Rother District Council

Applying for Social Housing in Rother

Homemove Magazine - Important Changes

Very few Homemove Magazines are being collected from Council Offices and Libraries, because of lack of demand. To save money and waste we will stop printing the magazines for collection from 16 December 2011.

How do I look at available properties if I don't have access to the internet?

Your local council office is available for you to come in and view the properties either on a computer or as a printed list, but you won't be able to pick up a magazine to take home with you.

You will still be able to bid via SMS text, coupon, telephone and through your internet www.homemove.org.uk online account in the normal way. The printed magazines will not be produced.

We want to make sure that everyone can view vacant properties once the magazine is withdrawn so please contact your local office if you feel you or someone you support will have difficulties. You may be able to have a list of properties sent to you in the post for free.

How do I look at available properties if I don't have access to the internet?

We will ensure that everyone is able to access the Homemove Scheme, so:

• if you do not have access to a computer or the internet at home , you can go online at your local council office or library

· you can pay to have a personalised property list printed and sent to you every 2 weeks for a fee of £10 for six months. If you wish to do this please make cheques or postal orders payable to 'Locata (Housing Services) Ltd' and send with your Homemove reference number and mailing address to Homemove, PO BOX 340, Ruislip, HA4 4AR

· if you cannot access the internet, get to a housing office, library or afford to subscribe you may be eligible to receive a free property list in the post.

Getting in contact with us

You can contact Rother District Council via email at homemove@rother.gov.uk ,via telephone on 01424 787000 or in writing to Allocations, Rother District Council, Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 3JX

We welcome your views on any aspect of this change.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please Read

Many housing applicants have advised that if they had realised how long the wait for permanent housing would be they would have been more willing to consider other options when they first applied.

All local authorities in the South East have a serious shortage of housing and Rother District Council is no different.

Finding a home in Rother can be difficult, so many people turn to the Council for help. Unfortunately, we also have a serious shortage of homes to offer via our registered social landlords. In the whole of Rother only around 10% of the total housing stock is "social housing". That is housing owned by housing associations for rent at low cost to people in housing need.

The massive gap between the supply of homes available and the demand for those homes means that we only offer properties to people in the greatest of need. Even then most people face a long wait before they are successful in securing accommodation via Homemove.

Demand - The Numbers currently waiting:

• ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO =The total number of housing applicants waiting for social housing in the Rother area
• ONE HUNDRED = The average number of new housing applications each month

In order to give you an idea of the current numbers waiting based on their bedroom need please see below.

There are currently:

• 1093 applicants waiting for one bed accommodation
• 588 applicants waiting for two bed accommodation
• 240 applicants waiting for three bed accommodation
• 51 applicants waiting for four bed accommodation
• 4 applicants waiting for five bed accommodation

Supply of properties:Rother District Council operates a choice based lettings scheme called Homemove which began in April 2008. Since this time the following numbers of properties have become available.

(HOPS - Homes for older persons)

Based on these figures the average number of properties vacant per fortnightly bidding round are:

• 2.5 - One bed properties available per bidding round
• 4 - One bed HOPS available per bidding round
• 4 - Two bed properties available per bidding round
• 0 - Two bed HOPS available per bidding round
• 1.5 - Three bed properties available per bidding round
• 0 - Four bed properties available per bidding round
• 0 - Five bed properties available per bidding round

The majority of social housing in the Rother area is in Bexhill-on-Sea and so applicants wishing to reside in any other area within Rother should be aware that properties in these areas are minimal and rarely become available.

How long will I wait for a home?
It is difficult to predict exactly how long you will have to wait for social housing but the figures set out above are a good guide to help you decide what your best options may be. As you can see most applicants will have to wait several years or may never access a housing association home.

OCT 2010

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