Finding somewhere to live

For most households the chances of being offered a property by us are extremely low, and you should think about other housing options.

We prioritise applicants for council housing according to need.

Housing waiting list applications are placed in bands, based on the urgency of the need to be re-housed. There are 5 bands, with band 1 being the highest and most urgent need and band 5 the lowest.

Transfer list applicants – tenants wishing to move from one council property to another – are judged only by their application date. If they have been assessed as having an urgent need to move, they will be given a priority band and moved over to the housing waiting list.

75% of properties advertised will only be for housing waiting list applicants.
25% of properties advertised will only be for transfer list applicants.

The detailed rules are set out in our housing allocations scheme.

Read section '6.6.3. Medical Priority 1' within the housing allocations scheme if you think you may qualify for a medical priority.

If you think your current housing is unsuitable and you don't have a medical priority, you can ask us to assess your priority band using the form below. We may contact you if we need more information. Usually we will let you know the outcome within 28 days, but complex cases may take longer.

Housing application priority banding request

Working households

We help working households on both lists by reserving 20% of the available properties for applicants where a member of the household is working. These are shown on our property adverts as 'working households only'.

To get this help, you must show that you or a member of your household is either:

• working at least 16 hours per week and have been doing so for the past 12 months
• volunteering at least 16 hours per week and have been doing so for the past 12 months