How do we assess your application

Assessing Housing Need 

To ensure that those households in greatest housing need are given preference (priority) for an allocation of accommodation, we must give reasonable (but not overriding or absolute) preference to the following categories of people in accordance with Section 166A(3) of the Housing Act 1996:

  1. People who are homeless within the meaning of Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (including those that are intentionally homeless and those not in priority need)
  2. People who are owed a duty by any housing authority under Sections 190(2), 193(2) or 195(2) of the Housing Act 1996 (or under Sections 65(2) or 68(2) of the Housing Act 1985), or who are occupying accommodation secured by any housing authority under Section 193(2)
  3. People occupying insanitary or overcrowded housing or otherwise living in unsatisfactory housing conditions
  4. People who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability
  5. People who need to move to a particular locality in the district, where failure to meet that need would cause hardship (to themselves or others)

Under The Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Right to Move) Regulations 2015, existing social housing tenants in England are given reasonable preference if they need to move into the North Yorkshire Council area to avoid hardship and they either work or have been offered work in the district and have a genuine intention to take up the offer of employment. Further information on the Right to Move can be found at Section 6 Existing Social Housing Tenants

 

Priority Banding 

Applicants will have their housing application assessed and allocated a band in accordance with their assessed housing need. Bands in order of priority are ;

  • Emergency
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Bronze

There is no order of priority within each band, and there is no cumulative preference given if one or more circumstances apply. 

Emergency Band 

This band will only be allocated in extreme circumstances and may be subject to a direct offer of accommodation to: 

  • Applicants who are unable to return from hospital to their current home within the Partnership area as it is deemed permanently unsuitable and cannot be adapted for their needs or where major works are deemed not feasible 
  • Applicants are unable to access key facilities without major adaptation works

Applicants in Emergency Band will have their application reviewed by the relevant partner organisation every four weeks who will have the discretion to re-band the application.  

 

Gold Band

  • Care leavers at point of leaving a care home or supported housing with an agreed support package relevant to the offer, and who are assessed as being ready for independent living.
  • Applicants who need to move on from an approved accommodation based supported housing programme who have satisfactorily completed a resettlement programme and are able to live independently. 
  • Applicants presently under-occupying a home owned by a local authority or housing association within the partnership area and require a property with 2 fewer bedrooms.   
  • Applicants who are overcrowded and require two more bedrooms to relieve the overcrowding. Bedroom size will be taken into consideration.   
  • Applicants who are a statutory homeless household and owed a main duty under part 7 of the Housing Act 1996.  
  • Applicants owed a relief duty, and the local authority has reason to be believe they are in priority need.
  • Applicants whose current accommodation is assessed as having a direct or serious impact on a medically diagnosed health and/or wellbeing condition where a property move would remove or significantly improve the impact.    
  • Applicants who have been assessed and accepted as having a proven housing need to move to a specific locality so that hardship can be prevented to themselves or others. Bidding restrictions may apply.
  • Applicants whose home is subject to an Emergency Prohibition Order served under s.43 Housing Act 2004 by The North Yorkshire Council

 

 Silver Band

 

  • Applicants whose current accommodation is assessed as compromising a diagnosed medical and/or health and wellbeing condition where a move to an alternative property would improve the impact.   
  • Applicants owed a homeless prevention duty.
  • Applicants owed a homeless relief duty who are not in priority need.  
  • Applicants who are homeless under the Housing Act 1996 Part 7 and no main duty is owed or they are found intentionally homeless regardless of priority need. 
  • Applicants presently under-occupying a home owned by a local authority or housing association within the partnership area and who require 1 less bedroom.   
  • Applicants who are overcrowded and require one more bedroom to relieve the overcrowding. Bedroom size will be taken into consideration.
  • Applicants whose home permanently lacks basic amenities, not due to the failure of the applicant, where it cannot be resolved without reasonable building work. 
  • Applications from foster carers, those approved to adopt, or those persons being assessed for approval to foster or adopt, who need to move to a larger home to accommodate a looked after child or a child who was previously looked after by a local authority. 
  • Applicants who share bathroom and/or kitchen facilities with separate households of people who will not be moving with them.   

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Bronze band

  • Applicants who do not fall into any of the above categories.