Doncaster

Sunday, 01-Aug-2010

>Prioritising Applications

Prioritising Applications

Doncaster Council allocations policy uses a banding scheme to prioritise applications.

All housing and transfer applications received will be assessed and placed in one of 5 bands, Platinum, Gold, Silver Bronze and General band. The table below sets out the banding scheme and gives examples of those applicants who would be eligible to be placed in each band.

Band	Criteria	Examples
Platinum	Emergency and high priority	All households who the law considers to be homeless and who Doncaster Council owes a full duty to rehouse Applicants whose property is in the Doncaster Borough and has been approved for demolition or clearance Tenants vacating adapted properties where there is an identified applicant in need Applicants where major works are required to their property making it uninhabitable and an assessment has been carried out as to whether they can resolve their own housing need.
Gold	Urgent need to move	Applicants whose current home is statutorily overcrowded Applicants occupying a property that has been assessed as a category one hazard under the Health and Safety Rating System with a vulnerable group in residence Applicants in critical need for re-housing due to medical/health or welfare reasons Applicants unable to return home from hospital, Applicants that need to move to a particular location as not to do so would suffer hardship to themselves or others Applicants retiring from tied tenancies Any young person under the age of 21 that the Council has assessed and owes a duty to house under the Children Act Applicants leaving Supported People funded schemes who have been assessed as still having a priority need Applicants who have been assessed by Doncaster Council's Homeless and Advisory section as 'at risk' of homelessness and have a priority need under the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002.
Silver	Identified housing need	Social Housing tenants who give up a high demand family property that they are under occupying Tenants vacating adapted properties Applicants taking up a particular employment, education or training opportunity Applicants in substantial need for rehousing due to medical/health or welfare reasons Applicants who have been assessed by Doncaster Council's Homeless and Advisory team as homeless without having a priority need under the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002. Applicants who have been assessed by Doncaster Council's Homeless and Advisory team as Intentionally homeless and having a priority need in accordance with the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002.
Bronze	General need	All other Applicants whose need does not fall into the priority bands but still wish to move and those whose priority award has expired or removed after they have refused a reasonable offer will be placed in this general band, with the exception of the applicants indicated below.
General band	General need	All new applicants and all existing applicants on review or prior to an allocation being made will be required to have a financial assessment. Applicants will be placed in the General band if through financial and medical considerations; they are assessed as being able to resolve their own housing need. The assessment could include lack of suitable accommodation in the area.

For full details, please refer to the current Doncaster Council's Allocations Policy for a shorter version please see a guide to Doncaster Council's Allocations policy or our Easy Read Guide Booklet.

Applicants in platinum, gold and silver bands will be placed in date order with the date being the date they were moved to the priority band. If two applicants moved into a priority band on the same date then the applicant with the earlier application date will take priority. Bronze band and General band applicants will be in order of application date.