Joint Housing Register

What is the Joint Housing Register?
The Joint Housing Register is the way that all moves into housing association homes are managed, including where the move is a transfer from one housing association home to another.

To be considered for a move you need to apply to the Joint Housing Register. When you apply your application is assessed in accordance with the Joint Allocation Policy. The Policy tells us who gets priority and how we give that priority.

Once we have assessed your application we will tell you how many points you have, the priority that this gives you and the size of property that you qualify for.

Does everybody qualify to go on the Joint Housing Register?
The Joint Housing Register is open to everyone who is over 18 except:

• Certain people from abroad; and,
• People found guilty of anti-social behaviour that is serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant.

16 and 17 year olds can join the Joint Housing Register in certain circumstances.

Who gets priority on the Joint Housing Register?
Priority is given to:

• People who are overcrowded or live in poor accommodation
• People who are homeless
• People who need to move for a medical reason

The way people are given priority is a mixture of Government requirement, local policy and the feedback we have had from customers about who they think should be a priority.

To ensure that we have a way of treating everyone in a consistent way while recognising their individual circumstances we have a points system. When you apply for housing you are given points based on your circumstances.

Points are given for:

• the facilities that you have, or lack;
• how secure your home is;
• any disrepair in your current home;
• any medical or other factors that make your current home unsuitable, or mean that you would be better off in alternative accommodation.

We also give points if you have a connection with Surrey Heath through living, working or having close family here and we give priority to Housing Association tenants in the area who need to move.

What points are given?

Points for your current home:

Toilet

• None - 20 Points
• Outside Toilet - 15 Points
• Shared - 10 Points

Bath or Shower

• None - 20 Points
• Shared - 10 Points

Living Room

• None - 20 Points
• Shared - 10 Points

Kitchen

• None - 20 Points
• Shared - 10 Points

Mains Water

• None - 20 Points

Electricity

• None - 20 Points

Heating

• None - 20 Points
• Other - 5, 10 or 15 Points

Hot Water

• None to Bathroom - 10 Points
• None to Kitchen - 10 Points

Bedrooms

• Each person without a bedroom - 20 Points

Garden

• No garden access for children under 16 - 10 Points for each floor above ground level

We can also give points if your home is in poor repair although we will see if there is a way to improve your home first rather than move you.

Points for your security:

• If you have a licence e.g. you live with family, a resident landlord or your employer or you are a tenant or owner with notice or a possession order - 30 points
• If you have a tenancy in the private sector or have a tenancy tied to your job - 15 points
• Housing Association tenants, Council tenants and owners - 0 points

We also have separate points for families who are homeless, those people who have no fixed accommodation and travellers.

Other points:

• Medical points - awarded following an appointment with the Medical Advisor who will look at the evidence linking your health with your housing (0 - 80 points)
• People who need to move to the area to give or receive care and support (10 points)
• People who need to move to the area to take up the offer of a job (10 points)
• People with a local connection: this is people who have lived in the borough for 6 out of 12 months, or three out of 5 years (this does not include Service housing, supported housing placements, or homeless accommodation arranged by another Council); people with employment of over 20 hours in the borough; and those who have close family who have live in the borough and have been here for over 5 years (Close family is father, mother, brother, sister or adult children). (80 points)
• Housing Association tenants in Surrey Heath, points for each bedroom being given up by moving (20 points)
• Families who have to live separately because they have no accommodation together (20 points)

What size property do I qualify for?

These are examples of the size of properties we consider families for:

Bed sitting room	Single person
1 bedroom property	Single person or couple (including same sex couples)
2 bedroom property	Single parent/couple and 1 child , or 2 children of same sex under the age of 10, or 2 children of different sex under the age of 5
3 bedroom property	Single parent/couple and two children of different sex over the age of 5, or two children over the age of 10, or 3 or 4 children
4 bedroom property	Single parent/couple and three children over 10, or 4 or more children

Sheltered Housing Schemes at Ballard Court, Derek Horn Court, Orchard Court, Heathermead Court, Windsor Court, Meade Court, Bowling Green Court, and Pollard Grove are for people over 60 years of age. Housing Associations also have some other schemes that are specifically for older people and those with special needs.

What properties will I be considered for?

Housing Association homes in Surrey Heath are let through a Choice Based Lettings Scheme called Surrey Heath Home Choice - this means that we advertise available properties and you tell us which ones you would like to be considered for. You decide the area and the type of property that you want as you only bid for the homes you are interested in.

Every Wednesday we advertise the housing association homes that are becoming available. The adverts are like estate agent adverts, telling you the type of property available, where it is, how much the rent is, along with other details like whether there is a garden or garage.

The adverts are displayed in the Council and Surrey Heath Housing Association's offices, on the Internet and are posted to the people at the top of the Joint Housing Register.

You bid for the properties that you would like to rent. A bid does not involve money: it is you saying 'yes, I want to be considered for this home'. In fact, what you are bidding with is the points that you have on the Joint Housing Register.

The adverts say who is eligible to bid. For example if it is a three bedroom family home then single people will not be able to bid, and if it is a bedsit people then with children will not be able to bid. You can only bid for properties that have been advertised.

You can bid:

• By telephoning on: 01276 707500
• By e-mail to: homechoice@surreyheath.gov.uk
• In-person at the Council Offices.
• Directly through the website: www.surreyheath.gov.uk

You must make your bid by the closing date shown on the advert or your bid will not count - bids will always close at noon on a Tuesday.

When bidding has closed we take everyone who has made a bid, check that they qualify for the property and put them in order of their points. The home is then offered to the bidder with the most points. If they change their mind it will be offered to the person with the next highest points.

People with arrears that have not been addressed or who are under notice for anti-social behaviour will not be counted as qualifying even if they have high points.

Successful bidders will be called within 2 days of the bidding closing. If you have not been successful you will not hear directly. There is feedback on the website and in a regular newsletter. This includes the bidding details of successful customers so you know how many points and how long people have been on the Housing Register when they make successful bids, and how many properties have been available.

You can use this feedback to decide what type of property that you are going to bid for and in what areas.

For example if you are being considered for a one-bedroom home and you want a house you will have a long wait. Of the 663 one-bedroom homes in Surrey Heath only 12 are houses. In light of this you might want to start bidding for a flat.

In the case of two bedroom homes there are 855 in the Borough but only 268 of these are houses.

Will all the homes go to the people at the top of the Housing Register?

There will be people at the top of the Housing Register who want to wait for a home in a certain area. This means that they will choose not to bid for other properties and this will allow customers with fewer points to make successful bids.

Popular properties like houses will attract lots of bids and are more likely to go to people at the top of the Housing Register. We will give you regular feedback so that you can see what your points are worth. For example you may see that although you would ideally like a house, people with more points are always getting them. On the other hand flats may be going to people who have bid with fewer points than you. It will then be your choice whether you change the way you bid to secure a housing association home.

You can find out what points you have and where you are on the Joint Housing Register by calling the Council, or if you are a Peerless Tenant by calling the Customer Advisory Team at Peerless Housing Group offices.

There will be some properties, such as those adapted for wheelchairs, which will benefit customers with special needs. These will first be offered directly to such customers and will not be advertised as part of SurreyHeath HomeChoice.

How many offers will I get?

You will have three offers of accommodation on the Joint Housing Register.

If you refuse 3 reasonable offers you will not be suspended and you will not lose your points. However your active date will be changed to the date of the last offer. This means that you will loose the priority you have for the time you have been waiting on the Joint Housing Register.

I want to move because of neighbour problems

When we asked people why they wanted to move many said it was because of their neighbours. However, if we give you priority for this reason all it means is that you move and somebody else gets a bad neighbour. If you are having problems with a neighbour and you are a housing association tenant this matter will be dealt with by your landlord - it will not give you a priority to move. Your Housing Officer will give you advice on what action can be taken, on how disputes can be resolved and, where there is serious anti-social behaviour, how the Police and the Council can assist you.

Want to know more?

A full copy of the Joint Allocation Policy is available on the web (www.surreyheath.gov.uk) or by calling the Housing Needs Team at Surrey Heath Borough Council on 01276 707127, or if you are a Surrey Heath Housing Association tenant by calling the Customer Advisory Team on 01276 852900.

We welcome genuine enquiries to check your circumstances and update us on any changes. However, contacting staff on a weekly or monthly basis does not give you any additional priority - you can be assured that when we are in a position to offer you a home we will contact you.

If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness the Register may not provide you with an offer of housing and you should contact the Housing Needs Team to discuss your options.