How Long Do You Have To Wait On The Brighton Council Housing Waiting List?

If you’ve spent a considerable amount of time on the Brighton & Hove Council Housing waiting list, you must be keen to know how long you would have to wait before you are offered a council house to move in to. As you read through the following blog post, you will find the answer to your question; as well as some suggestions on how to reduce your waiting time on the council housing list.

How Long Do You Have To Wait On The Brighton Council Housing Waiting List?

There is no confirmation on the time one may have to spend on the Brighton Council Housing waiting list. In some cases, it can be a matter of months while it may take others years to be allotted a council house. There have been times when people have had to wait at least 10 years before being able to move into a council house; despite a successful application.

There are a few factors that will affect the amount of time one spends waiting for a council house. These include the following:

• the priority band assigned to you
• the time you’ve spent waiting
• the number of households currently waiting on the housing register
• the number of properties that are available
• special preferences such as the property being located in a certain part of a borough 
• the need for a property that can is suited for a disability or restricted mobility

Unless you’ve been assigned the highest priority band due to homelessness or living in cramped conditions or health risks at your previous residence, you will have to wait for a council house depending on the priority band assigned to you. This is decided by the local council while reviewing your application and determines the degree of urgency with which you need a council house.

Chances are the more time you spend waiting for a council house, the higher the likelihood of you being moved up in the priority rank. This means that if you’ve spent more time than another applicant in similar circumstances as you waiting for a council house, you will be assigned one sooner than them.

Then comes the question of supply and demand of council property in the borough that you’ve applied for council accommodation. If fewer council housing tenants are moving out of council houses, this means that fewer council properties will be available for new tenants.

This shortage of supply matched with a large number of households waiting to be assigned a council house as well as the amount of time spent on the waiting list can further add to the months or even years that you spend waiting for a council house.

If you’ve placed a request for a council house to be located in a specific part of the borough or there is a need for special arrangements such as a ground floor council property for elderly family members, you may have to spend more time than others on the council housing waiting list.

Then, it is also important to consider the size of the council property you are looking for in comparison to the number of people in your household. Large households demanding a council property with more bedrooms may have to wait longer than households with fewer family members.

How Can You Apply For A Suitable Property To Reduce Your Time On The Waiting List?

If your demand for a certain type of council property matches the number and circumstances of household members, you have better chances of being shortlisted for council accommodation earlier than others.

Here are the details of the preferred household size of applicants versus the type of council property suitable for them:

How Does Bedroom Entitlement Reduce Your Time On The Waiting List? 

If you are willing to accept a council property that matches or is below your bedroom entitlement, you may be able to reduce your time on the waiting list and move into council accommodation sooner.

Local councils have worked out a bedroom entitlement based on the number, age and gender of household members. If you are demanding a council house above your bedroom entitlement, you may have to spend more time on the waiting list.

The bedroom entitlement for council houses is categorised as follows:

• 1 person is entitled to a 1 bedroom property
• 2 people (couple) are entitled to a 1 bedroom property
• 2 people (single / parent and child) are entitled to a 2-bedroom property
• 3 people are entitled to a 2-3 bedroom property
• 4 to 5 people are entitled to a 2-3 bedroom property

This is further classified as under:

• sisters under the age of 16 are entitled to 1 room
• brothers under the age of 16 are entitled to 1 room
• brother and sister, both under the age of 10 are entitled to 1 room
• brother (11) and sister (7) are entitled to 2 rooms

If you think you can adjust your family members, especially younger children into shared bedrooms, you can reduce your demand for the number of rooms you’re looking for and consider a mutual exchange of your council house a few years later.

In the meanwhile, you can check your allotment waiting list position on the Brighton & Hove City Council waiting list to see if there have been any changes to your priority ranking.

Conclusion:

While there is no definitive answer to how long a council housing applicant would have to spend on the Brighton & Hove council housing waiting list, there are certain factors that can reduce your waiting time. These include your priority ranking, your ability to find a suitable property, your willingness to change your demand according to available properties and ability to adjust if special preferences cannot be met.

References:

Apply to join the housing register

Housing register: Waiting times | LBHF

How long does it take to get a council home? – Shelter England