Social housing waiting list - 2024/2025
Case reference FOI2025/01840
Received 19 September 2025
Published 9 October 2025
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act I request the following information:
1a) How many households in your local authority area are currently on the social housing waiting list?
1b) Of these, please could you provide a breakdown by banding?
1c) For each band, please could you tell us the longest time a household is currently waiting?
2. Please could you also provide the figure for the social housing waiting list for the end of 2024?
3. Please could you also tell us how many socially-rented homes are in your area in total?
4. Can you tell me how many long-term empty homes there are in your local authority area? This should include all housing that is not in residential use, and has been empty for over six months. Please also provide the comparable figure for the number of long-term empty homes in your area, in September 2024.
Response
Under the Freedom of Information Act I request the following information:
1a) How many households in your local authority area are currently on the social housing waiting list?
Answer: The Service Area have advised as of 19th September 2025 there are 804 households currently on the social housing waiting list
1b) Of these, please could you provide a breakdown by banding?
Answer: Please see the banding breakdown below:
Band A |
212 |
Band B |
465 |
Band C |
115 |
Band D |
12 |
1c) For each band, please could you tell us the longest time a household is currently waiting?
Answer: Please see the table below:
Band A |
4,120 days |
Band B |
4,490 days |
Band C |
3,455 days |
Band D |
1,581 days |
Please note, the Service Area have advised the Home Point scheme is a Choice Based Lettings Scheme. This means that the applicant can choose to bid on properties rather than being nominated for a property. The effect of this is that applicants may choose not to bid regularly and therefore be on the scheme for a long period of time.
2. Please could you also provide the figure for the social housing waiting list for the end of 2024?
Answer: The Service Area have advised at the end of financial year 2024/25 there were 764 live applications on the Home Point Scheme.
3. Please could you also tell us how many socially-rented homes are in your area in total?
Answer: The Service Area have advised the following figures refer to properties that are recorded as specifically ‘social rent’ and do not include other categories such as ‘affordable rent’, etc.
As at 01/09/25 there are 2,175 properties registered as social rent properties within the county of Herefordshire.
4. Can you tell me how many long-term empty homes there are in your local authority area? This should include all housing that is not in residential use, and has been empty for over six months. Please also provide the comparable figure for the number of long-term empty homes in your area, in September 2024.
Answer: The Service Area have advised the most recent figures available for long-term empty properties are for July 2025. As of July 2025, there were 1,745 long-term empty properties.
The comparable figure for July 2024, there were 945 long-term empty properties.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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