PRIORITY GROUP A
Claimants who are subject to under-occupancy restrictions and who fall into the categories below;
- Foster carers, including those between placements. Foster carers should not be out of pocket because of their foster caring role
- People who are going through the approval process to become foster carers who may need to show that they have a spare room to be approved
- Families with kinship care arrangements. Children who go into the care of family and friends are often extremely vulnerable and will usually benefit from the stability of remaining in a familiar area and continuing to attend their local school
- Families with a child temporarily in care but who is expected to return home. What constitutes temporary will be at the discretion of the local authority. It is vital that social work services are consulted for their opinion on the temporary nature of the placement in care prior to a decision being made
- People with disabilities who need, or have had, significant adaptations made to their property, or where they are living in a property particularly suited to their needs
PRIORITY GROUP B
- People who are subject to under-occupancy restrictions and where the claimant or someone in their household has a disability which requires them to have a larger property than would usually be the case for the size of their household due to, for example, a medical condition or where a child has a particular disability that might mean they are unable to share a bedroom
- Households with children who require an overnight carer
- Where someone in the household is expecting a baby (including those currently in shared accommodation or subject to an under-occupation reduction)
- Young people leaving local authority care
- Households within 12 months of the pension credit age and subject to under-occupancy restrictions.
PRIORITY GROUP C
- People with disabilities who receive informal care and support in their current neighbourhood from family and friends which would not be available in a new area. In this respect you may also consider families who have a child with a disability who rely heavily on local support networks
- The elderly frail who have lived in the area for a long time and would find it difficult to establish support links in a new area
- People who need to live near their jobs because they work unsocial hours or split shifts; or where moving home may mean living in an area where public transport would be inadequate to enable them to sustain their current job
- Ex-homeless people being supported to settle in the community
- People with health or medical problems who need access to local medical centres or support that might not be available elsewhere
- Families with children at a critical point in their education
- Families with a social services intervention, for example highly dependent adults, children at risk or involvement in a family intervention project
- People who have had to flee domestic violence or have moved because of the threat of violence in another area
PRIORITY GROUP D
- To help secure and move to lower-cost, alternative accommodation (e.g. rent deposit)
- To help with short-term rental costs until the claimant is able to secure and move to lower-cost, alternative accommodation
- To help with short-term rental costs while the claimant seeks employment
- Families subject to benefit cap restrictions
- Claimants subject to LHA reforms
PRIORITY GROUP E
- To help with short term rental costs for any other reason