Before you apply and housing advice
- We know it can be stressful if you're waiting for social housing, we want to help everyone, but there are always more people than there are places
- Unfortunately, we can’t offer a home to everyone who applies
- There are currently 2780 people waiting on the housing register but only 490 properties become vacant each year
- Applicants with low need or who require a one bed or family sized property can expect to wait around 10-20 years
- We follow a legal system that prioritises people by need. Even those assessed with the highest need may wait a very long time
- It is unlikely you will be allocated any type of council housing within the short to medium term and you may be better off renting privately.
Before you apply, please be aware: People on the housing register have shared that if they had known how unlikely it was that they would be housed, they would have looked at other options earlier like moving into private rented accommodation.
Please also look at our Housing advice pages which includes advice:
- if you are having problems in your private rented sector tenancy or need to find new private rented accommodation
- if you have been asked to leave by friends or family
- if you need financial help.
If you are homeless now
If you are homeless now or worried about becoming homeless contact us as soon as possible on 01865 249811. Further advice and information is available on our If you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless page.
How we prioritise Housing Register Applications
We use a banding scheme to prioritise our offers of housing to those with the greatest need first. Read more information about our Housing Register Allocations Scheme.