Applying for social housing

You can choose as many areas of the city as you want but you should bear in mind that we have very few properties in some areas, and they may not become available very often.

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to choose at least 2 areas where social housing is more readily available. This will help make sure that you have the best chance of being housed.

We will tell you if this is the case during your housing interview.

If we accept your housing application, we can tell you:

• how many properties of the size you need are in each area,
• how many were let in the past year, and
• how many other applicants are waiting for them.

You can also find this information on our waiting time calculator.

You can change your chosen areas at any time by:

• calling the housing advice line on 029 2053 7111,
• visiting your local hub, or
• emailing sluadmin@cardiff.gov.uk. Your email must be sent from the email address on your application.

If you are registered as homeless and are applying to join the housing waiting list, you will need to contact us on our advice line and we will pass all details onto your Homeless Officer.

To decide what size of property you need, we allow one bedroom for:

• Adult couples
• Any other adult (aged 16 and over)
• Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• Any two children aged under 10
• Any other child

The type of property you will be offered depends on your family. We use slightly different guidelines to Housing Associations, but in general:

• Houses with 2 bedrooms or more are offered to households including a child or children before households without children.
• Flats and maisonettes above the first floor of a building are not offered to families with children under the age of 8 unless a local letting initiative is in place for this area. Local letting initiatives are used to address specific issues in an area.
• Bungalows, and some flats, are only offered to older people or people who are disabled.
• Bedsits are offered to single adults aged under 35 before other applicants.

We have split the waiting list into bands. If you are accepted onto the waiting list, we will look at your housing need and whether you have a local connection, to decide what band you are in.

Bands A and B

These bands are for people who have a housing need and local connection to Cardiff.

If your need is urgent, you will join band A. For example, if you have a life-threatening medical condition which is made worse by where you live now.

If your need is less urgent, you will join band B. For example, if you are overcrowded where you live now.

Bands C and D

These bands are for people who have a housing need but who do not have a local connection to Cardiff.

If you have an urgent need, you will join band C. If your need is less urgent, you will join Band D.

Band E

This band is for people who have a local connection to Cardiff but have no housing need.

Band F

This band is for people who do not have a local connection to Cardiff and have no housing need.

Waiting time is used to decide your position in the band. When you join the waiting list, you will be at the bottom of your band. The person at the top of the band is the person who has been waiting the longest.

Please be aware, we offer a share of our properties to Council and Housing Association tenants who need a smaller property, and to people who are homeless.

In exceptional cases, we will prioritise the rehousing of applicants who have an immediate housing need.

Once you have submitted the application, we will call you to help with the next steps. These include an application interview with a Housing Advisor who will give you information and advice about your housing options. If you do not attend the appointment, you will not be registered on the waiting list.

We may ask for further information. This could be:

• a reference from your previous landlord, or
• more about how living in your current home affects any medical conditions you have.

When we have all the information we need, we will decide whether you can join the housing waiting list. We will write to you to let you know the decision.

Please be aware, if you give us false or misleading information, this will delay your application and we could withdraw any offer of accommodation made to you. It is a criminal offence to get an occupation contract based on false or misleading information.

Paper applications

We will invite you to an interview once we have received your application. You will need to bring any other information or evidence that we have asked for. If you do not bring it with you, this may delay you going on the waiting list.

If your circumstances change, tell us as soon as you can, as it may affect your banding.

You may need to fill out a new form or meet with us again to discuss the changes.

Changes include:

• a change of address,
• a member of your family leaving or joining your household,
• adding or removing a joint applicant, or
• a baby being born.

We could withdraw your offer of accommodation if it is based on out-of-date information.

If your application is moved into a higher band, we will use the date your circumstances changed to decide where your position on the waiting list.  We do this because we recognise that people have already been waiting.

If your application stays in the same band or it is moved to a lower one, your date of application will not change.

After we have assessed your application, we will send you a letter with details of your:

• application reference number,
• date of application,
• priority banding, and
• property size.

If we need to assess any member of the household for a medical condition or other circumstances, your banding may go up or down depending on the outcome of the assessment. We will write to you and let you know the outcome.

You can choose how we contact you. We can email, phone or text, but we will always send you a letter to confirm any offer of accommodation.

Please make sure you tell us if your contact details change by:

• calling 029 2053 7111, or
• emailing sluadmin@cardiff.gov.uk.

If you accept the offer, we aim to give you an idea of when the property is likely to be ready.

We will then contact you to arrange a tenancy sign up interview in a Hub.

These appointments can take up to 2 hours to complete, depending on your circumstances. You will need to bring a form of ID and proof of current address.

If you are a joint applicant, you will both need to bring these.

We will offer you up to 2 options of accommodation. If you refuse the first offer, we will ask for more details about your housing needs and update your application. If you refuse a second offer, your application will be withdrawn from the waiting list, and you will not be able to reapply for 12 months.

If you are on the homeless or immediate priority list, or are ‘left in occupation’ of a council or housing association property you will be made 1 reasonable offer of accommodation. You would be ‘left in occupation’ if the contract-holder leaves the proper or is deceased and you have no automatic right to succeed the contract. If you refuse this offer, we will withdraw your application. We recommend that you get advice before making a decision. Please visit your local Hub.

If we have a duty to assist you under homelessness law and you refuse a reasonable offer, this will also mean that our homelessness duty to you will end.

If we have given you temporary accommodation, you will be asked to leave if you accept the offer.

You can ask us to review any decision we have made about your application, including:

• the decision to reduce preference,
• the banding awarded to an application,
• the decision to exclude an application, and
• offers of accommodation.

Please be aware that you must request a review within 21 days of the original decision.

An officer who was not involved in the original decision will carry out the review.

You can ask for a review by:

• calling 029 2053 7111, or
• emailing sluadmin@cardiff.gov.uk.

You must complete the screening form every year to remain on the waiting list. We will send you the form in the post and you must return it within 14 days of the date on the letter.

Please tell us if your circumstances change.

You scan or take a photo of the form and email it to sluadmin@cardiff.gov.uk.

You can hand the form in at any hub.

You can also send it to us by post.

Allocations and Rehousing Unit
Waiting List Team, Cardiff Council
County Hall
Cardiff
CF10 4UW

Please be aware, if you do not return the screening form on time your application will be withdrawn. You will then need to start a new application with a new registration date.

When you apply for housing, you must tell us if you have been a council or housing association tenant before.

We will ask for a tenancy reference from your landlord. The next steps will depend on the reference we receive.

The process can take around 4 to 6 weeks. During this time, your application could be deferred while these checks are carried out. These checks include checking previous tenancies and any criminal convictions. If your application is registered, it will be from the date you applied and not when the checks were completed, so that you do not lose time.

We may exclude housing applicants, or anyone else on the same application due to past behaviour, such as:

• some criminal convictions,
• anti-social behaviour, or
• immigration status.

We consider these on a case-by-case basis.

When applying for housing, you must declare if you or anyone on your application has an unspent criminal conviction. We will investigate your convictions to check if you are suitable for an offer. Depending on your history, you may be subject to the Exclusion Policy.

If you have been excluded from the waiting list for refusing offers of property, you cannot apply until the exclusion period has ended. The date you can reapply will be on the letter you received. If you have lost the letter and want to check when you can reapply, you can call 029 2053 7111.

You will have the opportunity to appeal an exclusion when it begins. An appeal form will be included in the letter informing you of your exclusion. You can also get advice from your local Hub or the Housing Options Centre.

We may suspend your housing application if you owe a tenancy-related debt. For example, rent arrears. You may owe this debt from a current, or previous local authority or housing association. You will need to address the debt to receive offers of accommodation.

If your application has been suspended due to tenancy related debt, you should address this debt as soon as you can. This could be clearing the debt, or setting up a repayment plan with the creditor. You should contact the landlord you owe the debt to for guidance first. Alternatively, you can get advice from:

• your local Hub, or
• the Money Advice Team.

You can ask for a review of the suspension by contacting us and we will send you the relevant form.

If you have been suspended from the waiting list for current or previous tenant arrears, you will need to pay off or reduce the amount of money owed. If you are not sure of the amount, and are a current or previous Cardiff Council tenant, you will need to call our Finance Team on 029 2053 7350 to make an arrangement.

If you are a Housing Association tenant, you will need to speak to their Rents and Finance Team.

When your debts have been cleared or suitably reduced, we can then reassess your suspension from the waiting list.