Register for social housing

If you want to join the Housing Register for renting social housing, or apply for affordable housing in our Borough, you need to complete an online application form (opens new window).

Please ensure you include everyone that lives with you on a permanent basis, you cannot include children on your application if you are not the main carer or do not receive child benefit.

Once you have completed the application form you will need to upload documents to prove the following:

• identification for all household members on your application form
• date of birth for all household members
• income details for all household members
• statements for all bank accounts, savings and investments
• evidence of any equity in property or land
• your five-year address history, along with contact details of your current and former landlords or mortgage providers
• if you have a medical or welfare need to move, we need information regarding your condition - this will be from Doctors, Consultants or Occupational Therapists who have undertaken assessments and or a medical diagnosis
• if you have been asked to leave by your landlord, we will need to see evidence of your tenancy agreement and the notice that has been served

Examples of evidence can include:

• passport
• birth certificate
• driving licence
• proof of National Insurance number
• proof of address (dated within the past three months)
• deed poll change of name
• workers registration documents
• proof of pregnancy (MATB1)
• proof of Child Benefit (the award letter)
• residence order or other supporting documentation to confirm long-term guardianship
• contract of employment or employee's letter
• payslips
• proof of offer of employment (paid or unpaid)
• proof of self-employment
• proof of benefits
• proof of community contribution
• proof of service in the armed forces and time served
• proof of local connection
• medical evidence
• support agency's letter
• bank statements (for all accounts held for the past three months)
• proof of savings/investments
• proof of homelessness (notice, possession summons or eviction warrant)
• marriage or civil partnership certification
• supporting letter(s)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)/Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award letter
• letter from GP, consultant or any other professional who you or a household member are working with
• occupational therapist reports
• landlord reference from your current or most recent landlord
• utility bills (gas, electric, water)
• tenancy or licence agreement
• Council Tax bill
• letter(s) from family (such as letters asking you to leave the family home)
• Section 21 notice
• settled status documents
• leave to remain biometric card (front and back)

When your application has been submitted you will receive details of your reference number, this will always start with GREATY/XXXX. Some applications can be assessed by the system, these tend to be within Bands D-E, all other applications will show as status 'To be Validated', this means your application has not been assessed yet.

Once your application has been assessed you will receive an email advising you of the Band you have been assigned.

Demand for social housing is extremely high, even if your application is accepted, it does not mean that you will successful on being offered a property.

Some people will not be eligible to join the Housing Register due to their immigration status.

The online application will ask a number of questions that will assess whether you are eligible.

If you are not eligible, you can request a review of this decision.

To join our housing register you must meet eligibility and qualification criteria, set out in our Housing allocations policy and scheme.

On 31 July 2025 The Council introduced a new allocation scheme that amended our qualification criteria and Banding system (read the full Housing allocations policy and scheme).

Applications will be placed into one of the following seven bands according to the level of housing need:

• Emergency
• Band A
• Band B
• Band C
• Band D
• Band E
• Band F

The scheme has also introduced more qualification criteria to ensure that housing is allocated to those in the greatest need and that social housing is allocated fairly. You will no longer qualify if you:

• do not have a local connection to our Borough or have not lived in the Borough for the last three years
• have conducted unacceptable behaviour that would deem you to be an unsuitable tenant
• if you own property in the United Kingdom or overseas
• you exceed the financial caps in our Housing allocations policy and scheme

We have also removed the clause that allowed you to have multiple housing offers. A person on the housing register due to being homeless, will only receive one offer of accommodation, all other applicants will receive two offers.

Your assessment on the scheme is determined by your band and registration date. All qualifying applicants will be placed into one the following seven bands according to the level of housing need:

The criteria for each band is as follows.

Emergency

•  households in emergency housing need where the authority has a statutory duty to provide housing

Band A

• applicants who are homeless and are owed the Main duty including when the Relief Duty has come to an end and they have been assessed as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless, in priority need and have local connection
• applicants who are homeless and are owed the Relief Duty and would be owed or likely to be owed the Main duty when the Relief Duty came to an end, because they are or are likely to be in priority need and unintentionally homeless
• applicants who are threatened with homelessness and are owed the Prevention Duty, on the basis of a valid legal court notice, and would be likely to be owed the Main duty if both the Prevention Duty and any Relief Duty that followed on were to end unsuccessfully and they would be, or would likely to be, found to be in priority need and unintentionally homeless
• where Great Yarmouth Borough Council require households to permanently move to alternative accommodation to allow redevelopment, regeneration, or demolition to be undertaken or due to a prohibition order
• under-occupation by two or more bedrooms by a tenant of Great Yarmouth Borough Council
• use and occupation following the death of the tenant, occupiers of Great Yarmouth Borough Council dwellings who either do not have succession rights or a non-statutory succession cannot be granted as the current property would be under-occupied or considered unsuitable - following notice served by a tenant and an assignment cannot be granted to the remaining occupants
• urgent medical or social welfare need where the applicant's (or member of their household who is moving with them) condition is currently directly affected by their accommodation and an urgent move is needed to have a positive effect on their medical condition, or where as a result of their condition their current accommodation is not suitable to their needs
• for Urgent Medical Need it is generally expected that the property cannot reasonably be occupied as the applicant is either unable to use or has serious difficulty using an essential part of the property, for example, the WC, and the property cannot be adapted
• resettlement - applicants have been assessed as ready to move from hostel or other temporary supported accommodation into settled accommodation. Where appropriate, arrangements will be made for tenancy support

Applicants will be entitled to one suitable offer of accommodation

Band B

• applicants who are threatened with homelessness and are owed the Prevention Duty (with no valid legal notice) and would be likely to be owed the Main duty if both the Prevention Duty and any Relief Duty that followed on were to end unsuccessfully and they would be, or would likely to be, found to be in priority need and unintentionally homeless
• applicants who are threatened with homelessness or are homeless and this is not intentional, but are not considered to be in priority need
• serious disrepair and/or insanitary accommodation where the Council has deemed the applicant's home to have the presence of Category 1 Hazards, Bands A - C under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System and these Hazards cannot be resolved or reduced to a Category 2 Hazard within six months of a notice being served

In the case of a caravan or mobile home, the accommodation will have been found to be prejudicial to health under the Environmental Protection Act 1990

• high medical or social welfare need where the applicant's (or member of their household who is moving with them) condition is currently directly affected by their accommodation and a move is needed to have a positive effect on their condition, or where as a result of their condition their current accommodation is detrimental to health and wellbeing
  • an investigation will be carried out
• overcrowding and requiring two or more additional bedrooms - assessments will be based on the bedroom entitlement in Appendix D
  • lodgers will not be included in the assessment
• under-occupation by one bedroom by a tenant of Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Band C

• applicants who are threatened with homelessness or are homeless, who are in priority need and who will be or are intentionally homeless
• reducing re-offending - applicants due to be released from prison where a personal housing plan has been undertaken and a support package is in place
• moderate medical or social welfare need where the applicant's (or member of their household who is moving with them) condition is currently directly affected by their accommodation and a move is needed to have a positive effect on their condition, or where as a result of their condition their current accommodation is not suitable to their needs
• financial hardship - where the applicant has insufficient finances to be able to maintain living in their current accommodation
• disrepair and/or insanitary accommodation where the Council has deemed the applicant's home to have the Presence of Category 2 Hazards, Band D under the Housing Health & Safety Rating System and these Hazards cannot be resolved
• overcrowding where there is a need for one additional bedroom - assessments will be based on the bedroom entitlement in Appendix D
  • lodgers will not be included in the assessment
• sharing essential facilities such as bathroom, toilet or kitchen with family or friends and requiring independent accommodation

Band D

• applicants who are threatened with homelessness or are homeless, who are not in priority need and who will be or are intentionally homeless
• give or receive support from close family members and/or move closer to local facilities - where not having a move would result in serious detriment
• low medical or social welfare need where the applicant's (or member of their household who is moving with them) condition is currently directly affected by their accommodation and a move is needed to have a positive effect on their condition, or where as a result of their condition their current accommodation is not suitable to their needs
• sharing essential facilities such as bathroom, toilet or kitchen with a separate household (not including parents and children)

Band E

• applicant who is unable to access accommodation to meet their housing need in the open market, i.e. does not meet the criteria in Bands Emergency A, B, C or D
• applicant for low-cost home ownership accommodation

Band F

• applicant is not deemed to have a local connection but identified to be within the class of person set out in section 13.1 (and where there are no exceptional circumstances as set out in section 4.18)

You should include the details of:

• your partner
• all dependent children or dependent relatives who will be living with you
• a carer (if they are needed for personal care during the day and at night)
• any household member who is living with you and will continue to live with you
• any household member in prison due for release within four weeks who will live with you
• children who normally live with you but are studying at university or serving in the armed forces

You cannot include children on your application if you do not have the main parental responsibility for them.

Before you can accept an offer of a social housing home (owned by the Council or a Registered Provider) you will be asked to attend a viewing at the property. You will then be asked to decide if you accept the property.

Some landlords will ask the top three people on the Housing Register to attend a viewing. If this is the case, you will be told if you are at the top of the list (the nominee) or a reserve.

Once you have been formally offered and accepted the tenancy, the landlord will arrange a time for you to sign the tenancy agreement and collect the keys. Landlords require you to pay rent in advance - dependant on the landlord of your new tenancy, this could range from one week to four weeks rent required, on the day you move in. We recommend you start saving for this.

The number of bedrooms required for each household is calculated in accordance with age, sex, marital status composition and the relationship of the members to one another.

If you have children that do not live with you permanently, as you are not recognised as the main carer or in receipt of all benefits for this child, they will not be assessed as part of your household. This means you will not receive a bedroom allocation for them in your assessment.

We will only be able to process your application when you have provided us with all the supporting evidence. You need to provide this within 28 days of making your application.

Once your application is assessed, you will receive an email advising you of the outcome. The email will advise you of the band you have been awarded and the reason as to why. When you have more than one reason for applying, we will state the highest reason in your letter. This does not mean we have not taken all your circumstances into account.

For example, you may have a low medical need to move that would award you a band D, but you are overcrowded by three bedrooms so you would be a band B. Therefore, you will be a band B for overcrowding, but your email will not include the medical reason.  

Yes. If your circumstance change you must log into your account and update the sections of your application form that have changed. Your application form will then be reassessed to see if the changes alter your banding. We will also require any supporting evidence you have regarding this change, this can be uploaded on your account.

If you fail to update us you may miss out on property offers, or a property could be withdrawn from you at the viewing stage.

It is essential you provide the correct information or do not knowingly withhold information, as Great Yarmouth Borough Council can bring prosecution under Part VI of the Housing Act 1996. It could also lead you to be disqualified from the housing register.

Where false information has resulted in you receiving accommodation, the landlord will bring possession proceedings for the recovery of the property. This will result in your household becoming homeless.  

The Council does not operate a bidding system, all properties are shortlisted based on the housing register. This is conducted by property type, banding level and then relevant date. Relevant date is the date you were awarded your current banding.

Shortlisted applicants will be offered a viewing by the landlord, this could be any Registered Provider of social housing in the Borough. You will be expected to decide about the property within 24 hours.

We receive many questions from households wanting to join the Council's Housing Register. This includes enquiries about the type of properties we have and how many are let each year.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council had a total stock of 5,755 as at 31 March 2025. This figure changes monthly due to:

• purchases made under the Right to Buy Scheme
• the acquisition or building of new properties

We currently own:

• 2,649 flats (46.03% of our total stock)
• 905 bungalows (15.73%)
• 2,201 houses (38.25%)

In 2024-25, we let 316 homes as follows:

• 180 flats (56.96% of all lets)
• 69 bungalows (21.84%)
• 67 houses (21.20%)

The availability of homes varies but we have considerably more lets in flats than houses or bungalows. We have many requests for larger properties but as a Council we have a limited number of 4, 5 and 6 bedroom properties and only a handful become vacant in any year.