You apply for social housing through your local council.

Each council has its own eligibility criteria and process, and these are available through their website.

You’ll usually have to join a waiting list and you’re not guaranteed to get a property. You can ask your council how long you’re likely to have to wait, depending on your circumstances.

Choice-based lettings

Most councils have a choice-based letting (CBL) scheme. This lets you tell your council which properties you’re interested in. We advertise most of our homes via Choice based schemes and applicants are prioritised based on housing need. For example, you’re likely to be offered housing first if you:

• are homeless
• live in cramped conditions
• have a medical condition made worse by your current home

Riverside website

A small proportion of our homes are advertised on our website and/or Rightmove.  These are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, but the steps in the process from Contact from Riverside lettings team onwards are the same.