Band A
(i) Any member of the Armed Forces, or former Service personnel, or serving or former members of the Reserve Forces who joins the Council’s Housing Register, are given priority above all other applicants within Band A, where they are assessed by the Council’s Medical Advisor as suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability which is wholly or partly attributable to their service, where the application is made within 5 years of discharge.
(ii) Bereaved spouses or Civil Partners of those serving in the regular forces where the bereaved spouse or Civil Partner has recently ceased, or will cease to be entitled, to reside in Ministry of Defence accommodation following the death of their service spouse or Civil Partner and the death was wholly or partly attributable to their service.
(iii) Home seekers with Council or Housing Association tenancies in the District wanting to move to accommodation with fewer bedrooms than the property they currently occupy on a permanent basis.
(iv) Home seekers needing to move on urgent medical grounds or urgent grounds relating to disability. **
(v) Home seekers needing to move on urgent welfare grounds ***.
(vi) Home seekers occupying insanitary or overcrowded housing which poses a serious health hazard, or otherwise living in unsatisfactory conditions (in accordance with housing legislation)* but not as a result of the introduction of a further household.
(vii) Home seekers with mobility problems will be given priority for ground floor flats and bungalows above other home seekers in this Band [with the exception of Band A (i)], regardless of their waiting time, on recommendation of the Council’s Medical Advisor.
(viii) Home seekers needing two or more additional bedrooms compared to their current accommodation.
Insanitary, Overcrowded Housing or Unsatisfactory Conditions
* Where the Permitted Number, in accordance with the provisions of S. 326 of the Housing Act 1985 is exceeded, or the property is in a serious state of disrepair, of poor internal or external arrangement, or the property has been classified as having at least one Category 1 Housing Hazard under the Housing Act 2004 or is lacking one or more of the following; kitchen facilities, inside W.C., utility supplies.
Urgent Medical Priority
** Urgent Medical Priority (including grounds relating to disability and access needs and/or learning disability) to be determined by the Council’s Medical Adviser or a company commissioned by the Council to provide medical advice on written evidence and taking into account all known facts relating to the application. It is important to note that urgent priority will not be given based upon the medical evidence itself, it will be based upon the impact it has upon the homeseeker’s housing requirements and whether the homeseeker’s current accommodation is directly contributing to the deterioration of the homeseeker’s health. It will be considered based on the extent that the health of a homeseeker, or an immediate member of their family, will significantly improve by a move to alternative accommodation.
Welfare Grounds
*** Welfare grounds to be assessed on written evidence by the Housing Options Manager, in consultation with the Council’s Medical Adviser. Welfare issues will encompass providing or receiving ongoing care and care and support needs for those who could not be expected to find their own accommodation such as young adults with a learning disability who wish to live independently in the community and social needs, for instance, where a secure base is required for a care-leaver or any other vulnerable person to build a stable life. Those who are active foster carers or those who are adopting who need to secure larger accommodation in order to look after a child who was previously looked after by local authority will be considered for a Flexible (fixed-term) Tenancy (in accordance with the Council’s Tenancy Policy) where additional priority is justified.