How it works

How to Apply

To apply, you will need to contact our Housing Solutions team, who will then complete a full assessment of your housing need and circumstances.

Who can apply

Not everyone is eligible to apply. You must have a right to reside in the UK and normally have a local connection to the area.  The full criteria for eligibility can be found in our Allocations Policy.

How do I get my proof documents to you?

Go to 'sign in' at the top right-hand corner of the webpage and enter your email address and password and there is the facility to 'upload documents'.  This can be done once your application is live but your case officer will have told you when they need them by. They must be photos or PDF's. You can also scan in your documents and send them directly to your case officer by email or bring them to a council office (once COVID restrictions are not in place).

Supporting information

You will be expected to provide supporting information to enable your officer to assess your needs at your initial meeting.  If you ned to provide anything further your officer will tell you what you need to upload or send to us. If you do provide the information we ask for, your application will not be accepted, and you will not be able to 'bid' for housing.

Which properties to bid for

You will be informed of your bedroom entitlement (the size of property you can apply for) when your application is accepted to the housing register.  This is normally determined by how many people are in your household, the age of any children.  When you log in to your account you will be able to see the properties you are eligible to bid for. When choosing a property to bid for, you need to consider several things:

Is there an age or other restriction on the property?

Some properties have a minimum age requirement, for example, in some cases only people over 55 can apply.  In Rural Parish Connection areas, you will be required to have a connection to the parish in line with the Allocations Policy.  If there are any restrictions these will be shown on the adverts.

Will I get a property in the area I want?

We encourage you to bid for any area in which you are interested. However, in rural areas that have a local connection criteria, preference will be given to applicants who have a local connection to that parish or cluster, in the first instance.

However, as social housing is in high demand with low turnover, we always advise customers to consider being flexible in the areas they are looking to be housed. By limiting your area preferences, you are limiting the number of properties that will be available to you.

It is a good idea to have a look and see, each week, the banding of customers who were successful in applying for the properties in areas that you are interested in and also how long they had been in that band.  Then look at properties in areas that you may not have thought of and see what band the successful applicants were in for those too.   Keep an eye out, too, for how often properties become available in the areas you are interested in and those that you had not previously considered.  This all helps you get a good idea of how long you may have to wait for what you would really like and can help you think of alternatives, if necessary.

Pets

Some landlords will not allow you to keep pets, however some landlords will allow one pet with permission.  You may want to consider waiting to get a pet until you are settled in accommodation and have obtained written permission.  If you already have a pet, you should always check the advert before bidding and consider that pets may restrict the likelihood of being offered accommodation where pets are not allowed.