Applying for a home through Durham Key Options

Transcription

1 Appying for a home through Durham Key Options Foow us on December 2014

2 Equaity and diversity A Durham Key Options documents can be provided in arge print, audio tape or CD, eectronicay via emai or in Braie. We can aso provide an induction oop, BSL interpreter, same-gender interview or home visit if required. If you woud ike us to provide this information in your first anguage, or woud ike us to provide a transator and meet you to discuss its contents, pease contact us on the reevant Durham Key Options phone number as isted on page 3. We can aso provide same-gender interviews and home visits in County Durham when needed.

3 Accent Foundation Cestria Housing Dae and Vaey Homes Derwentside Homes Durham City Homes East Durham Homes ivin Teesdae Housing

4 Contents Page Introduction 5 Providing services fairy 6 Appying for a home through Durham Key Options 7 How does the etting service work? 7 Who can appy? 7 How do I appy? 8 Competing your appication form 9 How wi you assess my appication? 10 Can you refuse my appication? 12 Where can I find out about homes that are avaiabe? 14 What if I need hep? 14 How wi I know which homes are suitabe for me? 15 What if my circumstances change? 15 How do I bid for a home? 16 What are my chances of success? 17 Other housing options 18 Mutua exchange 18 Loca offers - our promise to you 19 4

5 Introduction This booket expains the Durham Key Options choice-based etting scheme. Our partners use this scheme to et homes across County Durham. Homes from other organisations, such as housing associations and private andords, can aso be et through us. And we offer ow-cost home ownership, too. Durham Key Options is a partnership between Durham County Counci and the foowing andords who advertise their properties through the scheme: Accent Foundation Cestria Community Housing Dae and Vaey Homes Derwentside Homes Durham City Homes East Durham Homes ivin Teesdae Housing Association Other andords aso advertise through Durham Key Options. For a fu ist, pease visit or contact one of our partner andords (see pages for detais). 5

6 Providing services fairy We aim to ensure that a our customers can use our services regardess of age, race, sex, disabiity, reigion, sexuaity, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, or marriage and civi partnership. We do this by ensuring we train a our staff to understand peope s different needs. We aso monitor our services to make sure we provide them fairy to everyone. Staff wi: hep you fi in forms contact you by your preferred method provide an interpretation service if your first anguage is not Engish give you information, on request, in different anguages or in different formats such as arge print, Braie, CD or audio tape use pain Engish take into account any additiona needs you may have provide you with support if you need it take cas using Typetak where possibe, arrange for you to speak to, or be visited by, a member of staff of the same sex as you, if you wish provide induction oop systems visit you at home if necessary provide you with a sign-anguage service if you need it. 6

7 Appying for a home through Durham Key Options How does the etting service work? 1. You must compete an appication form to join our housing register. 2. We wi assess your appication within 28 working days after you have given us a the information we need. We wi use your preferred method of contact to et you know we have assessed it. If we accept your appication, we wi te you what priority band we have given you and what kind of property you can appy for. 3. Each week we wi advertise a avaiabe homes. The advert wi te you what type of appicant is suitabe for each home and which band we wi give preference to (see page 10). It wi aso te you when the bidding for an advertised home wi cose. 4. If you see a home you ike, you can appy for it. We ca this bidding. 5. We wi offer the home to the person in the advertised band who has waited the ongest. If there is no-one in that band, we wi offer it to someone in the next band. 6. You can bid for as many homes as you ike each week. 7. Generay, if we don t contact you within one week of the cosing date, you wi have been unsuccessfu. You can then continue to bid for other properties. 8. Our website wi give detais of how we et previousy advertised homes: see This may incude how ong the successfu appicant had been waiting and what priority band they were in. Who can appy? Anyone over the age of 16 can appy to join our housing register; however, not everyone wi be eigibe or quaify. This may be due to immigration contro or unacceptabe behaviour. 7

8 How do I appy? 1. You need to compete an appication form. You ony need to do this once, then you can bid for a the properties you are eigibe for. You can compete an onine appication form at our website You can aso get a form from any of our partner andords (see pages for detais) or by downoading one from the website. You can ony bid for a home when you have competed the form and we have accepted your appication. 2. With the form, you wi need to provide proof of identity and address for you and any joint appicant. You must show us one kind of proof for each of the items in the eft-hand coumn: Identity and date of birth birth certificate, or passport, or UK driving icence, or NHS medica card. Current address utiity bi (from within the ast six months), or bank statement (from within the ast six months), or if you ive at home, are a odger or ive in residentia accommodation, we may accept a etter from the person running the home, which says you ive there. 3. If we accept your appication, we wi give you a reference number, a memorabe date, and your priority band. Your memorabe date wi be the main appicant s date of birth, but you wi be asked to change this when you first og in. Pease keep your appication number and memorabe date in a safe pace - you wi need them to bid for a home. 8

9 Competing your appication form You must compete a the sections of the form that appy to you or anyone who is to be re-housed with you. Otherwise we may have to return the form to you and this wi deay your appication. If there is anything on the form you do not understand, pease contact one of our partner andords. They wi be happy to expain. If you need hep to use the scheme You can ask someone to hep you use the scheme. If so, pease give their name and contact detais on the form and tick the reevant box to give them authority to act for you. If you need hep to compete the form or use the scheme, pease contact one of our partner andords. Supporting information As we as your proof of identity and address, we may require other supporting information to hep us assess your form. For the sections on the form that have next to them, you wi need to provide more evidence. The tabe on the next few pages says what kind of evidence we need to see. You shoud provide it with your form. Do I need references? Yes. If you are or have been a tenant, we wi ask your andord(s) if you have kept to your tenancy conditions. This means things ike paying your rent and not behaving anti-sociay. You must te us about any tenancies you have hed. If you don t, this may sow down your appication, and we may even cance it. You must aso te us about any convictions that you or another member of your househod have had. We may check this information with the Poice as it may affect whether you quaify to join the housing register. When we have a the reevant information, incuding references from your andord(s), we wi assess your appication. Then we wi contact you by your preferred method to say whether your appication has succeeded. If so, you can start bidding for a home. 9

10 How wi you assess my appication? We must give priority to peope who are in most housing need, in ine with our ettings poicy. We do not et our homes on a first-come, firstserved basis. We wi assess what you te us on your form and award a priority band according to your needs. At the same time we wi decide the type and size of property you can bid for. Priority bands To see a fu copy of our ettings poicy and fu detais of this scheme, pease visit our website or contact a Durham Key Options partner (see pages 20-22). Band Band A Quaifying criteria Regeneration schemes in County Durham. (Ony if you are osing your property permanenty because of demoition/disposa in a designated regeneration area.) Urgent medica reasons* Priority transfers. (We may award this priority to tenants of a Durham Key Options partner who are iving in an exceptionay high-demand property and there is ow turnover in that property s area. The tenant must be moving to a ower demand property.) *If we award you band A status due to urgent medica reasons and you have an armed or reserve forces connection we wi award you extra priority by backdating your priority date six months. Band B Overcrowded by 2 or more bedrooms** Under-occupying by 2 or more bedrooms (this priority is ony awarded to tenants of a fu Durham Key Options partner) High medica need 10

11 Band Band B cont. Quaifying criteria Homeess appicants. (This means appicants we accept as statutoriy homeess with a fu duty to be housed under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996.) Supported housing/moving on from a supported scheme Care eavers ** If we award you band B status because you are overcrowded by 2 or more bedrooms and you aso have an armed or reserve forces connection we wi award you extra priority by backdating your priority date six months. Band C Unsanitary, overcrowded (by one bedroom), or otherwise unsatisfactory housing Under-occupying by one bedroom (this priority is ony awarded to tenants of a fu Durham Key Options partner) Medica/wefare needs Armed or reserve forces connection Needing to move to avoid hardship Non-statutory homeess Band D Appicants wishing to ive independenty with no other housing need Appicants needing arger accommodation (outside the overcrowding criteria in bands B/C above) with no other housing need Reationship breakdown but with no other housing need To prevent their homeessness, appicants threatened with homeessness within 3 months Band E Appicants who are adequatey housed and have no housing need 11

12 Can you refuse my appication? Yes. The aw does not aow us to offer homes to the foowing groups of peope: Anyone who is subject to immigration contro. Anyone who is not reguary and normay resident in the common trave area. EU nationas required to eave the UK. We may aso refuse appications from peope who have behaved in an unacceptabe way. Unacceptabe behaviour may incude: vioence, incuding domestic vioence drug-deaing harassment, incuding racia harassment noise nuisance intimidation rent/mortgage arrears. We may aso decide to remove your appication from the housing register in the foowing circumstances: You ask to be removed. You accept an offer of accommodation. You fai to repy to a request for more information. You iegay occupy a property owned by a socia housing provider. You or a member of your househod who wi be rehoused with you stop quaifying under the terms of our ettings poicy. You have given fase information in your appication or in any supporting documents You refuse 3 offers of suitabe accommodation in a 12 month period. 12

13 If we are considering removing you from the register, we wi notify you in writing, giving you 28 days to repy. Exception: If you have refused 3 offers we wi suspend you automaticay but you wi sti have the right to appea. If you do not accept my appication or remove me from the register, can I ask you to reconsider? Yes, you have 28 days to appea: against a decision to refuse you access to the housing register if you think you have been treated unfairy in the ettings process if we have removed you from the register except at your own request. At each stage, the foowing peope wi consider the appea: Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 A senior officer of suitabe seniority from the assessing partner organisation. A manager from the assessing partner organisation. Head of Housing and Economic Deveopment, or an appropriate member of staff from the Housing Soutions Service at Durham County Counci. Any appeas from statutoriy homeess appicants regarding refusa of offers are deat with by the Housing Soutions Team at Durham County Counci. 13

14 Where can I find out about homes that are avaiabe? Every Thursday we advertise a our avaiabe properties across County Durham: on our website, on your mobie or tabet, using the above web address in some of our partner andord offices on boards in some pubic buidings in our property newsetter avaiabe in some pubic buidings. For more detais pease see our guide Bidding for a home though Durham Key Options. What if I need hep? If you need hep appying through the Durham Key Options ettings scheme or making a bid for a home, we can: hep you appy for a home, incuding competing forms, at your home if needed offer advice and support hep you understand how the service works hep you bid for a home ask other support agencies to hep you, if needed continue to support you unti you are re-housed. 14

15 How wi I know which homes are suitabe for me? Our adverts wi te you which homes peope in your priority band may bid for. The adverts may say whether there is a minimum age imit or househod size. They wi aso say how many bedrooms there are, how much the rent is, and other usefu information, for exampe the counci tax band or if the property is adapted. You can bid for any property you are eigibe for. The etter you receive when we accept you onto the housing register wi te you the property type you are eigibe for. This wi be based on the number of peope in your househod and your circumstances. Sometimes we may advertise a property aowing smaer househods than usua to appy. If you get Housing Benefit, you wi need to check to see if there wi be an under-occupation charge. For more information contact your Durham Key Options partner (see pages for contact detais). What if my circumstances change? You must notify our partner andord of any change in your circumstances that may affect your appication as this may change your priority band. It wi aso mean a change to your appication/ priority date, which we used in the shortisting process. If you do not inform us of a change in circumstances and we offer you a property, we may withdraw the offer. 15

16 How do I bid for a home? You can bid for as many homes as you ike each week. Don t worry about the word bid - you won t be parting with any money. It simpy means you are interested in a particuar property and wish us to consider you for it. You can make bids: on-ine at (incuding on your mobie) by phone in person at one of our partner andord offices by assisted bidding (for appicants with exceptiona support needs) To find out more, pease see our eafet Guide to bidding for a home through Durham Key Options How ong wi I get to make a bid? We advertise our homes each week from Thursday to Tuesday. The advert wi give a cosing date, and you wi need to bid before this date. What wi happen to my bid? When the deadines for bids have passed, this is what happens: 1. We sort the bids for each home into order according to the priority band and eariest date of appication. This is caed shortisting. 2. If you make more than one bid in the same week and you are top of the ist for more than one property, we wi ask you to choose which property you prefer. 3. Once we have made an offer, we wi not consider your bids for any other homes unti you have decided whether or not to accept the offer. 16

17 When wi I know if my bid has succeeded? If your bid succeeds, we wi contact you as soon as possibe after bidding coses. This is usuay within 24 hours. Generay, if we don t contact you within a week, you have not succeeded this time. Keep bidding for homes you ike unti we contact you with an offer. What are my chances of success? As there are many more bidders than homes avaiabe, you may have to wait some time before we make you an offer. You can get an idea of how ong you may have to wait by checking detais of successfu bidders. We pubish them on the Durham Key Options website and in some partner andord offices. 17

18 Other housing options We can give you advice and hep on other housing options. This incudes information on housing associations and private andords. We aso advertise homes on behaf of other housing associations and private andords. You can aso use the Housing Options Wizard, which you can access via the Durham Key Options website. It can give you advice on a the housing options avaiabe to you, incuding shared ownership, private rented property and mutua exchange. The wizard can aso give advice on mortgage rescue, hep with debts and homeessness. If you woud ike free and independent advice on your housing rights, you can contact the Citizens Advice Bureau. They can advise you on things ike possession proceedings, repairs, housing benefit, harassment and iega eviction. Mutua exchange A mutua exchange is where two socia housing tenants swap home. It can enabe you to move to a more suitabe home much more quicky. Most tenants with secure or assured tenancies have the right to exchange their property as ong as they compy with their tenancy conditions and meet the reevant ega conditions. For more information about mutua exchanges, pease contact your nearest Durham Key Options partner andord (see pages 20-22). 18

19 We are committed to providing you with exceent services. We wi reguary review our oca offers (caed standards of service ). This wi hep us ensure we continue to provide high-quaity services. We wi: register your appication within 5 working days of receiving it* contact you within 10 working days in the way you prefer, if we need any further information* Loca offers our promise to you assess your appication within 28 days, after you have given us a the information we need* te you how to appea if you disagree with our decision contact you at east once a year to check if you sti need a home.** *This is the minimum service you shoud expect. Some partner andords may have different service standards. **If we have accepted you onto the register but paced you in band E we wi ony contact you if we are offering you a property. It is your responsibiity to update us of any change in circumstance you may have. 19

20 Contact detais for our partner organisations Accent Foundation Accent Foundation, Midde Street, Backha, Hartepoo TS27 4EA Teephone: (or 0345 from your mobie) Website: Chester-e-Street area Cestria Community Housing Association Bowes Offices, Lambton Park, Chester-e-Street, County Durham DH3 4AN Teephone: Website: Derwentside area Derwentside Homes Ltd Greengate House, Amos Drive, Greencroft Industria Park Staney, County Durham DH9 7YE Teephone: Emai: Website: 20

21 Durham City Homes area Durham County Counci Lumey House, Whitfied Court, St Johns Road Meadowfied Industria Estate Durham DH7 8XL Teephone: Emai: Website: East Durham area East Durham Homes Head office: 2 Meridian Court, Whitehouse Business Park, Peteree County Durham SR8 2RQ Customer service outets: Peteree Town Centre 29 Yoden Way, Caste Dene Shopping Centre, Peteree, County Durham SR8 1AL Murton Resource Centre 16/17 Woods Terrace, Murton, County Durham SR7 9AD Teephone: (free phone) Teephone: Emai: enquiry@eastdurhamhomes.co.uk Website: 21

22 ivin area ivin Farre House, Arington Way, DurhamGate, Spennymoor County Durham DL16 6NL Teephone: (mobies charges vary) (free from andine) Emai: Website: Teesdae area Teesdae Housing Association 14a Redwe Court, Harmire Industria Estate, Harmire Road Barnard Caste, County Durham DL12 8BN Teephone: Emai: Website: Wear Vaey area Dae and Vaey Homes 27 Longfied Road, South Church Enterprise Park, Bishop Auckand, County Durham DL14 6XB Teephone: Emai: Website: 22

23 Notes 23

24 This document has been carity-checked and awarded the Cear Engish Standard by Pain Language Commission ( which promotes cear and concise communication in documents and on websites