The HomeChoice Bristol application process

Before you apply

Demand for social housing is very high. With over 20,000 applications in progress and only approximately 1,700 properties available in 2024 to 2025, you may often wait many years.

There is far more private rented housing (around 60,000 homes) than there is social housing.

It may be better for you to find a home to rent with a private landlord.

Not everyone is eligible for social housing. Before you start you must check who can apply.

Average waiting times

Read information about the average waiting times for both general needs and age restricted social housing in Bristol.

pdf Average waiting times for housing 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025(94 KB)

Waiting times vary according to which band you're placed in.

Who can apply

You must be eligible for social housing to apply for a property through MyBristolHousing.

Your application could get rejected if you don't qualify.

To apply to join the HomeChoice Bristol housing register you must be over 16 years of age and have the right to live in the UK. Your application will only be accepted and assessed if you're eligible and qualify to be included on the register.

By law, you are not eligible to join the register if:

you're subject to Immigration Control under the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act
you're not habitually resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland

The following groups do not qualify to register with MyBristolHousing:

have been found guilty of serious unacceptable behaviour
are under 16 years of age
currently live abroad
don't live within the Bristol City boundary or haven't lived in Bristol for the last 2 years
earn over £40,000
have savings over £40,000
own a home in the UK or abroad
have lied on their housing application
are in prison

You must not give us false information or withhold information to get a property. If you do, you'll lose the property and we'll take legal action against you that could lead to a fine or imprisonment.

About Housing Associations

We work with housing associations in Bristol as part of the HomeChoice Bristol scheme.

Each housing association is set up to provide homes for a particular group of people. Some provide housing for people in housing need and others provide accommodation for a particular group such as older people.

Some housing associations provide housing and support for people who need support or assistance to help them set up their home or to live independently.

Housing Associations we work with

Bristol City Council logo

About HomeChoice Bristol and MyBristolHousing

HomeChoice Bristol

HomeChoice Bristol is the system Bristol City Council and housing associations use to give out council and housing association homes.

If you want one of these homes in Bristol, you need to:

register on the MyBristolHousing website
fill in an application form
bid for homes that you are allowed to apply for

Every week, homes are shown on the MyBristolHousing website. If you are on the HomeChoice Bristol list and the home is the right size for you, you can place a bid. This means you tell them you want that home.

The HomeChoice Bristol team check all applications. The landlord decides who gets the home.

Each application is assessed based on housing need, priority and suitability. Once assessed, you'll be placed in one of the 4 bands of the HomeChoice Bristol housing register and you'll be able to make bids.

MyBristolHousing

This is Bristol City Council's online housing service for applicants, tenants and leaseholders. It allows users to:

check rent balances
view charges
access housing-related documents and information
apply to be put on the HomeChoice Bristol housing register
continue with an application you've started
find and bid for a property

Users without a Bristol Account will need to create one before they can use the service.

How the banding system works

After you've joined the Housing Register your application will be put into one of 4 bands, depending on your housing need. The highest is Band 1 and the lowest Band 4.

When bidding for a property, applicants are prioritised on shortlists in the following order:

applicants in the highest band, and then
within each band, by the awarded date

Applicants at the top of the shortlist will normally be offered the property unless there are restrictions in place.

Applicants with the greatest housing need will be placed in band 1.

Applicants in Bands 3 and 4 will stand little chance of being rehoused through the Housing Register and are advised to consider other housing options.

The following is a summary of the criteria for each band. Detailed information can be found in our pdf Housing Allocation Scheme(1.20 MB) .

Band 1

You qualify for band 1 if:

you're a council or housing association tenant with two spare rooms wanting to move to a smaller home
you're at least 3 bedrooms short of what you need
you're a council or housing association tenant being moved out in the next 3 months for redevelopment or major repairs
you need to move to a larger home to be a council foster carer
you provide Branchout Supported Lodgings and need a larger property
you or someone in your home has a serious health problem directly linked to your current housing
you've been accepted onto the pdf Community Supported Accommodation Scheme(1.20 MB)
you're a council or housing association tenant and are moving out of an adapted property for which you've no need
you're in hospital and cannot return to your home as it no longer meets your needs
you're a young person leaving Externally Supported Accommodation
you're a young person leaving care in Bristol
you're a current or former member of the Armed Forces and you meet one of the housing needs in Band 2.
you're under-occupying a property of a type that is in acute short supply.

Band 2

You qualify for band 2 if:

you're 2 bedrooms short of what you need
you qualify for the pdf Move-On Scheme(1.20 MB)
you're in the Supported Lodgings Scheme and you're ready to move to independent social housing
you or someone in your home is suffering from severe harassment or is under real threat of harm
you're homeless and we have a duty to house you
where you live is in very bad condition and an Environmental Health Officer has advised that the property should not be occupied due to a Category 1 Hazard
you're a council or housing association tenant one bedroom short of what you need and you've had an assessment saying there's a Category 1 Space and Crowding Hazard
you're a current of former member of the Armed Forces and you meet one of the housing needs in band 3

Band 3

You qualify for band 3 if:

you're a council or housing association tenant with one spare room wanting to move to a smaller place
your current property is overcrowded and you're one bedroom short of what you need
you're homeless but we don't have a duty to house you
you or someone in your home has a serious health problem partly linked to your current housing which can't be adapted
you or someone in your home need to move to a particular area to avoid hardship for you or others

Band 4

You'll be placed in band 4 if you haven't qualified for band 1, 2 or 3. The application will be given a reference number when you submit your application.

Once it's been assessed we'll contact you to tell you the following:

the band your application has been assessed into.
your application will be given an effective date which is the date the banding was awarded to your application
the number of bedrooms your household has been assessed as needing

Priority and bands

There are many factors that contribute to the decision about whether your application is successful or not.

Housing need (HN)

In the policy, you'll notice the letters HN used in our detailed overview of the criteria for each band. This refers to 'housing needs' which are categories given to certain applicants who are more in need of housing than others. The categories include:

overcrowding
health affected by current housing
harassment
hardship
unsanitary or unsatisfactory housing
applicants with two or more housing needs will receive higher priority when their application is assessed.

Applications suspended from bidding

Some households may be eligible to join the MyBristolHousing register but subsequently be suspended from bidding. Households will be suspended from bidding in the following situations:

if they have Bristol Housing Partnership debt
if they are guilty of anti-social behaviour or have breached their tenancy agreement
if they have refused 2 reasonable offers of accommodation

Reviewing a decision

You can request a review of a decision if you disagree with the band, you've been allocated or if you feel that we've unreasonably refused your application to the Housing Register.

The circumstances in which you can request a review are outlined in pdf (1.20 MB) pdf the policy(1.20 MB) pdf (1.20 MB) .

To request a review contact the MyBristolHousing team within 21 days of the decision. You'll need to tell us why you're appealing and provide any additional information that you want us to consider when the review is carried out.

We'll normally let you know of the outcome of the review within 8 weeks.

Property size

As well as a band, you'll also be told what size of property you can bid for.

Each of the following will be entitled to one bedroom, you can use this to find out what your bedroom allocation might be:

an adult
2 adults that live together as partners
2 people of the same sex under 21 years old
2 people of the opposite sex under 10 years old

More details can be found in the pdf Housing Allocation Scheme(1.20 MB)

How to apply

Our online service combines the previous HomeChoice Bristol and Tenant Accounts.

Existing users

If you gave us your email address or mobile number, we'll send you a message with your unique reference number.

For existing applicants, this is your Application ID, this is different from your current HomeChoice Bristol application reference
For Bristol City Council tenants or leaseholders, it's your Person ID

You can use one of these reference numbers to connect your HomeChoice Bristol account to the new system, so your details, such as existing applications, are automatically transferred.

If you haven't given us your mobile number or email address, call us on 0117 922 2400 to find out your reference number.

New users

When you register as a new user, you do not need a unique reference number to set up your account.

Information you'll need to complete a new application

National Insurance number
Details of where you've lived for the last 3 years
Your annual income and that of any joint applicants
Your savings

Also, if you receive any of the following, you'll need to provide the details:

Employment Support allowance
Jobseekers Allowance
Child Tax Credit
Housing Benefit
Working Tax Credit
Pension Credit
Child maintenance payment
Child Benefit
Attendance Allowance
Disability Living allowance
Personal Independent Payments
State Pension
Carer's Allowance

Overview of the registration process for all users

These are the main steps you'll need to complete:

Create a Bristol Account if you're a new user
Sign in to your Bristol Account
Create your new MyBristolHousing account
- Verify your email address
- Verify your mobile phone number
- If you're an existing user, create a connection with your existing account. Although this optional, you'll only be able to use all the features of the new account, including checking your rent account or the status of your rehousing application if you do so. You can use your Application Reference or Person Reference number to make this connection.

Once you're registered, you only have to make one application to MyBristolHousing to be considered for all social housing properties owned by partner social housing providers and by us.

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