In England, "priority need" under the Housing Act 1996 is a legal threshold that dictates a local council's duty to provide emergency and long-term accommodation. If an applicant is eligible, unintentionally homeless, and meets the priority need criteria, the council must house them.
You automatically qualify for priority need in England if you are:
- Pregnant or have dependent children
- Homeless as a result of domestic abuse
- Homeless due to an emergency like a fire or flood
- Aged 16 or 17
- A care leaver aged 18 to 20
- Vulnerable due to old age, mental/physical disability, or having been in the armed forces or custody.
If an applicant does not automatically qualify, the council applies a legal test to determine if they are "significantly more vulnerable" than an ordinary person would be if they were on the streets. You can read more about each priority need situation on Shelter's website.
Local connection
If you do not have a local connection with Herefordshire but do have a connection with another authority, we will normally make a referral to that authority to provide housing, unless you would be at risk of domestic or other violence in that area.
You will have a local connection with Herefordshire if:
- You are normally resident in the county
- You work in Herefordshire
- You have immediate family in Herefordshire who have lived here for at least five years
- There are any other particularly strong reasons that give you a connection with the area
View summary of the Housing allocation scheme for Herefordshire