Assessing Applications

How will my application be assessed?

If you are eligible to join the housing register, we will assess your application and enter it onto the housing register. We may need to make an appointment to inspect your home in order to check your circumstances.

Once your application is assessed you will be placed in a band from A to D based on your priority, with A being the highest priority and D being the lowest.

Band A  Households with an urgent housing need

Band B

Band C

Band D  Household with low priority

You will receive an acknowledgement letter explaining what band you have been placed in along with a registration card.

If for any reason you cannot join the housing register, we will write to tell you why and inform you of your right to ask for a review of the decision.

Please see our Right to Request a Review leaflet.

How do we prioritise applications?

By law, the council is required to give a reasonable preference on its housing register to the following groups:

• People who are homeless;
• People who are overcrowded or live in poor conditions;
• People who need to move on medical, or disability welfare grounds;
• People who need to move to a particular locality where failure to meet that need will result in hardship.

Applications will also be assessed to take into account other factors such as your financial means, your local connection with this area and your past or current behaviour as a tenant, including your history of rent payments.

You will also be rewarded extra priority on your application if:

• You or your partner are employed for at least 16 hours per week and you have worked continuously for 12 months; or
• You have been approved for fostering or adoption; or
• You or a member of your household is a current member of the armed forces or has been honourably discharged in the last 5 years.

If you are in a low priority band the likelihood is that the council will not be in a position to offer you a social housing tenancy.

How are properties allocated?

We offer available properties to applicants who have the highest priority on our housing register.

Some of our properties may also be offered in the following situations:

To house someone in an emergency;

To house someone with specific special care needs that can be met by adaptations already carried out in the property;

To house someone wanting to move from one of our properties into another;

To house a homeless applicant who needs to move from temporary accommodation;

For further information about the types of properties the council own in each part of the district please read a guide to council accommodation.