Council housing waiting list

Request the number of people on the council housing waiting list and average wait times.

Council housing waiting lists show the demand for social housing in your area. How many people are waiting, and how long they wait, says a lot about how well allocation is working.

Dear [AUTHORITY NAME], Please provide the following information as at [DATE e.g. 31 March 2025]: 1. The total number of applicants on the council housing waiting list. 2. A breakdown of applicants by property size needed (1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, 4 or more bedrooms). 3. The average waiting time for each property size, from application to offer of tenancy. 4. The number of allocations made in [FINANCIAL YEAR e.g. 2024-25], broken down by property size. I would prefer to receive this as a spreadsheet or CSV if possible. Yours faithfully, [YOUR NAME]
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Who to send it to#

Your local council’s housing department. Find your council on the Commissioner’s directory of Scottish public authorities. You can also send your request through WhatDoTheyKnow, which publishes responses online.

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Tips#

  • Some councils use a common housing register shared with housing associations. If so, the figures will include applicants for housing association properties and the council may not be able to separate them.
  • Asking for a snapshot date (e.g. 31 March) is easier for the council to answer than an average over a year.
  • If the council says average waiting times are not recorded, ask instead for the date of the oldest application still on the list for each property size.