Page content section :
Housing
Applying for council housing (allocations / lettings)
The lettings section manages the housing register (waiting list), the transfer register, letting of council properties and nominations to housing associations. It also deals with mutual exchanges and management of the homes mobility scheme.
If at any time you need / want to end your tenancy please use the on-line form below :
Choice
based lettings - Sussex Homemove
Choice-based lettings is a new approach to letting homes which aims to make letting arrangements more transparent and easier for tenants and applicants to apply for housing with the Council or a housing association in the area.
Homemove is the name of the new sub-regional choice based lettings scheme. The aim of this type of scheme is that it will you more choice about where you want to live and a better idea about the number and type of properties that become available in the area.
From the beginning of July 2007, all properties that would normally be allocated by the Lettings Team at the Council will be advertised in a fortnightly freesheet. Instead of the Council deciding where and when you move, now you will have the chance to choose.
You will be able to use ‘Sussex Homemove’ to find a new home if you are an existing council or housing association tenant wanting to transfer or if you are seeking housing in the Adur District for the first time. Sussex Homemove will advertise all the available council and housing association homes in the area; both general needs and sheltered housing.
Every fortnight, all housing vacancies will be advertised in a freesheet and at www.homemove.org.uk and you will be able to look at the adverts and decide whether you want to be considered for a property. You can tell us which properties you are interested in by making a bid. To bid for an advertised property, you will have to be a member of Sussex Homemove which means that you must be registered on the Housing Register. Remember, you can only bid for properties in the area in which you are registered and you will have to bid to be considered for a property.
You will be able to make your bids over the internet, by phone, by postal coupon or by text message. If your bid is at the top of the list we will contact you and arrange for you to view the property. With the exception of a few emergency priority cases, the Council and housing association partners in the scheme will no longer directly allocate properties to people and so you will have to bid for properties that you are interested in to find a new home.
Although Sussex Homemove will give you more choice about where you want to live and a better idea about the number and type of properties that become available in the District, those most in housing need will still be given preference over those that are in less need. A Feedback Report will be included in each edition of the Homemove freesheet so that you can see how we let the properties in the previous edition. You will be able to see what level of priority the successful bidder had and how long they had waited for their new home.
For further information please see the Homemove scheme user guide (.PDF 1,238kb) or go to www.homemove.org.uk
To register on Adur District Council’s Housing Register see below.
If you need any advice on bidding, your housing options or any aspect of the service, please call our Lettings Team on 01273 263316 / 01273 263317.
Copies of the Homemove freesheet can be collected from the following places
List of Homemove leaflet locations (.PDF 741kb)
General information about bidding on Homemove (.PDF 738kb)
- You can find out more by calling the Lettings Manager
on (01273) 263316 or send lettings an e-mail
Mutual Exchange
If you currently live within the Adur District :
The mutual exchange scheme enables local authority and housing association tenants to swap their home with another tenant within the Adur District.
If you would like to put the details of your property on the mutual exchange register, please complete the mutual exchange advert information form. This means that your property will be included in the register and other households looking to find a property to swap with will be able to see the details of your home in the hard copy register property listings available at the Lancing and Southwick housing offices and also at the Civic Centre (not on-line).
Please note : You can only apply to go on the Adur mutual exchange register if you currently live in the Adur District. If you live outside the Adur District see below.
If you have already found a property and household that want to swap with you, you will need to complete and return the request for mutual tenancy exchange form.
For more information about mutual exchanges please contact : the Lettings Manager on (01273) 263316 or send lettings an e-mail
If you currently live outside the Adur District :
- HomeSwapper : This is the largest mutual exchange
service for council and housing association tenants wanting to swap homes.
More information can be found on the HomeSwapper website (www.homeswapper.co.uk) - Exchange UK : is a website dedicated to helping
Council and Housing Association tenants find mutual exchanges. Council house
exchange and mutual house swaps, for housing association tenants and the
local council of your area. Exchange UK can help you to find your house swap,
exchange for special needs find your multiple exchange or ideal house. Exchange
UK list house exchanges from all across the UK from the Southwest to Scotland.
More information can be found on the Exchange UK website (www.exchangeuk.co.uk) - UK HomeSwap : is a nationwide scheme enabling local
authority and housing association tenants to swap their homes.
More information can be found on the UK HomeSwap website (www.ukhomeswap.co.uk) - Council exchange and homeswap lists : is a nationwide
scheme enabling local authority and housing association tenants to swap their
homes.
More information can be found on the Council exchange and homeswap lists website (www.councilexchangesite.co.uk) - Property Swap Shop : Home swapping and home
exchange for council house tenants, home owners and holiday homes.
More information can be found on the Property Swap Shop website (http://www.property-swap-shop.com/)
Who can join the housing register?
In accordance with the Housing Act 1996, Part VI (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002) and the Council’s Choice Based Lettings Scheme, all applicants are eligible to join the Council’s Housing Register apart from certain classes of persons that are ‘subject to immigration control’ as prescribed by Government regulations. In short, those that are ‘subject to immigration control’ can not go on the Housing Register and therefore can not get Council housing.
This includes applicants from any country within the enlarged European Economic Area (EEA), applicants who are UK nationals returning from abroad and those who are UK nationals coming to the UK for the first time.
Examples of those persons that are not eligible for housing :
- A person registered with the Home Office as an asylum seeker;
- A person or visitor to this country (including overseas students) who has a valid leave to enter or remain in the UK on the condition that they do not have recourse to public funds;
- A person whose only right to reside in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland is because they are ‘economically active’;
- A person who is not habitually resident or who has a right to reside in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland;
- A person who is a national of a non-European Economic Area;
- A person who is a national of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary or the Czech Republic who has not worked in the UK continuously for 12 months (proof of authorisation under the Home Office Worker Registration Scheme will be required);
- A ‘sponsored person’ who has been in the country less than five years and any other person who is in the UK illegally or who has overstayed their leave.
There is a review procedure if we remove you from the Housing Register or refuse to place you on it. For further information on this and anything else in this leaflet, please contact a member of the Lettings Team at the Civic Centre.
For more information you can read the register of housing need and lettings scheme guidance notes (.PDF 65kb)
- You can find out more by calling the Lettings Manager
on (01273) 263316 or send lettings an e-mail
See also :
- Application
to join the housing register on-line form
(requires Adobe Acrobat) - Housing
register - change of circumstances on-line form
(requires Adobe Acrobat) - Application
for accommodation - medical assessment on-line form
(requires Adobe Acrobat)
- Asylum seekers
- Tenants handbook
