Registering for social housing

Demand for housing far outweighs supply and you may have to wait for years before you are offered accommodation.

Some areas of the country have social housing available. To discuss this option please contact housing advice.

Who is eligible

To join the housing register in Haringey you must be eligible for housing and qualify for inclusion in the register.

To be eligible, you must:

• be 16 years of age or over
• not be ineligible for housing by reason of your immigration status – see advice on housing and immigration on Shelter's website

To qualify for inclusion in the register, you must:

• not have been found guilty of unacceptable behaviour
• have continuously lived in Haringey for 3 years at the time of applying
• meet the criteria to be placed in one of the Housing Needs Bands A to C
• not reside in temporary accommodation provided by another local authority at the time of applying
• not be a home-owner

If you live in tied accommodation (provided by your employer), you must also:

• be less than 6 months away from your retirement, or
• have received a legal notice asking you to leave your home

All other persons included on a housing application must be a member of the applicant’s family.

Housing register applications are subject to a standard verification process which includes home visits and the checking of identification and other relevant documents. People who are confirmed as statutorily homeless and accepted for re-housing are automatically entered onto the housing register. Applicants with no fixed abode can apply to join the register with a 'care of' address.

All eligible applicants are placed in the Housing Needs Band appropriate to their needs. See our housing allocations policy for details on how we do this.

You have the right to request a review of any decision we make concerning your application.

How to apply

If you are eligible, you can apply to join the housing register.

Change of circumstances

If you are already on the Housing Register and your circumstances change, please notify us if this is relevant to your housing need.

Fill in the housing register – change of circumstances form (pdf, 4 page(s), 96.59 KB) and return it to us by email, post or in person at one of our customer service centres.

Medical assessment

If you are on the Housing Register and have a medical condition that you think is made worse by your current housing, fill in our form to request a medical assessment.

You will be advised whether the condition is likely to prioritise your application and if so, will be informed of the next steps you need to take.

Renewing your application

All applicants on the housing register will be required to confirm their details at least once a year including whether they wish to remain on the Register. We will contact applicants to tell them how to do this.

If you have received a letter from us, fill in the housing application renewal form.