Apply for Social Housing

 

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL HOUSING REGISTER?

The Social Housing Register is a list of all applicants currently not in council or association property who have been assessed as eligible. The Council of the Isles of Scilly uses a point-based system, in which points are awarded based on the applicants level of housing need. Please check the criteria below to see if you can qualify to be placed on our housing register. 

DO I QUALIFY FOR THE HOUSING REGISTER?

Qualifying persons are those that are:

• Aged over 18, or
• Aged 16—18 and supported by Social Services, or a Parent, or a married couple or a child in need as defined by the Children Act 1989. Anyone aged between 16 and 18 will required a guarantor if an offer of accommodation is made
• Persons who currently reside on the isles of Scilly & have been resident on the Islands for 2.5 out of the previous 3 years
• Members of the Armed Forces who lived on the Islands for a minimum of 2.5 years of the 3 years immediately before their marriage
• Spouses of the Armed Forces who lived on the island for 2.5 years out of the 3 years immediately before their marriage
• Students temporarily absent from the islands for the sole purpose of taking a full time recognised course of education not available on the Islands are deemed to be resident on the island's during their temporary absence does not exceed 4 years and the student was ordinarily resident on the islands for the qualifying time of 2.5 out of the previous years immediately prior to commencement of the educational course

Non qualifying persons are:

• Persons subject to immigration controls under the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996
• Persons from abroad not habitually resident in the UK, the republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
• Persons with current rent arrears in excess of £50.00.
• Any persons with a proven history of violence or abuse against either Council Members or employees.
• Any persons convicted of damage to or misuse of Council Property.
• Former owner occupiers who have disposed of their residential properties other than through demonstrable need.
• All property owners and any persons with an interest in a residential property i.e. joint ownership other than where there is a demonstrable need e.g. high medical priority and negative or low equity.
• Any person giving incomplete or false information in support of their application.
• Persons removed from the register within the previous 12 months.

HOW DO I JOIN THE HOUSING REGISTER?

To join the Isles of Scilly Housing Register you need to first check that you or your partner qualify. Once you have done this you and/or your partner must fill out the Housing Register application form. These can be requested via the Housing team or obtained through the Housing Forms & Policies Page. 

IF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE you must notify the Housing Officer as soon as possible.

DO I HAVE TO RENEW MY APPLICATION?

Yes, we do require you to renew your application each year. We do this to ensure that we have the most up to date information on you for our records.  Once a year the council will send out a reminder letter with our up-to-date application form. With this you will be given one month to complete the form and get it back to us. Failure to return the renewal form within one calendar month will result in your application being cancelled except in exceptional circumstances. If there are exceptional circumstances in which you are unable to fill out the form during the month allotted, please contact the housing team.

Because we send out these letters to the address or email that we have on file, it is important to ensure we have your most recent information. If you have moved at any point during the year, you must notify the Housing team in order for your records to be updated.

REMOVAL FROM THE REGISTER

You may be removed from the Register if:
1. You or your partner become a non-qualifying person as stated in categories 1 to 10 of Section 1 – Who can join the Register
2. You refuse two offers of suitable accommodation
3. You fail to return a renewal form within 1 calendar month of receipt

HOUSING APPLICATION PROCESS

Properties are let in accordance with the point scheme which awards points for housing need. Those in the greatest housing need receive the greater number of points and are housed as suitable accommodation becomes available. Once a property becomes available the Housing Department will make a formal offer of accommodation in writing with details of the property and how to respond. This offer is made to the applicant(s) at the top of the relevant register. Please note that the Housing Officer can use their discretion to place someone lower down of the list based on suitability of the property and the applicant(s). In order to ensure that our properties do not stand empty for long periods of time, we may not give you long between receiving your formal offer and the tenancy starting, normally three working days. 

If you refuse a suitable offer without good reason, your application will not normally be considered again for at least 12 months. If you refuse a second offer your application will be removed from the housing Register. A suitable offer consists of a property appropriate in size for your family.