Social housing
Local councils or housing associations provide social housing. A housing association is a non-profit organisation that provides homes to individuals with particular needs, such as health conditions or disabilities. Social tenants rent their homes from their local council or housing association. There are some differences between council housing and housing association properties, such as tenancy agreements and rights to the property. But social housing provides access to more affordable housing than private renting options, as well as a more secure tenancy. The housing association or council would be your landlord and because they manage the property too, they’ll be responsible for maintenance and repairs.
Council housing
You can apply for council housing through your local council. Each council has its own application process. For most councils, you can apply to the housing register online, or you can contact the council’s housing department directly. You need to be 18 or older to be eligible to apply for council housing, although some councils will accept applications from those who are 16 and over, depending on individual circumstances.
Each council will have their own eligibility criteria to go on to the register; this could be, for example, a local connection to the area. However, there may be circumstances where you don’t meet the full eligibility criteria, but you may have special circumstances. In these cases, we’d advise you to contact your local council’s housing team directly.
The process is different for individuals who are currently homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.
The information you provide during the application process will help the council decide on your eligibility for council housing, but also your priority on the waiting list. If you need to move home because of a health condition or disability, the council can give you priority based on medical grounds.
The medical grounds could include, for example:
- If the health condition or disability of anyone in your household is made worse by your living conditions
- If anyone in your household has mobility difficulties that mean they struggle to get around your home.
This is not an exhaustive list. You can find out more from your local council’s or housing association’s allocation policy, which will detail who gets priority and for what reasons.
Because muscle wasting conditions are rare, your local council may have limited knowledge and understanding of how your condition can affect you. So, it’s important to give your council as much information as you can about how your muscle wasting condition affects your day to day living.
If you have to move home because of a disability or a medical condition and you’re applying to the local council and/ or housing associations, they will usually ask for medical supporting letters to go with your application. You could ask a healthcare professional from the below list to support you:
- Neurologist
- Specialist nurse
- Care advisor
- Social worker
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational therapist
- GP
Supporting letters from healthcare professionals can help get your application in the correct priority group, making it more likely that a suitable property will become available sooner.
Once your local authority has accepted your application for council housing, they will usually place you on their waiting list. They will put applications in order of who needs a home most urgently. Each local council will have their own allocation policy, which you can find on your council’s website.
You can also apply for housing through your local council. If you are unsure which council you fall under, you can use this tool to find out. https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
Housing associations
Housing association properties are available to people on low incomes or with additional needs, such as a medical condition or disability. Housing associations offer similar types of housing to those of local councils. You can apply either directly to the housing association or through your local council, and you can apply to more than one housing association at a time.
We recommend exploring all suitable housing options in your local area and applying to all of the ones that meet your needs. This will give you more options and make it more likely a property will become available sooner.
Swapping your home
Another housing option that you might want to consider is swapping your current home for a home more suitable for your needs. HomeSwapper is a mutual exchange service with over 500,000 tenants, looking to swap Council and Housing Association homes.
How to appeal a decision on your housing application
If you think the decision made about your social housing application is wrong, you can challenge this by asking for a review.
You can challenge on the grounds of, for example:
- if you’ve been told you’re not eligible to be placed on the waiting list
- if you think the priority you have been given doesn’t match the urgency of your needs.
If you can show that the council’s decision is wrong, they could change their initial decision. Read the decision letter or email closely, to see if there’s a deadline by which you need to ask for a review. If you need support to challenge a housing application decision, your local Citizens Advice can help you.
Homelessness
If you’re homeless or are going become homeless within eight weeks or less, your local council must help you.
The council must give you emergency housing if you are homeless and have a priority need, such as a disability or medical condition. You’ll need to tell the council about your disability and how it affects you or your family member. You can find out more about what help is available if you’re homeless and have a disability here. Or you can contact the housing charity, Shelter if you need further help.
