To apply for a council home in York you need to join the York-only Housing Register. You need to meet certain criteria to be eligible to join the Housing Register.
Before you apply for a council house, check:
You can find full details of how we shortlist applicants in our current Housing Allocations Policy, which came into effect on 4 April 2022. You can also request a copy of the full policy by contacting the Housing Registrations Team.
York Housing Register eligibility
Any UK resident aged 16 or over may apply to join the Housing Register, as long as they are not impacted by any eligibility exceptions. Applicants will not be accepted if they are subject to certain types of immigration control
Applicants aged 16 and 17 (and care leavers) will only be accepted if they have support to enable them to sustain a tenancy and a trustee who can hold a tenancy on their behalf until they reach the age of 18.
We also accept applications from:
- anyone who does not own their own home, who does not live with a household member who is a homeowner, or who has been assessed as having housing need
- someone who has an assessed need and whose combined maximum household income and/or savings are less than;
- £45,000 - 1 bed need
- £55,000 - 2 bed need
- £60,000 - 3 bed need
Eligibility exceptions
There are certain circumstances where applicants or existing tenants wishing to transfer to the Housing Register may not qualify. These include persons who have:
- no local connection to the York area - except;
- members of HM Forces (Appendix 15 of City of York Councils allocations policy)
- those referred under the national witness protection scheme via a senior manager
- people who have been accepted homeless under part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (Main duty owed - final stage)
- rent arrears
- anti-social behaviour issues which have caused or are likely to cause serious nuisance to neighbours
- multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) without the approval of a senior manager
- refused 2 offers of a suitable property after bidding, or who refuse a single, direct offer of accommodation
- deliberately worsened their housing circumstances with the intention to increase their priority
- provided false information and/or deliberately withhold information
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.
Application priority bands
Applications are assessed and placed in one of 4 bands according to their housing need.
Emergency Band
Applicants are placed here who are:
- about to leave care and who have an agreed support package
- under the offender initiative and who are former City of York Council social housing tenants
- unable to return to their home from hospital because their current home is permanently unsuitable
- unable to access key facilities in their home without major adaptation works
Only applicants with a local connection to the York area will be considered for the 'Emergency' band.
Gold Band
Applicants are placed here who:
- are living in a bedsit with one child over 1 year old
- have inherited a tenancy which does not meet their housing need
- need to move on from an approved accommodation-based supported housing scheme
- are under-occupiers of a local authority or housing association property in the York area and who want to move to a property with at least two fewer bedrooms
- are classed as 'statutory homeless' or at risk of homelessness and in priority need (this would need to be fully assessed by the council’s Housing Options Team)
- are overcrowded and require two or more bedrooms
- have a serious and enduring illness and whose health and/or wellbeing is significantly compromised by their home or environment (a full assessment of health issues and circumstances will need to be undertaken prior to any health award being made)
- need to move to relieve a proven hardship (a full assessment of hardship circumstances will need to be undertaken prior to any award being given on these grounds).
Silver Band
Applicants are placed here who:
- have a health or well-being issue, which will be removed or improved by moving (a full assessment of health issues and circumstances will need to be undertaken prior to any health award being made)
- are classed as 'statutory homeless' or at risk of homelessness but with no priority need, or are intentionally homeless (this would need to be fully assessed by our Housing Options Team)
- are overcrowded and require 1 more bedroom
- are under-occupiers of a local authority or housing association property in the partnership area who want to move to a property with one less bedroom
- are approved foster carers who require an additional bedroom to place a child
Bronze Band
Applicants are placed here who:
- have an assessed support or care need for accommodation in an Independent Living Community who would otherwise be adequately housed and who are eligible and qualify for the Housing Register
- serve or served with Her Majesty’s Forces with valid cessation notice but outside the remit of Homeless Reduction Act 2017
- are single people or couples who share kitchen and bathroom facilities with family members who will not be moving with them; family is defined as parents, siblings, grandparents, adult children and stepfamilies. Arrangements with other extended family members will be considered on their individual circumstances
Contact the Housing Registrations Team for more information.