Royal Borough of Greenwich residents can now check their social housing waiting time online

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has launched a new online tool to help people who are looking for social housing understand how long they may need to wait so that they can consider all their available housing options. 

In Greenwich there are more than 27,000 households on our housing register, and more than 1,900 households living in temporary accommodation. Like many local authorities, the demand for housing in the borough far outweighs the supply we have. And although we offer homes to around 1,000 households each year, sadly for many more, the wait for a home will not be successful. 

A Council spokesperson, said: “We want people to have a realistic expectation of how long their wait for social housing may be. We worked alongside residents to design our new tool and tested several early versions to ensure it was easy to use. As a result, we know that many of them will appreciate the honesty about waiting times, even though it is difficult news to receive. 

“Ultimately, we want people to be able to find a safe and secure home and we hope that our Housing Support Finder serves as a useful way for people to see the full range of housing options available to them so they can make informed decisions about finding a suitable home that meets their needs.” 

The Housing Support Finder is aimed at people on the housing register looking for a council or housing association home, or those who are looking to join it. It gives people an approximate waiting time for social housing.  

This is based on previous average waiting times for the size of the home they need, and the resident’s ‘housing band’ (which we use to assess the level of priority a household is in, to allocate housing to those who need it most). 

Residents can also find information about the housing options and support that is relevant to their circumstances. This might include advice on welfare benefits, support to find a privately rented home, how to move to other areas, moving by mutual exchange, and support to maintain their tenancy. 

If residents want to check their waiting time and find out about other rehousing options, they can visit royalgreenwich.gov.uk/housing-support-finder