicants registered in the higher priority Bands A and B.