Prioritising Applications
The Council uses a banding scheme to prioritise applications.
All Homeseekers' Register applications received that meet eligibility and qualification criteria will be assessed and placed in one of four bands A-D. The table below sets out the banding scheme and gives examples of those applicants who would be eligible to be placed in each band.
| Band A (Time Limit of 4 Weeks) |
Where you have a local connection, you do not have the means to resolve your housing need and you meet at least one of the following criteria: -You lack three or more bedrooms in your current home and your overcrowding is not deliberate -You have exclusive use of one room but you share kitchen or bathroom facilities with non-family members and lack two or more bedrooms (this does not include temporary accommodation) -You have been assessed as statutorily overcrowded -You are a social tenant and have one or more bedrooms than you require or you live in an adapted property that you no longer require -We have assessed you as suffering from continuing serious harassment, violence or abuse and a move will improve your circumstances -We have awarded you a Urgent Medical need because your current housing conditions have been assessed as having an extremely significant impact on a proven medical condition or disability and this will only be improved by a move to alternative accommodation -We have awarded you Urgent Disrepair status -You currently live in supported Move-On accommodation or are a Southend Borough Council Care Leaver and we have assessed you as ready to move into independent accommodation -We have assessed you as having a combined High Medical and High Disrepair status from Band B -We have assessed you as having other multiple needs within Band B that warrant a Band A priority |
| Band B |
Where you have a local connection, you do not have the means to resolve your housing need and you meet at least one of the following criteria -We have awarded you a High Medical need because you have been assessed as able to use your current home fully with some effort but a move to different accommodation would be likely to substantially improve your quality of life -We have awarded you High Disrepair status -You lack two bedrooms in your current home and your overcrowding is not deliberate -We, at our discretion, accept that you have a need to move:*Nearer local facilities or relatives, in order to give or receive support or care where this is not available in your current area* -We have assessed you as having other multiple needs within Band C that warrant a Band B priority -You have been assessed as threatened with homelessness and would be likely to have a priority need if homeless, and you are working with the Council to try to prevent your homelessness |
| Band C |
Where you have a local connection, you do not have the means to resolve your housing need and you meet at least one of the following criteria: -We have accepted a duty to re-house you because you are homeless or threatened with homelessness and have a priority need (Time Limit 4 weeks) -We have awarded you a Medium Medical need because your current home has been assessed as having a minimal effect on your medical condition or disability and a move to different accommodation is unlikely to substantially improve your quality of life |
| Band D | -You have a Housing Need but No local connection with Southend On Sea Council area (Applicants who have an assessed housing need (Bands A-C) but no local connection with Southend Council area -You have a Non-housing need - special circumstances. |
| Low Priority |
-You are in short-term Supported housing project, or a care leaver where duty to rehouse has been accepted, but you are not assessed as being ready for "move-on" into independant accommodation. -You or a household member is guilty of unacceptable behaviour but have not been excluded, and will remain in low priority until considered suitable to be a tenant. -You have rent arrears or housing related charges, not sufficiently high to class as not qualifying -You have a history of anti-social behaviour, not sufficiently severe to class as not qualifying -You have successfully bid, but refused 2 reasonable offers of accommodation within 12 months of the date of the first offer, and the applicant had the opportunity to view the properties. |
| Emergency Cases (2 week time limit) |
We will only issue an Exceptional/Emergency status when you are assessed as requiring an urgent move to ensure your immediate safety and welfare for whatever reason and/or when remaining in your current home is likely to cause risk of death or serious mental or physical injury. |