How is UK social housing allocated? The process explained

Local authorities have ultimate responsibility for how social housing is allocated, which includes council-owned homes and those owned by housing associations and social landlords like Bolton at Home.

Each local authority develops its own allocation scheme outlining its eligibility criteria and how it will prioritise applications.

These housing allocation schemes must comply with UK law, specifically The Housing Act 1996, as well as statutory guidance from the housing regulator.

New applicants for social housing should apply to their local council in the first instance.

If accepted, they’ll be placed on a housing register and will be eligible to apply for housing through their council’s choice-based lettings system which has details of all the social housing that’s available in that local council area. 

In Bolton, the choice-based lettings system where people apply for social housing is Homes for Bolton. This website also contains full details of Bolton Council’s allocations policy and guidance on how to apply for social housing in Bolton.

You can tap here for more information on applying for a home using a choice-based lettings system.

Housing registers are often referred to as a “housing waiting list”, though this name can be misleading.

This is because applicants will usually still need to take further action to apply for homes that become available, for example by bidding on properties that are advertised on the council’s choice-based lettings system.

We follow the allocations scheme that’s in place for the local authority areas where our homes are situated.

With most of our homes being based in Bolton, applicants who are on the housing register can bid for Bolton at Home properties that become available through the Homes for Bolton choice-based lettings system.

You can tap here for more information on applying for a home in Bolton and other areas.

UK law requires local authorities to give “reasonable preference” to certain categories of applicant, such as those who are homeless, have a serious medical condition, or are living in overcrowded accommodation.

In most cases, the local authority have the statutory duty to assess and determine an applicant’s banding award/or housing needs status.

Many local authority allocation schemes use points-based banding systems to assess housing need and determine priority. People on the housing register will typically ‘bid’ for available properties in their local council area through the choice-based lettings system. The person with the highest priority who bids for a property, and who meets any other conditions, is then selected.

You can tap here for more information on applying for a home using a choice-based lettings system.

It’s important to stress that housing allocations are made based on assessed needs at that point in time, rather than how long someone has been on the housing register.

It means applicants need to keep applying for homes through the choice-based lettings system to stand the best chance of securing a home.

Applying for a home that’s most suited to your individual circumstances also gives you a better chance of being successful.

There is a severe shortage of social housing in the UK. Demand far outweighs supply, and this isn’t just an issue in Bolton and Greater Manchester, but across the country. 

The government has plans to fund the building of hundreds of thousands of new homes across the country, including in areas like Bolton and Greater Manchester. 

While this will help, demand is likely to continue outstripping supply. This means not everyone will be able to find an affordable home or one that’s suitable for their needs.

You can tap here to learn more about our new build development programme.

We completely understand people’s frustration with trying to access social housing. There are simply not enough homes to go around.

While Bolton at Home is building new homes as part of our new-build strategy**, it’s unlikely there will ever be enough homes to house everybody who wants to live in social housing. This means that being on the housing register is never a guarantee you’ll be offered a home by your local council or housing association.

**You can tap here for more information on our new build development programme.

The shortage of affordable housing options is why Bolton at Home is developing new homes under our new-build strategy. This includes homes we build ourselves and homes we acquire from private housebuilders.

We’re on target to deliver 1,400 new homes between 2020-26 with plans to build more under the next affordable homes programme. We’re awaiting details of what the government’s grant funding programme for affordable homes will look like beyond 2026 which will inform our future plans for new homes. You can tap here to learn more about our new build development programme.

In addition to new-builds we’re investing over £58 million per year for the next five years in repairing and upgrading existing homes, which includes energy efficiency works, external refurbishment, windows, kitchens, bathrooms, heating and electrics.

This includes bringing empty homes back into use and, where this not possible, selling off empty homes and reinvesting the funds back into our homes and services. You can tap here to learn more about what we do with our empty properties.

Empty homes (homes that remain empty for longer periods awaiting complex repairs) are an issue for many housing providers as housing stock ages.

We have a dedicated team that’s working hard to bring empty homes back into use more quickly and, where these homes are too costly or complex to repair, we have the option of selling them and reinvesting the funds in our homes and services. You can tap here to learn more about what we do with our empty properties.

New build homes for rent go through a clear, transparent process that prioritises people based on their housing need.

Choice-based lettings mean we openly invite applications for new homes when they’re ready to be advertised. Personal history with the area is often a key part of the allocation criteria.

There is a lot of misleading commentary on this issue, particularly on social media. We’ve seen people wrongly stating that asylum seekers, illegal migrants, or non-British people coming to the UK to work are “jumping the queue” for social housing or being prioritised over local people.

This is not true. Migration is not a factor in how homes are allocated. Most councils have local connection rules as part of their allocation policies that prioritise local people.

Asylum seekers can’t legally get council housing and are not legally allowed to work. Asylum seekers who are eventually accepted as refugees can become eligible for social housing, but this is a long process, and few succeed due to restrictions. Most migrants who come the UK on visas for work have no eligibility and no access to public funds or social housing.

In addition to the council’s own policy for prioritising local people, Bolton at Home’s local lettings policies prioritise people with connections to an area: long-term residents, local workers, families who’ve been part of the community for years. Most of our allocations reflect that focus.

Many of our new-build developments have a local lettings policy as part of their planning permission. This ensures people with a local connection are prioritised for new housing.