The majority of people in need of a new or alternative home will not get an offer of social housing.
You can contact our Housing Options Team using our online form to talk about your housing needs.
Contact the Housing Options team
To complete the form you will need:
- your name address and contact details
- your email address
- details of you current living arrangements including any tenancy or rental agreements
- details of your housing need
Ways to find a private rented home
Unless you are able to fund a mortgage, the private rented sector will be your best way of finding a new home. When you are looking for private rented accommodation, it is important to get regular information about vacancies. You should also follow it up the same day or as soon as possible.
To find private rented accommodation you can:
- search online using:
- register with letting agents
- check local newspapers
- check noticeboards locally
- advertise that you need a place to rent through social media and free websites
- use word of mouth through friends and family
Things to consider
There several things to think about when you rent in the private sector.
Local Housing Allowance
The Local Housing Allowance will affect what properties you can rent if you rely on benefits to pay your rent.
Legal documents and agreements
When you rent in the private sector you may be asked to:
- pay fees
- provide references and documents to check your immigration status
- provide a guarantor
- pay rent in advance
- pay tenancy deposits
Benefits
If you are on a low income you may be able to apply for:
- Housing Benefit
- a Discretionary Housing Payment
- help with rent in advance and deposits
Due to limited funds, we generally only make loans and bonds available to households with dependent children.
Our loan and bonds are discretionary and we decide if we are going to make them.
If we make you a loan, you will have to pay it back, usually through regular monthly instalments.
If we agree to provide a Deposit Bond this will usually only be for the first 12 months of your tenancy. You will need to save up over that time so that you can pay the deposit yourself when the bond expires.
Future moves
Credit Unions offer loans to their savers. You might want to think about starting to save towards a future move.
