Housing register bands and priority: how councils decide who gets housed first

If you are on a council housing waiting list, you have likely been placed in a band. Understanding how bands work and what affects your priority can help you make sense of your position on the list. Below, we explain how the banding system works.

What is the housing register?

The housing register (also called the waiting list) is a list maintained by the council of people who have applied for social housing. It includes both council properties and housing association properties allocated by the council.

Not everyone who applies gets on the register, councils can restrict eligibility. Once on the list, your position is determined by your band and the date you joined.

What are housing bands?

Councils typically split the register into bands (sometimes called priority groups), from the highest to the lowest:

Band A (or equivalent, highest priority): Households with the most urgent housing need. This typically includes:

• People who are homeless and in emergency need
• People fleeing domestic abuse
• People with serious medical or welfare needs directly related to housing
• Households in severely overcrowded conditions

Band B: Significant housing need, not immediately emergency. Includes people with strong medical need, overcrowding, or people being evicted.

Band C (or lower): Households with a housing need but lower priority. Includes most people who are overcrowded or living in poor conditions but not in immediate danger.

No priority or ineligible: People who do not qualify for help, who have a history of anti-social behaviour, or who own a property.

The exact bands and criteria vary between councils. Your council's allocation policy (a public document available on its website) sets out the details.

What affects your band?

Factors that can increase your priority:

• Medical evidence showing your current home is harming your health
• Statutory overcrowding (number of people versus the number of bedrooms)
• Being formally accepted as homeless and owed a housing duty
• Having a connection to the area
• Long-standing need and time on the register

What is a medical assessment?

If your health is affected by your current housing, you can ask the council to carry out a medical assessment. A doctor or occupational therapist may assess the impact of your housing on your health and recommend priority banding.

This is particularly relevant if your home has damp, mould, heating failures, or other structural problems that have affected your health.

How long will I wait?

Waiting times vary hugely, from months to many years, depending on your band, the area, and the number of properties available. High-demand areas like London can have very long waits even for urgent cases.

You can request a review if you disagree with the band you have been placed in. You must request a review within 21 days of the decision (or whatever timeframe the council specifies).

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

We handle housing disrepair claims. If your current home is in disrepair and that disrepair is affecting your health, a disrepair claim may produce evidence that supports a medical priority application.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Act 1996, Part 6 (allocation of housing accommodation) (legislation.gov.uk)