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Stoke-on-Trent City Council is committed to providing housing at affordable levels for local people. The Allocations Policy for social housing has recently been reviewed and aims to give clear criteria, setting out who is eligible to apply for social rented housing in the city and how priorities are assessed
Click here to see the full Housing Allocations Policy
Social housing is becoming more difficult to access because of increasing demand and less houses and the sector as a whole is going through change.
The Government is encouraging Local Authorities to use their social housing as a shorter term option for people going through times of hardship in their lives, with a view to moving on from social housing once the need for it has passed. This goes against the ‘home for life’ ideal, which has previously been associated with having a social tenancy.
The new Allocation Policy aims to help the most vulnerable people and to make better use of its housing stock. Under the new policy, you are considered to be in housing need if you currently live in accommodation that is unsuitable for you. If this applies to you, you may want to apply to join the Housing Register.
The Housing Register:
There is no statutory requirement for the council to keep a Housing Register. However, the council believes there are significant benefits for the people of Stoke-on-Trent to maintain a Housing Register, which provides a single point of access for council owned properties or properties owed to the council through nomination rights from various social landlords.
If you wish to register for social housing, you should contact the Housing Solutions Service and an officer will talk to you about your circumstances and your reasons for wanting to join the register.
If you currently live in accommodation that is suitable for your needs, but you have a desire to move into social rented housing, you do not have a housing need within our new policy. If this is the case, you will be encouraged to think about what other options there are available to you. Click the links on the left to explore alternative options.
Active Housing Register
If you are currently living in unsuitable accommodation, our policy states that you are in housing need. In this case, you may be offered a full housing needs assessment with a Housing Needs Officer and the option to join the council’s Active Housing Register.
The Housing Needs Assessment will help you to think about what you need and what options are best for you. Officers will talk to you about all of the options available, as council housing is not always the best choice for everyone. You will be asked to specify exactly what you are looking for, including where you want to live, what type and size of property you need and what type of landlord you prefer e.g. council, registered provider or private landlord. The detailed assessment of your needs will help to find the most suitable property for you.
The council uses a banding system based on housing need to decide the priority between applicants who are on the Active Housing Register.
Click here to see the priority banding in more detail
Allocation of Council Housing
Properties available for letting will be offered to the applicant on the active Housing Register with the highest priority for each specific property. This means looking first at applicants in Band 1, then Band 2, and so on. Relative priority between applicants in the same band will be determined in date order, by the length of time applicants have been within that band.
If you are offered council accommodation, you will be contacted and invited to view the property you have been offered before deciding whether you wish to accept the tenancy.
You have a choice whether to refuse the offer, but if the offer is deemed reasonable and in line with the information you gave on your application, then you may have your application suspended temporarily or alternative housing options explored as an effective housing solution.
In order to ensure that the system of allocating accommodation is transparent and robust, the city council will periodically publish information about the types of properties that have been allocated and the households that were offered these properties. Personal information will not be shared. To view the latest statistics for properties allocated, click here.
Registered Provider Properties
The council recognises the important role Registered Providers play in the city, providing affordable homes to those in need. The council has negotiated Nomination Agreements with many Registered Providers who have properties in the city. We can therefore nominate applicants from our Housing Register to properties made available to the council.
Registered Providers may apply particular criteria in letting these homes and the council recognise the need for Registered Providers to make the best use of their own stock. The council will apply the same selection rules as for council properties, although the decision to offer a property will ultimately rest with the Registered Provider.
The links below will re-direct you to the external web pages of each of our Registered Provider partners, where you can find out more information on their properties:
- Aspire Housing
- EPIC Housing Group
- Riverside
- Midland Heart
- Staffs Housing
- Affinity Sutton
- Sanctuary Housing
- Bromford Group
Click here to see the list of contacts for Housing
Associations
Are you eligible for social housing?
Eligibility for social housing will be assessed by the council when you apply for housing.
Normally, any United Kingdom resident aged 16 or above can apply for housing. A home visit may be arranged to verify the information contained in the application form, and to provide an opportunity to discuss housing options.
Anyone under the age of 18 years of age who is offered a tenancy will need to have a guarantor to hold the legal tenancy and guarantee rental payments until the applicant reaches 18.
Applicants under the age of 18 will also be expected to have a support worker. For young people under the age of 18 years the social landlord may grant permission to allow the occupation of a property by way of an ‘Equitable Agreement’
Married, civil partners and cohabiting couples, same sex couples and brothers and sisters who wish to live together can make joint applications. In such cases, it is usual for a joint tenancy to be granted in the event of an offer of accommodation being made.
Applicants who are not eligible to join the Housing Register:
The Housing Act 1996 Part 6, as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002, requires councils to consider applications for housing from anyone unless they are ineligible for housing. The following persons are not eligible:
- You are ‘subject to immigration control’ (unless you fall within a class prescribed by regulations as eligible).
- You are not subject to immigration control, but are nevertheless prescribed by regulation as being ‘persons from abroad’ (this may include British citizens).
- Any person as prescribed by the Secretary of State.
- You (or a member of your household) have been guilty of ‘unacceptable behaviour’ and at the time of your application
for housing you are still considered unsuitable to be a tenant by reason of that behaviour.
Unacceptable behaviour’ is defined as behaviour which would, if you or member of your household was a tenant, entitle a landlord to obtain possession under section 84 and Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985.
Unacceptable behaviour includes:
- owing significant rent arrears and/or failing to comply with a current or past tenancy agreement with a council, Registered Providers or private landlord to such an extent that a Court would grant a possession order.
- conviction as a result of illegal or immoral purpose
- causing nuisance and annoyance to neighbours or visitors
- committing certain criminal offences in or near the home and still posing a threat to neighbours or the community
- being violent towards a partner or members of the family
- allowing the condition of the property to deteriorate
- obtaining the tenancy by deception (for example, by giving untrue information)
The council will make the final decision after carefully considering the individual circumstances of your application. Each
application will be assessed individually and a decision regarding eligibility will be made. If you are subsequently made
ineligible from the scheme, you will be provided with a full written explanation for the decision and will have a right of
review of the decision.
Your eligibility will be kept under review during the application process. You may be rendered ineligible at anytime during
the process. If you are classified as being ineligible through ‘unacceptable behaviour’, you can make an application
for accommodation in the future, if you can demonstrate a changed pattern of behaviour. It is for the council to determine
whether the changed behaviour makes you eligible under the scheme. This is carried out when you re-apply to register.