There are three rehousing priority groups. When you register for rehousing you go into one of those groups depending on your circumstances. The middle group (Group 2) is divided into three categories.
GROUP 1
People who live in Manchester, or have a 'Manchester connection' (through work, education or living here in the past) and:
- must move because of: an extremely serious illness; or because their home must be empty for demolition or major building work; or because they are coming out of hospital and have nowhere suitable to live; or
- are tenants (of one of these landlords) in certain circumstances who want to move from a very popular area to a place in less demand. Phone (0161) 234 4833 to find out more.
GROUP 2
This group is divided into three categories. To go into any of these categories you must live in Manchester or have a 'Manchester connection'.
- Need to move: You may need to move because
you have got a job in Manchester or because of a problem like
overcrowding, a relationship breakdown, harassment or another
serious situation.
- Community connection: You have a community
connection to an area: if a parent or guardian has lived there
for at least three years, or you have lived with your parent(s)
or guardian(s) there for at least three years in the past; if
you have a good housing history in the area - you must have
lived there for at least the last three years, paid your rent or
mortgage on time (or kept to an agreement to repay arrears), not
acted anti-socially, and kept to your tenancy agreement; if you
have a child at a primary school in the area you want - the
child must have a good attendance history and good behaviour
record; if you need to be near work or work-linked education or
training, or childcare you need for work; if you provide
employment or a service in the area; if you work for, or run, a
community-based voluntary activity in the area; or if you have
successfully completed a ‘young person’s pre-tenancy skills’
training course run by the City Centre Project for 16 to 25
year-olds setting up home for the first time.
- Emergency: You are automatically an ‘emergency’ if the landlord agrees that you are homeless. You can choose to be in the emergency category if you're about to be homeless, or we agree you cannot stay in your current home much longer.
GROUP 3
People who live outside Manchester, and who have no Manchester connection - whatever their circumstances. And anyone who simply wants to move - but doesn't have any serious need to move.
How do bidders get offered a home?
You are very unlikely to get a Priority home unless you are in Group 1 or 2. If anyone from Group 1 has applied, the property goes to the person with the earliest 'queue date' (see below).
If no-one from Group 1 wants it, we look at applicants for the home from Group 2. This group has three categories - 'need-to-move', 'community connection' and 'emergencies'. We look at each category in turn. If the last property went to someone in the community connection category, the next home is first made available to someone in the emergency category, and so on. We alternate categories like this to make sure homes go to different kinds of people.
If more than one person from the same category has applied, we use a date-order queue system - the home goes to the person with the earliest 'queue date' (see below).
Can you be in more than one category in Group 2?
Your circumstances may mean that you go into more than one category in group 2. For example you may be in the 'community connection' category and the 'need to move' category. Because homes go to each category in turn, you would get double the opportunity.
The queue-date
The longer you've been registered for rehousing, the more chance you have of getting a Priority home. That's because if people from the same Group or category bid for a home, we use a ‘queue-date’ system to decide who gets it .
Your 'queue-date' is based on the day you first went into your Priority Group - so if for example you started in group 3 in January, but moved to group 2 in July, your 'queue date' is July. But in some circumstances, your 'queue date' could be earlier than this . . .
Qualifying for an earlier date
You could, in some circumstances, get a 'queue date' that's earlier than the date you actually went into that group. This only happens if you have one or more qualifying reasons for needing to move - for example if: you have an extremely serious illness; you're homeless or about to be homeless; or living in overcrowded, insanitary or seriously unsatisfactory conditions; or there are medical or welfare reasons.
If you're in Group 2, your 'queue date' moves six months earlier for every qualifying reason you have. So if you actually registered in November, and have one qualifying reason, your 'queue date' would move back six months to the previous April. If you have two qualifying reasons it would move back twelve months to the previous November.
This gives people with several serious reasons for moving an advantage - they are more likely to have the earliest registration date of people choosing a home.