Social services Getting your own home

Social Housing

Social housing is owned and managed by the council or a Housing Association. The rent is often much less than in the private sector.

There is limited social housing so there are rules about who can become tenants and when. We try to be fair so that people with the greatest needs are given a house first.

How it works

If you want to move into social housing you will need to register. You can do this online on Manchester Move. We will ask for information such as:

  • your national insurance number
  • details about any money you have
  • where you want to live
  • what type of housing you would like
  • why you want to move

By registering, we can decide what your level of need is and whether you should have priority for housing. Young people who are leaving care usually have priority over other people with similar housing needs.

Social housing available can also be found on Manchester Move and are usually on the website for at least six days. You can show your interest in a property by putting your name forward. This is called ‘bidding’.

‘Bidding’ explained

A bid means you would like to be considered for a property. You can bid for up to three properties at a time. Bidding takes place during the advertising period for the property. When the advert for a property closes, you can choose more to bid on.

Sign in to the website and click on the property to register your bid.

The website will also let you know if it is worth bidding. For example, if you’re in Band 3 and there are ten bidders from Band 2 you are unlikely to get the property, so it would be better to bid for something else instead.

We usually offer the property to the bidder in the highest band who has been waiting the longest.

More details are on Manchester Move.

Housing bands

Everyone who registers for social housing is put into a band. Young people who are leaving care, and have shown that they can live independently, go into band 1 which is the highest priority.

  • Band 1 - This is the highest band. It is for people who need to move urgently for reasons that the law or the council describes as highest priority.
  • Band 2 -  This is the band for people who need to move for urgent reasons
  • Band 3 – This band is for people who need to move
  • Band 4 – This band is for people who want to move but don’t have a level of need that would get them into bands 1, 2 or 3
  • Band 5 – This is a ‘reduced priority’ band. People go into this band if they are not ready to live independently or because their behaviour means they would not make a good tenant.

Read about the rules

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