Housing providers

Local authorities, or councils, are only one place to try to find rented accommodation (see the section on homelessness for more information on applying for council housing). Housing associations, and other organisations such as housing trusts and co-operatives,  are important providers of ‘social housing’ – that is, affordable rented housing – and are called social landlords.

Generally, people housed by housing associations are those defined as being in 'housing need', but eligibility criteria differ. All housing associations must have written policies on the type of housing services they provide, who can apply for housing and how applications will be considered. You can ask to see these policies. Housing associations take the majority of their new tenants from local authority waiting lists, so it is usually best to contact your local council housing department in the first instance.

Some housing associations have some accommodation for people in particular circumstances, including people living with HIV or AIDS. You can find more information on applying for housing association tenancies here.

The other option for renting is to rent from a private landlord. You can find advice on doing that here.

For the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act, people with HIV are legally defined as disabled. Whether or not you agree with this definition, you can still benefit from the protections that the DDA provides. One of these is that the DDA makes it illegal to discriminate against people with HIV in the provision of goods and services – including housing. A landlord cannot, for example, refuse to let a property to you because you are HIV-positive.