We do not own any housing stock. All affordable homes that are available to rent in the district are owned by housing associations.
Housing associations are not part of the council but work in partnership with us to build and manage homes. The properties they have available to let are advertised through the Home-Link scheme.
You need to be on the housing register to be considered for properties advertised through the Home-Link scheme.
How do I get on the housing register?
You need to complete the online form:
Register With Home-LinkOur lettings policy [PDF, 0.3MB] sets out who is eligible to register, how we prioritise applications and how we make other necessary decisions.
What happens with my registration?
Once you have completed the online form you will receive a confirmation email and your application will be forwarded to the council to process.
We use electronic scanners to check and verify identity documents from all customers applying to access council services. We will scan documents with a product called Trust ID
We will then assess your household’s circumstances to confirm whether you are eligible to join the housing register.
We will email or write to you to let you know if your application has been accepted.
If you are accepted onto the council’s housing register, we will let you know what size of property you can be considered for and the level of priority that has been awarded to your application.
We will also give you details of how to say which properties you would like to be considered for (we call this bidding for properties).
Further information about the scheme is available on the Home-Link website.
How do I view available homes and show my interest?
Once you've been accepted onto the register you will need to create a login account (separate to registration) with Home-Link before you can view available properties or bid.
Home-Link advertise all empty council and housing association properties that are available to let. They do this every week on their website.
Log into your Home-Link account to view property details and place a bid.
You can make up to three bids in each weekly bidding cycle.
The Home-Link website has further information on how the scheme works and frequently asked questions to help you with the process.
There are far more people applying to rent a housing association home than there are properties available. Priority is to let to households with high need.
We suggest you look at your other housing options. Even if you have registered with the Home-Link scheme, it may be that another option will be your best solution.