After you join the housing register, your household will be placed in one of five bands.
- Four bands are priority bands
- One band is a general needs band
Band one is the highest priority. This means those households need housing the most urgently.
Band two has a higher need than band three, and so on.
What is a priority?
A priority may be given if your household has an urgent need for housing.
What this means:
Urgent need could include serious health issues, unsafe housing, or risk of homelessness.
Who decides priority?
Priority must be approved by:
- a Neighbourhood Office Manager, or
- a panel
For homeless or community care cases, the relevant manager in that service will make the decision.
How priority cases are shortlisted
If more than one applicant with priority bids for the same property:
- We look at the highest band first
- If applicants are in the same band, we look at who has the longest priority date
What this means:
The priority date is the date your priority was awarded. Earlier dates are considered first.
Appeals and reviews
If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for a review.
You can find more information in the ‘Your Right to a Review’ document, available from local centres.
Priority bands explained
Your band depends on your household’s circumstances.
Band one (including additional preference)
This is the highest level of need. It includes:
- prohibition order
- category 1 hazards in private housing
- property poses a serious risk to health
- demolition or compulsory purchase where the occupant is vulnerable
- no access to essential facilities, such as a bathroom or kitchen
- medical priority with an extremely urgent need to move
- domestic abuse, extreme violence or harassment
- witness protection (with police recommendation)
- risk of children being taken into care or needing suitable housing to remain at home
- approved foster carers needing more bedrooms, or existing carers expanding placements
- armed forces personnel with urgent housing need
- care leavers ready to move on
- under-occupying by two bedrooms
- under-occupying a house
Band two
This is a high level of need. It includes:
- households owed a main housing duty due to homelessness
- homelessness relief duty cases
- compulsory purchase or demolition cases
- overcrowded by two bedrooms
- medical priority
- move-on from supported or refuge accommodation (selected providers only)
- households giving up a sanctuary scheme property
- under-occupiers affected by the spare room subsidy (applies to lets before 17 April 2013)
- households releasing an adapted property
- non-successors left in occupation
Band three
This is a moderate level of need. It includes:
- homelessness prevention duty cases
- overcrowded by one bedroom
- welfare or hardship cases where you need to move to a specific area
- under-occupying a flat or maisonette by one bedroom
- families with children living above the first floor in flats or maisonettes
- service tenants whose tenancy will end within 6 months
Band four
This is a lower level of priority. It includes:
- intentionally homeless households
- households where homelessness duty has ended after refusing a suitable offer
- council or housing association tenants giving up a ground floor flat
Band five
This is the general needs band.
It includes all households who do not meet the criteria for bands one to four.
Reviews of priority
Your priority band can be reviewed at any time.
This helps us check that your circumstances are still the same.
We may also review your bidding activity and update your priority if needed.