Register

PLEASE USE THE LINK FROM THIS PAGE TO MAKE A NEW APPLICATION FOR HOUSING ONLY. If you were already on the register but have not updated your form please use the link to finish/renew your application from the home page and select the First time logon option.

if you have started completing a form but have not finished yet please use the link to Update finish/renew your application from the home page and select the Login option.

WHAT ARE MY HOUSING OPTIONS?

Home Point in conjunction with the Housing Solutions Team are here to provide advice & assistance on a range of housing options which may be available to meet your own housing needs. To meet the demand in providing that initial advice, a Housing Triage Service has been established so if you need any information other than advice on Home Point, you can:-

Telephone Housing Triage Service on 01432 261600 option 3 during the hours of 10.00am – 4.00pm, Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays).

The range of options available to you, will depend very much on your own situation at the time of your enquiry. The options could include:

Signposting to a more specialist service.
Referrals to accommodation with support services.
Assistance with the completion of the online application to register for affordable housing.
Providing information on Low cost home ownership schemes for those that are unable to purchase on the open market (subject to acceptance criteria).
Applications for the Rent/Bond scheme.
Advice and assistance on rented housing through the main housing associations across the county.

IF YOU ARE READING THIS OUT OF HOURS AND FEEL YOU NEED EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION PLEASE CALL THE MAIN SWITCHBOARD ON 01432 261600.

It is important that you consider any move carefully and make your plans well in advance. Making sudden moves without taking advice may result in making the wrong decision and could worsen your current situation. It is important that you take into account of both your current circumstances and what finances you have available, both in the short and long term. It may be that measures can be taken to enable you to remain in your current home, e.g. you are struggling with the front step or unable to get in and out of the bath easily. It may be possible to refer you to the Advice and Referral Team to undertake an occupational therapist report, which could result in some minor adaptations or a recommendation to move to more suitable accommodation.

Click here to Apply for the Housing Register – complete the online application form to register with Herefordshire Home Point.

Information about the housing register

Find out about the application process, our allocations policy and get answers to frequently asked questions

Applying to the housing register

Who can or can’t apply?

You can apply to join the housing register provided:

You are eligible for an allocation of accommodation
You are 18 years or over
You meet one of the housing need priorities in Bands A-D as set out in the housing allocations policy
You meet the local connection requirement as set out in the housing allocations policy.

You can find the housing allocations policy here Housing Allocation Scheme for Herefordshire 2020

You do not qualify to join the housing register if:

You do not meet one of the criteria listed above
You are a home owner
Your family household's gross income is more than £34,000 per annum or £25,000 per annum for a single person household
You have savings or assets totalling more than £50,000
You are excluded from appearing on the housing register (for example, due to your immigration status or because of anti-social behaviour)
It has been found you have given false or misleading information
You have deliberately worsened your housing circumstances.

What proofs will I need to send to you?

Everyone who applies will need to provide / upload proofs, and what you need will depend on your circumstances. All applicants will be required to provide proof of their identity and if you have children then you will need to provide proof of child benefit. All applicants will also be required to provide proof of their eligibility for social housing along with proof of their household income and savings.

Try to make sure you have all of your proof documents ready for when you apply and don’t miss anything out.

Please ensure you have the following information to hand when completing the application:

Your current address including postcode
Your contact telephone number
Email address. Please note that this is important as we may email applicants to make them aware of homes that could meet their needs, or for which they are being considered
5 year address history for anyone over 18. You will need to provide the postcode for each address and the dates you have lived there, as well as the contact details of the landlord if any of the homes were rented
Contact details of your landlord if you are renting your home
Date of birth for everyone on your application
National Insurance numbers for anyone over 16 years old
Details of any properties you own or have a financial interest in
The total annual income for you and anyone who needs to be rehoused with you
Contact details of anyone who provides you with support (for example Social services or a voluntary agency)

Please note: If you do not have a local connection to Herefordshire your application will normally be placed in either Band D. To have a local connection to Herefordshire means that you must either have:

Lived in Herefordshire for either, 6 of the last 12 months, or 3 of the last 5 years, or
Held a full or part-time job (at least 16 hours a week) in Herefordshire for the last 6 months, or
Got immediate family members who live in Herefordshire

Please Note: Things like proof of address should be recently dated, and documents should be clear and readable. If you don’t provide everything we need within three months of applying, then this will cause delays and your application won’t get registered.

If you need help completing your application, please contact your local housing team (see Contacts page for details)

How long will the application assessment take?

Once you’ve provided your proof documents to us, we’ll assess your application in line with our Housing Allocations policy (provide link) and will aim to do this and get back to you within 28 working days.

We will advise you whether or not your housing application is live, and if so, what band your application has been placed in, and what size of property you are eligible to bid for. If your application is suspended or closed, then we will advise you of the reason.

If your application is live, you will then be able to start bidding for properties on Click here.

What is the housing Allocations Policy?

The Housing Act 1996 (Part 6), as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002 and Localism Act 2011 requires local authorities to have an allocations policy for determining priorities and for defining the procedure to be followed in allocating housing accommodation.

Herefordshire Councils Choice Based Lettings and Housing Allocations Policy explains the rules, criteria and procedure that determines how Herefordshire Council allocates social housing properties

The allocations policy guides the principle of how homes will be allocated in a fair and transparent manner, taking account of both the councils’ duty to take account of housing need and its wish to offer as much choice as possible.

This policy sets out, among other things:

Who is eligible to apply
Our local connection criteria
What banding priority a person qualifies for
Size and type of property a person qualifies for
If an application should be cancelled or suspended and why

You can view or download a copy of our policy at Housing Allocation Scheme for Herefordshire 2020

What are Bands?

Qualifying applicants banding is assessed based on your current housing circumstances, in line with our Housing Allocations Policy. Applicants are placed in one of 4 bands’ depending on their current housing circumstances. Band A is the highest priority and Band D is the lowest.

This policy ensures that people with the highest housing need are given priority for housing.

If applicants do not meet any of the banding criteria in our policy they are considered to be suitably housed and have no housing need, and do not qualify for the housing register.

What is my band and what do I do if I disagree?

After we have assessed and registered your housing application we will let you know what band your application has been placed in and why. This assessment has been done based on the information you have provided on your application form and the proof documents you have submitted, in line with our Allocations Policy.

Sometimes people will need a separate assessment later to see if they qualify for a different banding priority, e.g. if you have been issued with a notice to leave by your landlord, a homelessness assessment will be required before your application can be awarded banding on those grounds.

If we think you might need further assessment for some reason, we will let you know how to find out what evidence might be required or who to contact.

You cannot request to be placed in a higher banding, we can only reassess your banding if there has been a change to your circumstances that means you need a reassessment under our policy criteria.

My housing application is live , what now?

You need to start bidding for properties. To do this click on the log in to bid for homes tile on the Home Page . Available properties are advertised weekly so you should try to bid every week and use all your 2 bids if possible, to maximise your chances of being rehoused. You will usually only be contacted about your bids if you are likely to offered a home.

You will have been told in your letter what band your application has been placed in, and what size of property you can bid for.