Frequently Asked Questions
The new policy does not have any composite needs. You may meet more than one criteria for band A, B or C, however multiple criteria from one band does not result in an uplift to a higher band. You must meet at least one criteria for a band to be awarded that band. Please see below for the band criteria for each band. E.g You will not go into band A for having multiple needs in band B. Anyone that had composite needs in our old policy will be reassessed under our new policy for the appropriate band given their circumstances. Some applicants that were in the previous band C for composite needs are now in band B, and some are in band A, depending on their individual circumstances and our policy.
If you think you are in the wrong band, please see: What should I do if I feel that I am in the wrong band after being reassessed under the new policy?
Some applicants bid positions have gone up and some have gone down with the new policy. The new policy reflects the housing needs in Watford currently, whereas the old policy was from 2015. The new policy has given priority to some groups such as homeless applicants with a local connection that may have been living in temporary accommodation for over a year with children. This has resulted in some applicants bid positions being lower than previously. We know that this is upsetting, especially if your bid position has gone down.
We consulted on our policy and completed an equality impact assessment. We must prioritise housing stock for those most vulnerable and with highest needs. We may have recognised your needs as not being as high as other applicants according to our banding structure, however this does not mean that we have not recognised your needs are significant. We use a banding structure to prioritise applicants and we will use quotas to help those in lower bands move on. Due to a shortage of social housing and high demand, it can take a considerable length of time to be successful in bidding, however not everyone will be successful.
For what you can review in our new policy please see section 10.2 of the policy.
You cannot review your position on a shortlist for an individual property. Bid positions vary depending on several factors including; location, property type, such as house or flat, new build or old build, who bid on the property, who is set to auto bid for that property and who the property is suitable for as well as property features. For example the property has a garden or is a house it will be more popular and more applicants will bid on it.
If a property has been prioritised for a particular group such as transfers, then the shortlist may not reflect your accurate bid position for that property. For example your bid position may be number 50, however if you are the first transfer on the list for a property with priority to transfers, then your actual bid position is first.
Band start dates will be retained and will not change as a result of transitioning to the new priority banding structure. You will therefore go into your new priority band with the same band start date that you had before.
For example, if you were previously in Band B with a band start date of 01/05/2025 and you move into the new Band A, although your band has changed, your band start date will be retained as 01/05/2025.
If there are any changes to your circumstances after our new policy starts, the usual process will apply for changing band start dates if relevant.
If you had an application with us before our new policy, we have reassessed your band based on the information we hold on your application and our new policy. If you applied after our new policy started, we will assess your application in turn under our new policy and issue a decision as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
If after you have received a decision regarding your application, you feel that you are in the wrong band or your bedroom entitlement is wrong, you can submit a review by filling out the form on our website.
Your application should have been up to date when we reassessed it. If you need to submit a change of circumstances, please do so after the 13 March. We will process change of circumstances after 13 March and you will retain your current band until further notice.
- There will be no properties advertised between 25 February and 12 March
- Advertising will commence from the 13 March
- You will be bidding with your new priority from 13 March
Bidding will commence under the new policy from the 13 March.
- You will automatically be assessed under the new policy
- You will be notified of any changes to your priority week commencing 23 February
We will notify you by email.
- You do not need to reapply to the register
- You will not be removed from the register
- You will automatically be assessed under the new policy
- You will be notified of any changes to your priority week commencing 23 February
- There will be no properties advertised between 25 February and 12 March
- Advertising will commence from the 13 March
- You will be bidding with your new priority from 13 March
Local authorities are required by law to adopt and publish a policy which sets out their priorities for the allocation of social housing accommodation and the procedures to be followed in accordance with the legislation. The policy covers who is eligible to apply for social housing and how priority for social housing is determined. It also sets out the procedures for nominating applicants to housing providers for a social homes within Watford.
The current Nominations Policy has been in place since August 2015. It was updated in March 2018 to ensure reasonable preference was given to homelessness applicants as required in the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
A consultation was held in 2019 on a number of changes, however these were never approved or implemented due to the pandemic. Since then further changes have been proposed to reflect current housing circumstances.
We consulted on the changes in May and June 2025 and the new policy was approved by Cabinet in October 2025.
We are now implementing the new policy.
- You do not need to reapply to the register
- You will not be removed from the register
- You will automatically be assessed under the new policy
- You will be notified of any changes to your priority week commencing 23 February
- There will be no properties advertised between 25 February and 12 March
- Advertising will commence from the 13 March
- You will be bidding with your new priority from 13 March
We will be unable to discuss individual cases until after we have written to you in the week commencing 23 February. At this stage we will give you opportunities to come and talk to us. We will provide details of how to contact us when we notify you in the week commencing 23 February.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition to operating under our new nominations policy.
We have reassessed your band based on the information we hold on your application and our new policy.
Please consult the banding graphic that shows you what band you can go in to based on your previous band. Please read the band criteria carefully.
If you feel that you are not in the correct band, then you can request an appointment with us face to face by emailing our team. Face to face appointments will be conducted from 2 March to the 12 March.
If after speaking with us you feel that your band is not correct, you can submit a review by filling out the form on our website.
Band A
- Suffering life altering condition – current home untenable
- Under-occupying social housing
- Homeless Main duty with residence requirement
- Homeless applicants with children been in TA for 12 months+
- Care leaver
- Lacking 2+ bedrooms
- Armed/Reserve Forces members and families
- Necessary decants
- Over-riding social/welfare need
- Releasing an adapted home
- Releasing a general needs home to move to older people’s accommodation
- Unsatisfactory Housing Conditions (incl. D&M) - social
- Housing First
Band B
- Lacking one bedroom
- Homeless (Prevention, Relief, Main duty owed - latter lacks local residence)
- Single Homeless Pathway residents
- (+HCC funded residents)
- Medical/social/welfare grounds
- Unsatisfactory Housing Conditions – incl Damp and mould (not social housing) – PRS
Band C
- Homeless but main duty not accepted
- Housing association tenants seeking to move but adequately housed
- Applicants over 50 seeking accommodation for older people
- Homeless applicants that accepted a PRS property during prevention duty – 3 years
There were 13 major changes to the policy, these include:
We are easing the local connection requirement from 5 out of the last 6 years living in Watford to 5 out of the last 7 years and changing the local residence requirement for single applicants in the Single Homeless Pathway and Care Leavers. We are also enabling applicants threatened with homelessness who accept an offer of a private rented home to remain on the Housing Register and bid on the CBL system for three years.
You will still be able to apply for a transfer, most transfer applicants will go in to the new band C.
You can still apply to the housing register, applications will be assessed after 13th March and there may be an additional delay due to the new policy.
Applications can be submitted on our website.
We cannot predict how long it will take for you to be offered alternative accommodation through the housing register. It is difficult to give a time frame for how long it takes due to varying factors such as size/type of accommodation required and the availability of housing.
No, it is your landlord’s obligation to take action regarding significant damp and mould in your property. Watford’s Environmental Health team must agree that the situation cannot be resolved with the household still living in the property before priority can be awarded for this reason.
The new policy will not create more houses or less people on the housing register. We have developed a new Policy to ensure that our support is going to the most vulnerable residents with the strongest connection to Watford.
We cannot predict how long it will take for you to be offered alternative accommodation through the housing register. It is difficult to give a time frame for how long it will take due to varying factors such as size/type of accommodation required and the availability of housing.
The new policy is not linked to building new houses; however the council is committed to working with housing partners to deliver affordable housing over the coming years in line with Government targets.
