1. Council Housing
Introduction
There are two main ways in which people in housing need may be housed by the Council:
• by joining the Council's general needs waiting list and then waiting for the offer of a permanent Council house or
• by being officially assessed and declared as homeless as defined by part 11 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and amended by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 in which case the Council has to make either temporary or permanent accommodation available.
Councils hold a waiting list for housing that includes general needs, transfer, special case and homeless applicants. Applicants officially assessed as being 'homeless' will (change in September 2002) have temporary accommodation arranged for them by the Council. Waiting list applicants (from a waiting list, including temporarily housed homeless persons) are offered permanent Council house tenancies as and when they become vacant. The number of applicants housed varies from Council to Council depending on local circumstances.
It is very important therefore to know how the Council in your area assesses someone's housing needs and why they may give greater priority to some needs than to others. For a list of Scottish local authorities and links to their web sites see www.cosla.gov.uk.
AvailableHOMES advertises social sector properties for rent, low cost home ownership and tenant exchange properties. Properties are added on a daily basis. You can access their website at www.availablehomes.org.uk.
