Housing
Allocations Policy
– Summary version
How to get a rented
home in Nottingham
NHLLFT4
Contents
Introduction
3
Who can go on to the Housing Register?
4
How to get on the Housing Register
5
What advice and support is available?
6
Support needs assessments
The Banding Scheme
Band One
Band Two
Band Three
Band Four
Band Five
Multiple needs
What type of property could you be eligible for?
How housing is offered
How do I know if I’m successful?
Local preference
People in Band One
Withdrawing an offer
Refusing an offer
Victoria Centre Flats
Local lettings
‘Right Size’
Equal opportunities
Complaints
Contact us
2
Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
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7-12
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8
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11-12
13-17
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Introduction
This booklet is a summary of Nottingham City Council’s
Housing Allocations Policy.
It tells you:
• who can go on to the housing register
• how to get on to the housing register
• how we place applications on the register once these have
been accepted
• who can be offered a property
• how housing is offered
• what advice and support is available to applicants.
Nottingham City Homes (NCH) administers applications for housing
on behalf of Nottingham City Council and the Registered Providers,
through Nottingham HomeLink.
Within this leaflet, ‘we’ means NCH and other local Registered
Providers (Housing Associations).
A detailed version of the Housing Allocations Policy
is available at:
www.nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk/find_a_home
www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk/links-and-documents
3
Who can go on to the
Housing Register?
To qualify to be included on Nottingham City’s housing
register applicants must be eligible for social housing
within the law and:
• have lived in Nottingham for three out of the last five years
• be 18 years of age or above.
Applicants will not qualify to apply if:
• their behaviour has been unacceptable, which makes them
unsuitable to be a tenant
• they are a home owner or have financial interest in a home
• they have low / no housing need – for example if they already
have their own tenancy and are living in a home that
is adequate in terms of size and facilities
• they are not currently available to live in one of our properties
– for example, prisoners.
If we decide we cannot register you, we will send you a letter to tell
you why and let you know how to ask for a review of our decision.
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Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
How to get on to
the Housing Register
To join the Housing Register, you need to complete
a registration form. Forms are available at all of the NCH
and HomeLink partner offices and joint service centres.
If you are not sure if you qualify, or whether this is the
best housing option for you, please contact us on
0115 746 9977 and we will give you advice and, if necessary
the support to make an application.
When we receive your application and all of the supporting documents,
we will assess your application and place it into one of the Bands,
as described in the ‘Banding Scheme’ section of this leaflet (see pages
seven to ten).
We will contact you, usually by email, to let you know which band you
are in. If you disagree with the band you are in, you can appeal. The
appeals form is available to download from
www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk/links-and-documents.
You can also get a form from any NCH or HomeLink partner office,
or by contacting the HomeLink Team on the number above.
When we have registered your application form, you can
download a copy of the booklet ‘Guide to Nottingham
HomeLink’ from:
www.nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk/find_a_home
or www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk and click on ‘useful links
and documents’. This will provide you with much more detail about
the HomeLink system.
5
What advice and
support is available?
The HomeLink team can help you with any part of the
process of applying for a home. You can contact the team
through the website, www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk
and clicking on ‘Contact us’ or by calling 0115 746 9977.
If you have any special needs, such as sign language
or interpretation, we can make arrangements to meet these needs.
Support needs assessments
When you apply for a home, we will carry out an initial Support
Needs and Risk Assessment. If a more detailed assessment
is needed, we will usually ask you to come to one of our offices
for the assessment or arrange a suitable place to meet you.
This will look at the possible needs you may have once you become
a tenant – for example getting furniture, getting energy supplied
to your home, advice on paying your rent and support you may
require to succesfully manage your tenancy.
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Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
The Banding Scheme
HomeLink uses a Banding Scheme to decide how urgent
your needs are.
We put you into one of five bands based on your current housing
situation. You may be asked to provide evidence to enable
us to assess the correct band for you. If you fit into more than one
band, we will place you in the highest of these. We place
applications according to the date we put you into your band.
The Housing Register bands are as follows (please see
the full version of the Housing Allocations Policy for the
detailed criteria):
Band One
People who qualify for Nottingham City Council’s housing register
and who Nottingham City Council have a duty to house due
to statutory homeless.
To be declared statutory homeless, you first need to be assessed
by Nottingham City Council’s Housing Aid Team.
The contact details for Housing Aid can be found on page 21
of this leaflet.
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Band Two
• People suffering severe racial harassment, domestic violence
or other threats of violence
• Medical and disability grounds
• People in hospital and ready to be discharged, but their own
home cannot be adapted to meet their requirements
• Welfare grounds, for example young people leaving care
• Insanitary and / or unsatisfactory housing
conditions – serious cases
• Severe overcrowding
• Vulnerable teenage parents
• People sleeping rough on the streets in Nottingham city
• People who must leave their home because of regeneration
in Nottingham
• Families with more than one child living in a one-bedroom
home within the city
• Families with dependent children living in Nottingham City
Council high-rise flats
• People releasing high demand social rented properties,
including those who are under-occupying by two bedrooms
or more and those giving up extensively adapted properties
• Social Housing Tenants leaving tied accommodation because
of redundancy / retirement
• Management Recommendations – residents with no legal
rights to succession
• Nottingham Ciy Council approved adoptive and foster parents.
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Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
Band Three
• Priority need – intentionally homeless
• Social housing tenants who need to move due to:
– non-violent relationship breakdown
– serious and irreconcilable neighbour disputes / lower
level harassment
– former tenants who gave up their tenancy when they
were sent to prison
– tenants who have physical / mental health issues
– other management reasons.
• Non-urgent welfare cases
• Hardship cases – including those who are under-occupying
by only one bedroom and cannot afford to pay the difference
between rent and benefit payments
• Overcrowding – lacking at least one bedroom
• Hostel residents, with move-on support, who have been
referred through the Homelessness Prevention Gateway
• Families within the city living in flats / maisonettes
without a garden
• Families living in shared accomodation
• HM Forces families with dependent children, who are ready
to be discharged.
Band Four
• Other homeless households
• Other overcrowding for reasons other than natural growth
• Social housing tenants who are under-occupying but do not fall
within Bands Two or Three
• People living in shared accomodation, who have no dependent
children living with them
• HM Forces personnel who do not have dependent children
living with them who are ready for discharge.
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Band Five
• Lower need applicants who qualify for older
persons accomodation.
Multiple needs
If you’re in Band Two, and have more than one of the needs in this
band, we may treat your application as if you had been waiting for
a longer time, by giving what we call ‘added waiting time’
to your application.
This will mean:
• If two of the situations listed in Band Two apply to you,
we will treat you as if you have waited an extra six months, or
• If three of the situations listed in Band Two apply to you,
we will treat you as if you have waited an extra 12 months.
The maximum additional time which can be added for multiple
needs is 12 months.
Additional banding information
• Additional preference will be given to some current and former
members of HM Forces if they are in urgent housing
need (Bands One and Two).
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What type of property could you be eligible for?
You will be advised when you register of the size and type of home
for which you will be eligible. The table on the following pages gives
a general guide to what this might be.
Number of people
in household
Types of property you
can bid for
Single person /
couples
Bedsit
Flat / maisonette low rise
Flat / maisonette high rise
Bungalow (over 60s or
with medical priority)
Older person’s
accommodation
(over 60s or as defined
by individual RSL)
Minimum
number of
bedrooms
Maximum
number of
bedrooms
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
Single person /
couples with
overnight access
to children
Upstairs flat / maisonette
1
2
Adult Sharers (not
couple)/Households
with adult children
Upstairs flat / maisonette
Bungalow (over 60s
or with medical priority)
1
2
3
2
Households with
one child / pregnant
first time
Low rise flat / maisonette
House (one living room)
Bungalow (over 60s or
with medical priority)
2
2
2
2
2
2
Households with
two children
Low rise flat / maisonette
House (one living room)
House (two living rooms)
Bungalow (over 60s
or with medical priority)
2
2
2
2
3
3
2
3
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Number of people
in household
Types of property you
can bid for
Minimum
number of
bedrooms
Maximum
number of
bedrooms
Households with
three children
Low rise flat /maisonette
House (one living room)
House (two living rooms)
Bungalow (over 60s
or with medical priority)
3
3
3
3
3
4
3
3
Household with four
or more children
House (one living room)
House (two living rooms)
3
3
Depending
on family
size and
stock
available
Notes:
Households will only be considered for any property with more than the minimum
bedrooms needed if they can afford it. An affordability assessment will be carried
out for all applicants prior to offer.
Sizes depend on the age of children. We will not allocate a property which will
make a household overcrowded, according to the bedroom standard.
Bungalows – if there are no bidders who have a level access need or who are
over 60, we will consider applicants over the age of 40 in some circumstances.
Nottingham City Homes ‘Independent Living’ accommodation applicants must
generally be aged 60 and over. For couples, both people must be over 60.
Applicants aged 55-59 who are in receipt of a Disability Living Allowance will
also be considered if no-one over 60 bids. Age limits for individual Registered
Providers may vary – specific details will be available in adverts.
Single people / couples with a medical recommendation may be considered for
two bedroom accommodation if their medical condition means there is a need,
e.g. to facilitate overnight care.
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How housing is offered
Bidding
We use a choice-based lettings scheme called
Nottingham HomeLink. We advertise all properties
as soon as they become available on the website
www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk.
Property sheets are also available from all HomeLink partner housing
offices and support agencies. Most properties will be advertised for
six days, although we may advertise some homes for a shorter
or longer time.
If you have difficulty in accessing information on properties,
call the HomeLink Team on 0115 746 9977.
You tell us which properties you are interested in by ‘bidding’ for
property either on the website or by telephone. You can bid on three
properties each week. You do not have to use all three bids, only bid
on properties you want to be considered for.
If you continue to refuse properties you have bid on, you may be taken
off the Housing Register.
How do I know if I’m successful?
We offer the home to the person who meets the conditions for the
property, and who has been in their housing need band for the longest.
We aim to make offers to the first successful bidder within 48 hours
of the close of bids. We will then contact you wherever possible,by
e-mail and / or telephone to tell you if you have been successful and
to make arrangements for you to view the property.
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We‘ll guide you through the process, so you can move as soon
as possible. If you were among the top 10 bidders we may also
contact you to view the property in case the first successful
bidder refuses the offer.
If you are not contacted by the Monday following the closure of the
bidding, you should assume that you are unlikely to be offered the
tenancy and you should consider bidding on other properties.
Local preference
We believe that communities can be made stronger if people who
need housing are able to stay in the area where they currently live.
We give you additional priority if you bid for a property in the same
area as though you had been in your band longer, if any
of these apply:
• You have children in your local school
• You receive regular support with childcare from a close
family member who lives locally
• You give or receive support because a close family
member has a disability or severe illness.
All of these are subject to specific distances.
14 Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
People in Band One
If you are in Band One, you have 28 days from the date you went
into the band to bid for a property through HomeLink. Each week
we advertise a number of properties, giving priority to people in
Band One. If, after 28 days, you have not managed to get a property
through HomeLink, we will offer one suitable property (this may
be in the private rental sector).
You can ask us to review how suitable the offer is, but if we feel
our offer is suitable and you still refuse it, we will move you
from Band One and review your need.
Withdrawing an offer
Occasionally, we may have to withdraw an offer made to you.
We want to arrange to let properties as soon as tenants tell
us they are leaving. Very occasionally a tenant may tell us they have
changed their mind. If that happens we’ll have to withdraw the offer.
Refusing an offer
We will always aim to provide you with as much information
as possible on the properties you can bid for, to help you bid on the
properties that are right for you.
Other than Band one applicants (see ‘People in Band One on page
14) if you continue to refuse suitable offers, or continually bid for
properties that you are not eligible for, or are not realistic for your
needs, we will impose sanctions, for example we may remove your
application from the Housing register.
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Victoria Centre Flats
We use a different policy for flats that are part of the Victoria Centre.
You need to be employed (or if you cannot work, you must
be claiming disability benefits or state retirement pension) before
we can offer you a property in the Victoria Centre. We consider
applications for people for the Victoria Centre strictly in the
order of the date they applied.
Local lettings
To make sure our communities are strengthened, we sometimes
apply ‘local lettings policies’ in particular areas. For example,
to tackle anti-social behaviour or to address other local priorities,
such as supporting people into work.
We will make it clear when advertising a property if there is a ‘local
lettings policy’ and what the criteria is to apply.
‘Right Size’
If you or your family are living in an overcrowded house,
or if your family has left home and your home feels
too big for you, we may be able to help.
Our ‘Right Size’ team may be able to help find better ways for you
to live more comfortably in your current home, or offer support
to help you move out to a home that better suits your requirements.
To find out more about the scheme, call the team
on 0115 746 9977.
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Equal opportunities
Allocations are monitored are scrutinised to make sure they are
made in accordance with the Allocations Policy. We are committed
to making sure that we treat all people fairly.
People who are eligible to join the Housing Register will not
be discriminated against on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic
or national origin, disability, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation
or marital status.
Complaints
We are committed to providing excellent services.
If you have a complaint about any way we have dealt with
your application, you can contact us through our website
at www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk or call us on 0115 746 9977.
We will either deal with your complaint immediately, or explain
to you how to make a formal complaint.
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Contact us
HomeLink team
Nottingham City Homes
Oak View
c/o Harvey Road
Bilborough
Nottingham
NG8 3BB
Phone: 0115 746 9977
E-mail: homelink@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Web: www.nottinghamhomelink.org.uk
Text: ‘HOME’ to 80800, followed by your message.
This service is free and we’ll call you back if you need us to.
Nottingham City Homes local housing offices
Aspley Housing Office
14 Strelley Road
Strelley
Nottingham
NG8 3AP
Phone: 0115 915 3121
E-mail: aspleyoffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Bestwood Housing Office
Elmbridge
Bestwood Park
Nottingham
NG5 5PF
Phone: 0115 915 3301
E-mail: bestwoodoffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
18 Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
Bulwell Housing Office at Bulwell Riverside Centre
Main Street
Bulwell
Nottingham
NG6 8QJ
Phone: 0115 883 3520
E-mail: bulwelloffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Clifton Housing Office at Clifton Cornerstone
Southchurch Drive
Clifton
Nottingham
NG11 8EW
Phone: 0115 878 6287
E-mail: cliftonoffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Radford and Hyson Green Housing Office
at Mary Potter Centre
Gregory Boulevard
Hyson Green
Nottingham
NG7 5HY
Phone: 0115 883 8220
E-mail: radfordoffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
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St Ann’s Housing Office at St Ann’s Valley Centre
2 Livingstone Road
St Ann’s
Nottingham
NG3 3CG
Phone: 0115 883 9710
E-mail: stannsoffice@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Info Point
Nottingham Central Library
3 Angel Row
Nottingham
NG1 6HP
Phone: 0115 915 2828
Open: Monday to Friday, 8.15am to 5.30pm
Housing Aid
135 Lower Parliament Street
Nottingham
NG1 1EE
Phone: 0115 915 3000
E-mail: housingaid@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Open: Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm
and Wedensdays, 10.30am to 4.30pm
20 Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
HomeLink Registered Providers
Accent Nene Housing Society Ltd.
2 Ashton Avenue
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 8LL
Phone: 0115 926 3969
E-mail accentnenenottingham.admin@accentnene.org
Website: www.accentgroup.org
Affinty Sutton
Maple House
157-159 Masons Hill
Bromley
Kent BR2 9HY
Phone: 0300 100 0303
E-mail: customerservice@affinitysutton.org.uk
Website: www.affinitysutton.com
ASRA Housing Group
3 Bede Island Road
Leicester
LE2 7EA
Phone: 0116 257 6700
Email: homes@asra.org.uk
Website: www.asra.org.uk
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Derwent Living
No. 1 Centro Place
Pride Park
Derby
DE24 8RF
Phone: 01332 346 477
Email: info@derwentliving.com
Website: www.derwentliving.com
Longhurst and Havelok
5 The Triangle
Enterprise Way
Nottingham
NG2 1AE
Phone: 0800 111 4013
Email: service.centre@longhurst-group.org.uk
Website: www.landh.org.uk
Metropolitan
Raleigh House
68-84 Alfreton Road
Nottingham
NG7 3NN
Phone: 0203 535 3535
Email: contactus@metropolitan.org.uk
Website: www.metropolitan.org.uk
22 Housing Allocations Policy – summary version
Nottingham Community Housing Association
12/14 Pelham Road
Sherwood Rise
Nottingham NG5 1AP
Phone: 0800 013 8555
Website: www.ncha.org.uk
Places for People Homes
12 Vivian Avenue
Sherwood Rise
Nottingham
NG5 1AF
Phone: 0115 969 0244
E-mail: midlands.area@placesforpeople.co.uk
Website: www.placesforpeople.co.uk
Stonewater
Phone: 0800 011 6420
or 01202 319 119 (from a mobile)
Website: www.stonewater.org
Tuntum Housing Association
90 Beech Avenue
New Basford
Nottingham
NG7 7LW
Phone: 0115 916 6066
Email: admin@tuntum.co.uk
Website: www.tuntum.co.uk
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If you are unable to read this publication, please contact
your local housing office or call us on 0845 330 3131.
We can arrange for an interpreter to explain it to you,
or send you a spoken word version. We can also provide
you with a magnifier to make this leaflet easier to read.
Si vous ne parvenez pas à lire ce bulletin d’information, contactez s’il
vous plait votre service du logement local ou appelez-nous au 0845 330
3131. Nous mettrons à votre disposition un interprète qui se chargera
de vous l’expliquer, ou vous l’envoyer en version parlée sur cassette
audio ou CD. Et si aucune de ces options ve vous convient, alors nous
pourons traduire le bulletin d’information dans la langue de votre choix.
Nous pouvons aussi vous le fournir en grands caractères.
www.nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Registered in England and Wales number 5292636
April 2015