UK housing question

Yep ^.

And with the current Credit Crunch/Money Problems we're all having at the moment, they'll be more people seeking council housing.

I have to stick up for the council though. Of course, you get problems with them - you get problems everywhere in life, but in general, they're good at housing people when needed.
If someone is high up on the priority list - but isn't homeless - they'll hear back quite soon, so long as they haven't been too picky on where they want to live, as sometimes it's difficult to house in certain areas if there's alot of demand.

[Le Almighty Kitten]

The main problem - for some - is that because private landlords are using the rental entirely for profit and don't want to be doing things up and having to do much maintenance, most really dislike families and would rather have a mature single professional (for example, if the rental is furnished and the landlord is responsible for white goods, they'll get much less wear from a single person than a family). Plus in private rental, you can be kicked out after six months for no reason whatsoever, families (even single people!) like stability. Finally, when some people are relying partly or entirely on housing benefit, alot of landlords will outright refuse to take them on.