United Kingdom Housing Resource Centre
UK Housing Guides
Clear, independent guidance to help you understand affordable and social housing in the UK, work out which route may apply to you, and find the official service you need next.
Start with the system
Understand your housing options
UK affordable housing uses several different tenures and application routes. These guides explain the terminology without treating recorded housing stock as current availability.
Social housing
Council and housing-association homes let below market rents, including the difference between Social Rent and Affordable Rent.
Read UK guide →Council housing
How local-authority housing works, who may qualify and why joining a housing register does not guarantee an immediate offer.
Read UK guide →Housing associations
What registered providers do, how their homes are allocated and when a provider may operate its own application route.
Read UK guide →Housing registers & waiting lists
How to register, common evidence requirements, priority or banding systems and why rules differ between councils.
Read UK guide →Choice Based Lettings
How eligible applicants may bid or express interest in advertised homes and what happens after a bidding cycle closes.
Read UK guide →Shared Ownership
Buying a share of an eligible home and paying rent on the remainder, with costs and eligibility to check before applying.
Read UK guide →Affordable Rent
What Affordable Rent means, how it differs from Social Rent and why the advertised rent for a specific home remains the source of truth.
Read UK guide →Supported & sheltered housing
Housing intended for people with particular age, care or support needs, often with separate assessment or referral routes.
Read UK guide →Homelessness help
Where to seek council help if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, including urgent local-authority routes.
Read UK guide →Eligibility & applications
A practical checklist covering local connection, household circumstances, income, documents and the official decision-making process.
Read UK guide →Benefits & housing costs
A plain-English starting point for housing-cost support, including why entitlement depends on individual circumstances.
Read UK guide →New affordable developments
How to interpret development announcements, planning evidence and provider stock without assuming homes are currently available.
Read UK guide →Find local help
Housing rules and application routes are local
Once you understand the national terminology, use an AHH local guide to find council application routes, registered providers, housing evidence and nearby schemes for your area.
Using AHH
Research, contact and keep track
AHH separates evidence of affordable housing from claims of current availability. Where a scheme or provider has a verified contact route, use that official route to check availability and eligibility. A free AHH account can then help you save housing, record contacts and keep private notes about your progress.