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Applying for Council Housing
Council Waiting List
The Council has a list or register of all the people who want to be rehoused into Council housing or want to get Housing Association properties through the Council. The Council produces a leaflet called Helping you Find a Home: A guide to getting a Council Property in Sheffield. You can pick up a free copy at any Area Housing Office, Howden House, or the Property Shop. Information is also available on the Sheffield Property Shop website. If you have any queries you can call (0114) 272 5363.
Who Can Apply?
Sheffield City Council operates an open housing register. Anyone aged 16 and over can join the register, although normally no one under the age of 18 will be offered a property. However there are some exceptions to this.
How Do You Apply?
By filling in a white form called The Sheffield Housing Register - Registration Form. This is available from all Area Housing Offices, Howden House and the Property Shop. After filling it in your details will appear on the rehousing computer system. You won’t be able to put in bids for properties until your details are on the computer. Bidding means that you are registering your interest in a property. You will be sent a letter confirming your details, giving you your registration number. You will also be sent a Personal Information Number (PIN), this will enable you to place any bids using the internet.
Getting a property – to get a property you will have to put in a bid for one or more of the advertised properties before 4.00 pm on a Tuesday. Properties are either allocated to be let to people with a priority or let to people based on how long they have been on the housing register. If no-one with priority bids for the property allocated to priority applicants, the bidder who meets the letting criteria and has the longest waiting time on the housing list will be offered the property. Please note, before being offered a property checks will be carried out including checking to see if you owe any money to the housing revenue account (e.g. rent arrears).
Waiting time - anyone aged 16 and over will be able to join the housing register and start to build up waiting time. There is no limit on the waiting time that can be built up. Owner occupiers and out of town applicants will be on an equal footing with other applicants. Anyone who is registered may bid for a property.
If you think you are already on the list you can check this at any Area Housing Office, Howden House or the Property Shop. You can also check your details on the Sheffield Property Shop website.
How Does the List Work?
The way you get a Council property changed in early February, 2004. The main features of the new system are:
- City wide advertising - there is city-wide advertising of all vacant properties on a weekly basis - through the Ad Mag, in Area Housing Offices, at the property shop and on the Sheffield Property Shop website.
- No points system - the old points system has been scrapped. People will be ranked according to the length of time they have been registered, with one level of time limited priority for people in urgent and immediate housing need.
- Getting a property – to get a property you will have to put in a bid for one of the advertised properties before 4.00 pm on a Tuesday. The person offered the property will be the bidder who meets the letting criteria and has the oldest priority. If no-one with priority bids for the property the bidder who meets the letting criteria and has the longest waiting time on the housing list will be offered the property. On some estates people will be not allowed to use their priority to bid for some properties.
- You can put a bid in by phone, post or via the website mentioned above. You need your registration details and PIN number to put in a bid on the website.
- Waiting time - anyone will be able to join the housing register and start to build up waiting time. There is no limit on the waiting time that can be built up. Owner occupiers and out of town applicants will be on an equal footing with other applicants. Anyone who is registered may bid for a property.
- Priority - the priorities available will be:
- Homelessness
- Demolition/clearance and also development – permanent moves
- Domestic abuse (now available to all tenures)
- Harassment (Council tenants only)
- Release of high demand properties (3+ bed houses, 2+ bed bungalows and disabled persons property)
- Mobility/mental health, learning disability/long term health needs
- Support needs
- Leaving supportive hostels
- Young people and the Children Act
- Overcrowding
- Redesignation of Older Person's Accommodation
- Service tenants retiring/leaving employment
- Special cases
Time limits on priorities - priority will only be awarded for a limited period of time:
- 4 weeks for homelessness, domestic abuse, harassment, dismissed service tenants and special case priorities.
- 13 weeks for demolition, medical and support needs priority. Also for other planned priorities including moving due to development works.
- 6 weeks for all other priorities.
- All priority applicants will be offered support with bidding if they want this. Priorities will be reviewed at the end of the time period, and may be extended, cancelled or the Council may make a bid on behalf of the person and if this is refused cancel the priority.
In addition, there is also a First Come First Served database. These are properties which the Council has found it difficult to let. They will be offered to the first person who asks for them, who meets any age or other criteria for the property. Please note before being offered a property checks will be carried out including checking to see if you owe any money to the housing revenue account (e.g. rent arrears). People accepting one of these properties will be allowed to keep their existing registration. For details contact (0114) 272 5363.
Common Problems with Rehousing
You will only be made an offer if your registration on the housing list is active. Registrations can be active, suspended or cancelled. You will only be offered accommodation if your registration is active.
Your registration could be suspended if the Council thinks:
- You owe money to the Housing Revenue Account (e.g. rent arrears).
- A Notice Seeking Possession has been served or court order obtained on other grounds.
- You have behaved violently, abusively or otherwise antisocially.
- You have not kept your current council tenancy in satisfactory condition.
Reasons for your registration being cancelled could include: not replying to a review letter or other correspondence we have sent you, or being granted a tenancy .
If you owe money to the Housing Revenue Account the council will not make an offer except where:
- There is no valid court order, and
- The total you owe is less than £250, and
- You have kept to a repayment agreement for at least the past 13 weeks, and
- You have not moved with rent arrears or other debt in the last 3 years.
If you do not meet these criteria you can ask for a Special debt application. To do this you would need to explain:
- Any special circumstances you have.
- What efforts you have made to pay the debt.
- What you intend to do in future to pay your rent and pay off the debt.
- Need to show you have started to repay the debt.
You can ask for a Special debt application to be made at your local Area Housing Office. If they are unable to help you they should advise you who to contact.
Other Ways of Getting Council Housing
It is also possible to move between Council houses, or between Council to Housing Association properties by asking Sheffield Homes for a "mutual exchange" . This is where you swap your tenancy with somebody else. You can do this provided you get the agreement of both landlords in advance. There may be certain times when they withhold their agreement – for example if you have tenancy arrears, or if you want to move to a property they think is too large for you. You can either find someone to swap with yourself, or the Council has a 'Swop List' which includes details of people wanting to move. This can be viewed at any Area Housing Office, or by contacting (0114) 273 4683.
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