Apply for housing

To apply for social housing you will need to join the Gateway to Homechoice register.

Apply for housing

Despite the ever growing number of applicants on the register, there is a limited number of properties available. Successful applicants will often have a long wait to secure accommodation.

You can find out how we allocate properties on the Gateway to Homechoice website.

Most people in the local area will look to secure private rented accommodation as there are a lot more choice and no waiting time. You can read about the private rented sector for more information.

You may also be able to find housing quicker through:

• the Rural Housing Local Connection scheme 
• Housing swap and mutual exchange

Joining the register

You can register on Gateway to Homechoice if:

• you are 16 years old or over
• you are not subject to immigration control
• you can pass the habitual residence test
• you and your household are resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland
• you or your household are not guilty of behaviour which would make you unsuitable to be a tenant

You can read our allocations policy to find more about our eligibility criteria.

We are currently experiencing a high number of new applications leading to an increase in processing times.  At the present time it is taking 8-10 weeks to process new applications; thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. 

Information

When you apply to register on Gateway to Homechoice, you will need:

• the national insurance number for all household members who are 16 and over
• the name and address of all household members including children
• the date of birth for all household members including children
• your contact phone number
• your email address
• the full address history for the last six years for all household members
• the employment and income details for all household members
• details of your connection to the district such as family links or employment
• please be aware that, if you do need to speak to someone in the team, calls aren’t taken after 12 noon on Tuesdays or Thursday to enable us to focus on assessing applications