Wait Time

If you are accepted onto the housing register your wait to be offered housing will be dependent on your banding, your priority housing date (when you applied to join the housing register or became homeless) and the availability of properties you are eligible for. Factors such as arrears or anti-social behaviour are likely to result in your banding being lowered and a much longer wait to be offered housing.

The table below shows how many households are waiting for housing, what properties became available in 2023, and how long successful applicants had been waiting.

Property size	How many households are waiting for this accommodation?	How many became available in 2023?	How long had successful applicants waited? *
Studio and one bed	495	90	1 to 3.5 years
Two bed	682	172	1.5 to 8 years
Three bed	553	70	2 to 10 years
Three bed + dining room	260	6	1.5 to 7 years
Four bed	Included in three bed + dining room	7	2.5 to 8 years
Five bed	Included in three bed + dining room	0	NA
Sheltered and extra care	435	91	1 to 7 years

*Wait times vary from applicant to applicant depending on their banding, priority housing date and the availability of the property type they are eligible for in their preferred areas. You may have a longer wait than this depending on your circumstances.

Tips:

The more you restrict the areas you want to live in the longer you are likely to wait, especially with larger properties that do not become available so often.
Ensure you keep your contact details up to date via the customer portal. An offer of accommodation is likely to be made by phone and if contact is unsuccessful or they do not promptly hear back from you, the Officer will move onto the next household.
It doesn’t make a difference when in the bidding cycle you place a bid, as the system will sort bids by applicants banding and priority housing date.
On Thursday at midnight the system places bids on behalf of those who would struggle to do it themselves. Therefore your queue position may change after this time.