Skip to content

Manchester Homefinder

Manchester Homefinder

Change text size
small text medium text large text

Homes to rent, homes to buy. Housing options in Manchester.

Landlord's rehousing rules: City South Manchester

There are three rehousing priority groups. When you register for rehousing you go into one of those groups depending on your circumstances. The middle group (Group 2) is divided into three categories.

There are three rehousing priority groups. When you register for rehousing you go into one of those groups depending on your circumstances. The middle group (Group 2) is divided into three categories.

GROUP 1

People who live in Manchester, or have a 'Manchester connection' (through work, education or living here in the past) and:

  • must move because of: an extremely serious illness; or because their home must be empty for demolition or major building work; or because they are coming out of hospital and have nowhere suitable to live; or
  • are tenants (of one of these landlords) in certain circumstances who want to move from a very popular area to a place in less demand. Phone (0161) 234 4833 to find out more.

GROUP 2

This group is divided into three categories. To go into any of these categories you must live in Manchester or have a 'Manchester connection'.

  • Need to move: You may need to move because you have got a job in Manchester or because of a problem like overcrowding, a relationship breakdown, harassment or another serious situation.
  • Community connection: You have a community connection to an area if: you have a family connection there; you have lived there for some time and have a good housing history; you have a child in primary school in the area; you need to be near work; you provide employment or a service in the area; you are involved in a community organisation; you have completed a young person's pre-tenancy skills course.
  • City-wide: You are automatically an ‘City-wide’ applicant if the landlord agrees that you are homeless. You can choose to be in the City-wide category if you're about to be homeless, or we agree you cannot stay in your current home much longer.

GROUP 3

People who live outside Manchester, and who have no Manchester connection - whatever their circumstances. And anyone who simply wants to move - but doesn't have any serious need to move.

How do bidders get offered a home?

You are very unlikely to get a Priority home unless you are in Group 1 or 2. If anyone from Group 1 has applied, the property goes to the person with the earliest 'queue date' (see below).

If no-one from Group 1 wants it, we look at applicants for the home from Group 2. This group has three categories - 'need-to-move', 'community connection' and 'emergencies'. We look at each category in turn. If the last property went to someone in the community connection category, the next home is first made available to someone in the emergency category, and so on. We alternate categories like this to make sure homes go to different kinds of people.

If more than one person from the same category has applied, we use a date-order queue system - the home goes to the person with the earliest 'queue date' (see below).

Can you be in more than one category in Group 2?

Your circumstances may mean that you go into more than one category in group 2. For example you may be in the 'community connection' category and the 'need to move' category. Because homes go to each category in turn, you would get double the opportunity.

The queue-date

The longer you've been registered for rehousing, the more chance you have of getting a Priority home. That's because if people from the same Group or category bid for a home, we use a ‘queue-date’ system to decide who gets it .

Your 'queue-date' is based on the day you first went into your Priority Group - so if for example you started in group 3 in January, but moved to group 2 in July, your 'queue date' is July. But in some circumstances, your 'queue date' could be earlier than this . . .

Qualifying for an earlier date

You could, in some circumstances, get a 'queue date' that's earlier than the date you actually went into that group. This only happens if you have one or more qualifying reasons for needing to move - for example if: you have an extremely serious illness; you're homeless or about to be homeless; or living in overcrowded, insanitary or seriously unsatisfactory conditions; or there are medical or welfare reasons.

If you're in Group 2, your 'queue date' moves six months earlier for every qualifying reason you have. So if you actually registered in November, and have one qualifying reason, your 'queue date' would move back six months to the previous April. If you have two qualifying reasons it would move back twelve months to the previous November.

This gives people with several serious reasons for moving an advantage - they are more likely to have the earliest registration date of people choosing a home.

> Home page
Council/housing association
  • > Is it a good choice?
  • > Improve your chances
  • > Questions and answers
  • > Log-in
  • > How it works
  • > My Homefinder
  • > Browse all homes
  • > Register for rehousing
  • > Property types
  • > Area guides
  • > Previous homes
  • > List of landlords
  • > Landlords' rehousing rules
  • > Complaints, questions
  • > Contact us
Other housing options
  • > Private renting
  • > Swap your home
  • > Low-cost ownership
  • > Stay where you are
Work and training
  • > Helping hand

Feedback form
Homefinder is operated by registered social landlords in the Manchester Housing Register.
Privacy statement
Copyright © Manchester City Council unless stated