How housing is allocated

Types of household

The term 'household' means everyone who will live within the accommodation being applied for.

There are many different combinations of people which make up a 'household'. The table below shows how each type of household is classified:

Household type	Number of people
Couple	2 people over 16 years of age
Entitled to 2 bed accommodation	1 to 2 people over 16, with 1 or more children over 18
Entitled to 2 bed ground floor accommodation	1 to 2 people over 16 years, with 1 or more children over 18 years of age. With at least one person who needs ground floor accommodation.
Family 4/more beds	1 to 2 people over 16 years of age with 4 or more children
Family entitled to 2 beds	1 to 2 people over 16 years of age with 1 child under 18
Family entitled to 3 beds	1 to 2 people over 16 years of age with 2 or 3 children
Mature couple (over 50)	2 people where one is over 50
Mature couple (over 55)	2 people where one is over 55
Older person Couple	2 people where one is over 60
Single older person	1 person over 60
Single	1 person over 16

Your child will not normally be included as part of your household until the date we receive their birth certificate.