When you register for a transfer or for housing as a homeseeker, your application will be assessed by your housing association or council. You will be placed in one of the priority bands described below.
If you disagree with your priority band, you can ask the council or housing association which holds your details to review the banding decision. To do this, please put your reasons for a band review in writing to your local council or housing association.
When bids are considered for advertised properties, priority will be given to bids from people in the highest priority band. If people from the same priority band bid for the same property, we will consider first those with a local connection and the earliest priority date. Some applicants in bands A and B have a limited time for bidding. You will be told if this applies when you register.
If your priority band is increased at any stage, your priority date will be the date you went on to the higher priority band. If you move back to a lower band, your priority date will usually revert to your original registration date in that lower band.
Below is a summary of the bands. Please note this is only a general guide, as not every band reason applies in every local council area. If you have a specific query about a band reason you should contact your local council for a copy of their Allocation Policy.
Band A (emergency, urgent priority)
- You are homeless, the Council has accepted a duty to re-house you, and you are staying in bed and breakfast accommodation or other short term temporary accommodation and your needs can only be met in permanent accommodation.
- You are homeless, in priority need and in longer term temporary accommodation and the landlord wants the property back, or the accommodation is not suitable for you and it is not possible to find you further suitable temporary accommodation.
- You are homeless, the Council has accepted a duty to re-house you, and you are staying with family or friends or your family is split because of a lack of housing, and your needs can only be met in permanent accommodation.
- You have a high need to move because of a medical condition, and your current housing is having a very significant adverse effect on the medical condition, or some other emergency need to move.
- Your housing department has agreed to a recommendation by social services that you need to be provided with permanent accommodation.
- You are a transfer applicant currently under-occupying family sized accommodation and you qualify for a downsizing scheme (if one operates in your area).
- You are occupying a property which is subject to a compulsory purchase order and/or where the Council has a statutory duty to move you.
- You are a council or housing association tenant in a fully wheelchair-adapted property you no longer need but which could be used by someone else.
- You need to move on from care or supported housing and re-housing has been agreed as part of a special quota scheme.
- You need to move urgently because there is a serious imminent personal risk if you remain (please note this applies to Council and housing association tenants only).
- You are in a very high need of housing, where exceptional circumstances warrant emergency priority (to be agreed by a housing manager).
- Your needs, when considered together, are so severe that you need to be placed in a higher priority band (to be agreed by a housing manager).
- You are an ex-service tenant whom the Council or housing association has a contratual obligation to re-house.
- You are a successor to a council tenancy (or an approved non-statutory successor) approved for a move to smaller or more suitable accommodation.
Band B
- You have been assessed as needing two more bedrooms than you currently have.
- You have an urgent need to move because of harassment or threat of violence (please note that this applies to Council/Housing Association tenants only)
- You have a medium need to move because of a medical condition, and your current housing is having a significant adverse effect on the medical condition.
- You are a former tenant with an undertaking by the council to re-house
- You have dependent children and are living in insecure accommodation with no bedroom and lacking or sharing amenities.
- Housing have agreed to a recommendation by social Service that you need to be provided with permanent accommodation to ensure fostering or adoption
- You are occupying a property which has been assessed by Environmental Health as posing a high health and safety risk to you and your family
- You are registered as regularly rough sleeping with appropriate agency and/or charity (not all local authorities run this scheme).
- You have three or more needs from Band C
Band C
- You have been assessed as needing one more bedroom than you currently have.
- You are a transfer applicant currently under-occupying family sized accommodation and but you don’t qualify for a Transfer Incentive Scheme to downsize (if this scheme operates in your area).
- You are homeless (or in certain circumstances threatened with homelessness) in priority need and in longer term temporary accommodation until such time as the landlord wants the property back, or the accommodation is not suitable for you and it is not possible to find you suitable further temporary accommodation.
- You need to move for low priority medical reasons as assessed by your local authority
- You need to move because or unsatisfactory housing condition such as overcrowding or unsanitary conditions, as approved by your local authority
- You are an elderly person moving to sheltered housing with no higher needs to take into account
- You have a need to move for social reasons, for example to give support to, or receive support from, a family member.
Band D
- All other transfer tenants and homeseekers with no identified housing need and not included in the above bands A, B or C
- Your priority has been reduced (in areas where this band reason applies)