PennineLancashire

Prioritising applications

To ensure that reasonable preference is given to people in urgent housing need, a banding system is used to prioritise people on the housing register.  B-with-us uses the following bands:

Bids received for properties will be sorted into order using the above bandings and offers normally made to those with highest priority.

Application received for rented accommodation will be assessed and placed in one of the four bands. Within each band applications will be placed in date order, with the application with the oldest date having the highest priority. The date that is normally used is the date your application was accepted with the B-with-us scheme.

In addition, Band 1-3 applications will be first ordered according to the date that the additional preference was awarded and then by the date of registration.

All applicants on the housing register or ‘waiting list’ prior to the start of the B-with-us CBL scheme will carry their existing date of registration.

How Applications are Prioritised (Bands)

The reasons why an application may be given a particular band are shown below.  Where an application qualifies as having need in more than one band the highest band will be applied.

Band 1: Urgent Need / Homeless Prevention

• Statutorily homeless
• High medical need
• Leaving care
• Decanting – for improvements or demolition 
• People subject to clearance / closing order
• Occupants served with a prohibition order by Environmental Health

Band 2: Cumulative Need

• Applicants who qualify for two or more categories from Band 3 
• People under occupying an Registered Social Landlord (RSL) tenancy by two or more bedrooms

Band 3: Reasonable Preference

• Households found to be intentionally homeless or non-priority need
• Standard medical cases
• People moving from supported accommodation – assessed as ready to live independently
• People living in unsatisfactory, overcrowded housing or unsanitary housing (assessed by Environmental Health) "This counts as one category for cumulative needs purposes"
• People who need to move to a particular locality in the area for welfare, employment or training reasons to avoid hardship
• People who are going to lose their own accommodation within 8 weeks

Band 4: Standard Need / All other categories

• All other applicants
• Applicants who are adequately housed