If you are homeless, or about to be homeless, you need to contact one of the Council’s Locality Offices straight away to arrange a Homeless Assessment. It might be possible to stop you losing your current accommodation.

This “Homeless Silver Priority Guide” will give you an idea of what to expect if you are awarded Homeless Silver Priority after your Homeless Assessment.

If you are awarded Homeless Silver Priority you will be expected to make 3 reasonable bids every week. Our Step by Step Guide on Placing Bids will explain how to bid. If you experience any issues creating your login to bid or when placing bids please refer to our troubleshooting guide. 

If you have received a Notice to Quit or are threatened with a Notice To Quit you can contact homelessness.prs@edinburgh.gov.uk for advice and support.

When we receive your application form we will process it as quickly as possible. If you provide us with an e-mail address we will e-mail your EdIndex Reference number to you, alternatively we will send this to you in the post as you will need it to place bids.

Please allow 2 weeks for your application to be processed, if you have not heard from us after this time contact the team.

You should email edindex@edinburgh.gov.uk and we will get back to you.

Email us at edindex@edinburgh.gov.uk with your new address and we will send you a new application form to complete as we need details of your current home.

Email us at edindex@edinburgh.gov.uk with the change in your circumstances and we will update your application.

Every year we will check if you still wish to remain on the Housing Register. If you have placed bids on homes that have been advertised on the Key to Choice website, or updated your housing application in the 6 months prior to the anniversary of your registration, we will automatically reregister you for another 12 months.

If you have not placed any bids or updated your housing application in the last 6 months, we will write to you to ask if you wish to remain on the register. This will be by email (if you have provided an email address) or by letter.

If you do not respond within the given timescale we will cancel your housing application.

You can download and print this application form. If you would like an application posted please email your name and full postal address to edindex@edinburgh.gov.uk. 

You can view available homes and place bids online by clicking the Key to Choice link at www.edindexhousing.co.uk.

You can view available homes without registering but before you can bid for a home on Key to Choice you must be registered with Housing Online. To register please follow this step by step guidance and read the FAQs.

A new edition is published every Sunday at 4.00am and you can place your bid(s) until the following Sunday at 3.30am.

You can place your bids at any time throughout the week. Bidding as soon as the homes are advertised does not give you a better chance of being successful.

Before you can bid for a home on Key to Choice you must create a login with Housing Online. To create your login please follow this step by step guidance and read the FAQs. Once you have created your login placing bids is very simple. Please see the attached step by step guidance.

You can make up to 3 bids every week.

If you have homeless priority you must make 3 bids every week, otherwise you will be at risk of losing your homeless priority.

There is a high demand for housing in Edinburgh and it is not possible to tell you how long it will take to be made an offer of housing. Please read our guide on waiting times which will give you an idea of how long to may take you to be rehoused. To help your chances of getting a home sooner you should make sure that:

• you bid for 3 homes each week;
• you bid correctly for a starter or mover home;
• the home is the right size for your household;
• you meet any other conditions stated in the advert such as ‘over 60s only’, ‘no children’, ‘no dogs’ etc;
• you consider bidding for homes across the city; and
• if you have a priority, make sure that the homes you bid for suit your needs for example you require a ground floor home due to mobility problems.

You will need to log into your Housing Online account and select Key to Choice. Using the 'Actions'  drop down select 'Current Bids'. To remove the bid click the ‘Withdraw Bid‘ box against the property you no longer want and press the ‘Withdraw Interest’ button. 

We do not operate a waiting list. Each week homes are allocated to applicants based on who has bid for a home advertised, whether they have a priority or how much waiting time they have. For more details on how the Council lets its homes see the Council Letting policy.

We do not provide this information, if you bid on a home your placement on the short list will vary depending on how many other applicants have bid and their circumstances.

Please note that you will only be contacted if you are successful.

You will only be considered for homes that meet the needs of your household so you should not bid for homes that are too big or too small. Using the rules below you can work out what size of home you should bid for. You can also check using our bedroom calculator. Rules on bedroom sharing for household members vary slightly between the landlords. You can view each of the landlords allocation policies, but as a general guide:

• A couple will be expected to share a room

• Each household member over the age of 14 is entitled to their own room

• Two children under 14 of the same sex will be expected to share a room

• Two children under 7 of different sexes will be expected to share a room.

Single applicants and couples without children can bid for one-bedroom homes with the housing associations/co-operatives and a one or two bedroom home with the Council. Children are only entitled to a bedroom when they live in the home more than half the week. Your household circumstances will be verified by a housing officer before an offer of housing is made.

You will be classed as a starter if you are:

• Homeless

• Living in a hostel or Bed & Breakfast accommodation

• Living in residential care or supported accommodation

• Living in Temporary Accommodation

• Staying with family or friends

• Living in a private rented home (including mid market rent)

• In prison

• In hospital

• In student accommodation

• Sleeping Rough

• In a Private Sector Leasing Scheme (PSL)

You will be classed as a mover if you are:

• A Council Tenant/Joint Tenant

• A Housing Association or Co-Operative Tenant/Joint Tennant

• Living in a home you own (with or without a mortgage)

• Living in a home that comes with your job

• Living in a Shared Ownership or Shared Equity home.

Priority awards are assessed as follows:

Urgent Gold Priority

Applicants who are currently in hospital and cannot go back to the home they lived in before as it no longer meets their needs. This Criteria must be met.

Gold Priority

Applicants whose current home no longer meets their mobility needs and it cannot be adapted. Gold priority is generally only given to people who have been assessed as requiring a ground floor home. This Criteria must be met.

Silver Priority – Homelessness

Applicants who have been assessed by the Council as statutorily homeless.

Silver Priority – Overcrowding

Applicants who need to move due to the following circumstances:

• You need 2 or more extra bedrooms for the size of your household

or

• You only have one bedroom and live with one or more children under the age of 16

Each of the partner landlords operate their own allocation policy, therefore their bedroom sharing guidelines may be different.

The Council bedroom sharing guidelines are detailed in the Letting Policy.

Your household circumstances will be fully checked by a housing officer before any offer of housing is made.

Silver Priority – Under occupancy

Applicants who currently live in a Council or Housing Association home with 3 or more bedrooms, no longer need all of them and would like to downsize. If you are a Housing Association tenant and feel your home is too big, you should contact your landlord.

If you would like more advice on your housing options, you should contact your Council Locality Office.

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