What is social housing?
Social housing is owned by local councils or not-for-profit organisations called housing associations. They rent social housing to people who cannot afford to buy their own home, cannot afford to rent from a private landlord, or need a home with special features (such as an adapted bathroom).
The rent for social housing is set by government rules. Rent is normally affordable for people who have a low income.
If you qualify for social housing you will be put on the housing register in a priority band: Band 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on your situation. If a housing association has a vacancy in Conwy, they will offer a tenancy to the person at the top of the list for that area.
In Conwy there is just one housing register, but six housing associations. They are:
The housing register is managed by the Homefinder team (Cartrefi Conwy) on behalf of Conwy County Borough Council. They will be responsible for your data and their privacy notice can be found here - Privacy Policy - Cartrefi Conwy.
How to apply
If you want to apply to go on the register in Conwy, please contact us at Conwy Housing Solutions:
Band 1
You will be put in band 1 if you are in urgent housing need and have a local connection.
You are in urgent housing need if:
- You have an urgent medical need, for example you are in hospital and cannot return to your current home
- You urgently need to move to an adapted property
- Your home has been destroyed in a disaster such as a fire or flood
- You are homeless after leaving the armed forces
- You are a young person leaving care, or would otherwise need to go into care
- You are a current tenant with more bedrooms than you need and will take a smaller property
- You are a current tenant in an adapted property you no longer need, and you are willing to move
- You are homeless because of fleeing violence or the threat of violence (you don’t need to have a local connection)
- You have another exceptional case of urgent need
Band 2
You will be put in band 2 if you are in housing need and have a local connection.
You are in housing need if:
- You are unintentionally homeless
- You are in serious medical need which is made worse by your housing
- You are living in severely overcrowded or very poor quality housing
- Your property doesn’t have essential facilities, such as a toilet
- You need an adapted property and cannot arrange the adaptions yourself
- You are suffering hardship because of your housing - for example, if you need to move to get essential support
Band 3
You will be put in band 3 if you are in urgent housing need and don’t have a local connection.
You are in urgent housing need if:
- You have an urgent medical need, for example you are in hospital and cannot return to your current home
- You urgently need to move to an adapted property
- Your home has been destroyed in a disaster such as a fire or flood
- You are homeless after leaving the armed forces
- You are a young person leaving care, or would otherwise need to go into care
- You have another exceptional case of urgent need
Band 4
You will be put in band 4 if you are in housing need and have no local connection (except in one case, given below).
This will apply if:
- You are considered unintentionally homeless by the local Council
- You are in serious medical need which is made worse by your housing
- You are living in severely overcrowded or very poor quality housing
- Your property doesn’t have essential facilities, such as a toilet
- You need an adapted property and cannot arrange the adaptions yourself
- You are suffering hardship because of your housing - for example, if you need to move to get essential support
- You are classed as intentionally homeless by the local Council (with or without local connection)
We will prioritise applicants in each band in order of the date they applied.
What is a local connection?
A local connection is usually:
- living or working in the County, or
- close family members who are established in the county
For more information about the eligibility rules for social housing, please look at the Common Housing Allocation Policy.
This policy is shared by all the local councils and housing associations in Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire. All the Councils agreed the policy and the policy meets the requirements of the law.
What happens next?
One of the Conwy Housing Solutions (CHS) team will talk to you about your housing needs, income, savings and connection to Conwy. They will ask where you want to live, who will be living with you, and what type of home you need, such as a flat or a house.
Unfortunately, there is not enough social housing for everyone on the housing register. You might have to wait for years for a property to come up.
Conwy Housing Solutions will give you advice about all the other housing options that could meet your needs.
If you are homeless, or at risk of being homeless, find out more about how we can help.