FAQs
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive. If you cannot find the answer to your question below, please call the Housing Team on 01306 885001.
- How long before my application is assessed?
- What is a verification check?
- What is a right to rent document?
- How do I provide documents for my Housing Application?
- How do I apply for Sheltered / over 55's accommodation?
- How do I find out my unique reference number?
- When I try and register it says my National Insurance Number is already registered. What do I do?
- Does it matter when i bid?
- Why can I not be in Band 1?
- How do i report a change in my circumstances?
- What does the effective date mean?
- Why is it saying I am not eligible for any properties?
- I bidded for a property last week and havent heard anything
- How long will it be before i get rehoused?
- What is a rural connection?
- How is my application prioritised?
- The system says that I came top for a property but i havent been contacted.
- What does skipped mean?
- If I am nominated for a property does that mean it is mine?
- Why is my application under review?
- I want my partner to move with me but they are not on my application
- What is a renewal?
- How do I apply for a mutual exchange?
- Who do I contact for Housing Options and Advice?
- I am going to be homeless, what do I do?
Applications are assessed on average within 6-12 weeks of being submitted and all supporting information being received. This timing can vary depending on the number of applications received at any one time. Should you have not submitted all the required paperwork your applicaiton will not be processed. If the paperwork has not been receievd within 28 days then the application will not be assessed and will be closed.
All applications will undergo a verification check. This is where we check the infomation that has been provided to enable us to assess whether someone qualifies for the housing register. This will include verifying financial information
A right to rent document is a document which proves your legal right to rent a property in England. THere are many different documents which can be used as a right to rent document. These include passports, driving licences and documents for other public bodies. If you do not have RIght to Rent documents you cannot be nominated to property. A full list of documents can be found HERE
Documents can be provided through your account page.
Applying for Sheltered and over 55's accommodation is exactly the same as applying for other accomodation. Please complete an online application.
Your unique reference number is given to you when you first register to use the HomeChoice website. If you cannot remember it then you can request a reminder by clicking HERE
This happens if we already have a record of you on our Housing database. Please either submit a query HERE or call the Housing Allocations Officers on 01306 885001 so that we can invesitgate and help.
No. You can bid at any time during the bidding cycle (Midnight on a Thursday to Midnight on a Wednesday) and the computer system we use will prioritise your application in band and date order.
All housing register applications are assessed and prioritised in accordance with our Housing Allocations Policy. The policy explains the criteria for each Band. If you feel that your band has not correctly been assessed please call the HomeChoice Officers on 01306 885001 or submit an online query HERE.
If you have any change in your circumstances you must let the Housing team know straight away as it may affect your Housing Register application. To do this you should login to your housing application and make the necessary changes. This will then be sent to the Council where an officer will review the changes you have made and contact you if it has an impact on your housing application.
The effective date is the date that you moved into the Band you are in.
There are three reasons that this may be the case.
(1) That it is a Thursday. No properties are advertised on a Thursday and there will therefore be no properties that you are eligible for.
(2) That there are no properties of the right size for you and your household this week
(3) You have not yet applied for the housing register
It is not possible for us to contact every household that bids upon a property. We will contact you if you may be successful in being considered for a property or being considered as a reserve household.
It is impossible for us to ever say how long it may be before you will be successful in being nominated for social housing. You are able to see each week where you came in the list for a property by looking at 'recent lets'. We are also able to advise you how long people have been waiting for properties according to the size of the property and the Band of the applicant.
A rural connection is defined in our Allocation Policy. Any properties which become available in any of the rural areas stated in the allocation policy will have reasonable preference given to those people with a defined local connection. The connections include the length of time you have resided in the area; been employed in the area or have close family living in the area. Please refer to S11.5 of the Allocation Policy for further detailed information.
All applications are assessed using our Housing Allocations Policy. The policy explains who qualifies to apply for the housing register; the reasons why someone may be refused; and the way that applications are prioritised. Qualifying households are firstly put in the appropriate Band based on their housing needs, and then prioritised in the date order that they were eligible for that Band.
For some adverts we give preference to certain households. This is always noted on the property advert. It may be that the property is ground floor - in this case preference will be given to those households with a proven ground floor need. It may also be that the property is in a rural location and therefore households with a proven local connection to that rural area will be given reasonable preference.
If you have been skipped it means that we have had to not consider you for a particular property and we have moved on to someone who may be in a lower band or be in the same band as you but have been on the housing register a shorter amount of time. The reasons for this may be that the property has specific reasons why preference has been given to others. It may be that the property is ground floor - in this case preference will be given to those households with a proven ground floor need. It may also be that the property is in a rural location and therefore households with a proven local connection to that rural area will be given reasonable preference.
No. The housing association can still refuse the nomination. Each housing association has their own allocation policies, and although they largely mirror the Allocation Policy of MVDC, there are slight differences. You may for instance be refused if you owe that housing assosication money, regardless of whether you have been keeping to a repayment arrangement.
This means that a part of your application is being checked or verified by a member of the Housing Team. It may be that we are checking your rent account with your landlord, or that we have asked you for documentation which has not yet been received. If you are not sure then please contact a member of the Housing Team through your messages
If you want someone to move with you into any future home then you need to add them to your application. You will also need to supply the same information for them that you had to for yourself including previous addresses, financial details and right to rent information. Once all this information has been received your application will be reassessed. They cannot move with you if they have not been included on your application.
Every year you will be contacted via the website to renew your application. This is an opportunity to show that you wish to remain on the Housing Register and update your details. Should you not renew your applicaiton within the given time frame your application will be cancelled. If this happens you would need to reappply to join the Housing Register again and would lose all the previous time that you had been on the register.
You can advertise your property in any number of places to see if you can find someone who wishes to swap properties with you. It is worth contacting your current landlord to see if they are signed up to one of the national schemes such as HomeSwapper. There are also a number of mutual exchange sites set up on social media. By registering with such a scheme you can advertise your property as well as searching for properties that you may wish to swap with. When you have found a property then both households need to approach their landlords to request a mutual exchange. A decision should be made by the landlord within 6 weeks. The main reasons for refusal would be if you have rent arrears or the property you wish to move to is too big or too small for your needs.
To speak to a Housing Options officer for advice about your situation please call 01306 885001 and ask for the Options officers. You may also find it helpful to complete our Online Housing Options Assessment tool.
Please call 01306 885001 and ask to speak to one of the Housing Options Officers. They will be able to give you some initial advice on the telephone and arrange for you to have a comprehensive Housing Options appointment to see what your options are and what we can do to help.