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Once you have completed your housing application form

When the council gets your housing application form it will work out how urgently you need housing compared to other people on the waiting list.

You can ask the council what priority you have been given and how long you may have to wait.

See 'Council housing – how to apply for it' to find out more about joining a housing waiting list.

• Council housing - how to apply for it

How councils decide who gets housing

All councils have to have a way of deciding who should be offered housing first by using either a 'points' system or a 'banding' system.

How quickly you get a property depends on a number of things, including the:

• number of points you have or what banding you are in
• size of property you need
• number of people on the waiting list wanting a similar property
• number of properties that become available
  

Points system

The types of things a council looks at when it works out (or 'awards') points include whether you:

• currently live in cramped conditions and need an extra bedroom(s)
• work in the local area
• have a medical condition that’s made worse because of where you currently live
• are homeless or are living in temporary accommodation provided by the council

The more points you have the higher on the waiting list you are.

Banding schemes

Under these schemes, you are put into a certain banding (or group) depending on your housing needs. There are normally between three and five bands.

A simple example of what could be in each band is as follows:

• band A – you have a serious medical condition and you need to move urgently because the home you live in is affecting your health
• band B – you have children and live in very overcrowded conditions (eg you need two or more bedrooms more than you have)
• band C – all other applicants

People in the same banding are normally housed in the order they joined the waiting list.

Finding out about available properties

The council may:

• contact you directly about an available property
• invite you to use its choice-based lettings scheme

Choice-based lettings give you the opportunity to tell the council which properties you are interested in, instead of the council deciding what you will be offered.

See 'Choice-based lettings – bidding for properties that become available' for more information about this method of allocating property.

• Choice-based lettings - bidding for properties that become available

Being offered a property

Once your application reaches the top of the housing list, you should be offered a property.

The council should explain how it decides on the size of property it offers you.  As larger properties are always in high demand, councils expect children to share bedrooms where possible.

• Find your local council

You normally have a short time to decide whether you want to accept the offer. If you don't want to move into the property you can stay on the waiting list but the council may put you further down the list. A council may temporarily take you off the list if you keep rejecting offers of housing.

If you are already a council tenant

If you live in a property that's too small for you, contact your council about being re-housed (moved).

If you live in a property that's too big for you (eg because your children have left home), you can also ask to be re-housed. Your council is likely to offer you a different property fairly quickly. This is so that your current property can be made available to, for example, a family who need it.

• Find your local council

• Swapping your council or housing association home for another property

Asking a council to review a housing decision

You have the right to ask the council to review a decision if it:

• puts you in a banding you are unhappy with
• decides not to put your name on the waiting list – eg because it claims you owe rent at a previous property

The following link will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local council website.

• Appeal against a rehousing decision appeal Opens new window

More useful links

• Private renting

• Home and housing options (disabled people section)

Useful contacts

• Home and community useful contacts

• A-Z of local councils

• Communities and Local Government Opens new window