Application Procedure

2.1 How to apply

2.1.1. To apply for a social housing property in Norwich an applicant must be registered with Home Options.

2.1.2. Applications to Home Options can be made over the telephone on 0344 980 3333. All applications will involve a discussion of an applicant’s housing need with an adviser. Acceptance onto Home Options register is not a guarantee that an applicant will be offered accommodation. Home-Options is unable to meet the needs of all home-seekers and transferring tenants looking for accommodation. Applicants who do not meet the criteria for a priority banding category are extremely unlikely to be rehoused through the Home Options scheme and will be given advice about alternative housing options.

2.1.3. Home Options is a scheme which is based on verification. All applicants will be required to provide evidence of their household circumstances including income, savings and housing history.

2.1.4. Information to support an application may be asked for at any time. If the information is not provided, the application may be suspended or removed from Home-Options and any offers of accommodation withdrawn. All applicants will be offered help and advice to complete their application. This includes translation and interpreting facilities where required.

2.2 Who can apply?

2.2.1. Residents of the UK who are over 18 years old can apply to Home Options however this does not guarantee an application will be taken or that the applicant will be re-housed under the scheme.

2.2.2. By law, there are defined groups of applicants who cannot be re-housed through the scheme. There are also exceptions or restrictions to an application which may apply.

2.2.3. Under the Housing Act 1996, local authorities must consider whether applicants are eligible for housing assistance. The council will apply the relevant legislation that is in place at the time of application.

2.3 The applicant’s household

2.3.1. The council will decide in each case as to whether the people included in the application by the applicant will be considered as a part of the household for purposes of assessing housing need.

2.3.2. Any person wishing to be included as part of an applicant’s household must satisfy the Council that they are a permanent member of the applicant’s household and show that it is reasonable to expect them to reside with the applicant on a continuing basis.

2.3.3. The council will not consider the following as members of an applicant’s household:

Anyone who falls within legislation prohibiting them from having recourse to public funds or is an asylum seeker
Non-dependent children who have not lived within the household continually throughout their adult lives
Relatives who do not form part of the applicant’s immediate family where there is no formal care arrangement; parents or step-parents, grandparents, brothers or step-brothers, sisters or step-sisters, aunts, uncles, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins.
Any family member not resident in the UK at the time of the application.
Any person who does not meet eligibility criteria
Friends and acquaintances
Lodgers
Live in help
Students living away from home with their own rent liability

2.3.4. Only dependent children that form a permanent part of the household can be considered. Only if an applicant is evidenced to have their child stay with them for four or more nights a week can they be classed as part of the applicant’s household when making an assessment. Temporary arrangements or contact arrangements cannot be considered and household size will be determined upon evidence that any living arrangements are permanent, and the applicant can demonstrate to the council’s satisfaction that they have full-time, permanent responsibility for the child. Where a formal residence agreement is not in place, the council will consider:

Confirmation from the Courts regarding residency or parental responsibility.
Who the children usually live with
Who has financial responsibility for the children
The length of time any arrangement has been in place
Where the children go to school
Any other relevant information

2.3.5. In cases where an applicant wishes to include their children in their Home Options application, this will not be considered where those children have adequate accommodation available to them elsewhere, for example with another parent.

2.3.6. Household members can only appear on one Home Options application.

2.3.7. Households that have been accepted to adopt or foster a child will be assessed as if they have assumed parental responsibility upon written confirmation from Norfolk County Council being provided.

2.3.8. Where an applicant feels that an additional bedroom is needed for a carer, this can only be considered where we have evidence of the need for permanent 24 hour care from a non-family member who is not part of the household and requires their own bedroom to sleep in on a continuing basis. ‘Waking care’ will not be taken into consideration. We would expect that the applicant would be in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and Disability Living Allowance/Personal Independent Payment with the highest care/enhanced rate component. The carer must be recognised, employed by, or working on behalf of Adult Social Care and we would expect them to be a named person (unless your care is provided on a rota arrangement made by Adult Social Care or an agency on their behalf). The decision will be made by the assessment panel.

2.3.9. Where the family unit is not currently residing together, the assessment will be based on the part of the household that occupies accommodation that provides them with the most suitable housing providing there is a reasonable expectation that they should reside together.

2.3.10. Where an applicant has been assessed in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as being unable to hold or to manage a tenancy, they may be suspended from the register until a suitable advocate is appointed to act on their behalf.

2.3.11. For an applicant to become a tenant and enter into a tenancy agreement, they must have the mental capacity to understand the contract. If an applicant does not have the capacity to understand the contract, an application should be made to the Court of Protection by an advocate for the tenancy agreement to be signed on their behalf.

2.3.12. Unborn children will not be considered as part of the assessment. A child cannot be added to an application until the applicant has provided a copy of the birth certificate.

2.3.13. For people in prison, applications can be made within 8 weeks of release if the client meets qualification and local connection criteria. In such instances the client does not need to apply for housing in person and applications will be accepted from a third party on behalf of a person in custody, for example by a Prison Resettlement Officer as part of a Resettlement Plan where third-party consent has been given.

2.3.14. Only household members that meet the eligibility and qualification criteria set out in this policy will be included in an application.

2.4 Eligibility

2.4.1. The Home Options team will determine the eligibility of an applicant, based on immigration status and habitual residence, by applying the legislation that is in place at the time of the application and the point of allocation.

2.4.2. Eligibility for Home Options depends on where the applicant normally lives (‘habitual residence’) and their immigration status. A person is not eligible if they are:

subject to immigration control (with limited exceptions)
classed as an ineligible person from abroad
a person not habitually resident in the United Kingdom or required to leave the UK by the Secretary of State.

2.4.3. Eligibility is explained in detail within statutory guidance – online at: Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK

2.4.4. Eligibility for housing assistance can be affected if there is a change in the immigration status of the applicant(s), and therefore eligibility for an allocation of housing will be kept under review. The applicant is responsible for informing the council of any change in their immigration status.

2.4.5. Applicants whose households include a person from abroad who is ineligible will not be afforded priority if they are only homeless or in housing need as a consequence of the presence of the ineligible person.

2.5 Qualification for housing in Norwich

2.5.1. The Localism Act 2011 allows councils to make local decisions about who qualifies for social housing in their area in order to ensure that local objectives and the needs of local residents are met.

2.5.2. The decision that an applicant does not qualify for an allocation may occur at the time of joining the Home Options scheme, at any time during the life of the application, at the time the applicant is allocated a property, or when the applicant has bid and has been short-listed for a property. The Home Options team will make the decision.

2.5.3. In accordance with statutory guidance and to ensure that the council’s housing policies benefit local people, applicants must have been continuously resident in Norwich for at least the last two years. If applicants cannot provide satisfactory evidence that they meet the criteria, an application will not be taken. For household members to join an application and to be included in any assessment of housing need, the same criteria apply.

2.5.4. Exceptional circumstances will be considered. In such cases, the decision as to whether an applicant qualifies will be determined by a Housing Options team leader or manager, or by the council’s assessment panel.

2.5.5. Examples are:

Somebody who needs to live in Norwich as they have a significant need to be near specific medical care which is unavailable elsewhere.
Applicants over 60 who have a specific need for sheltered housing in Norwich to be near medical care or family support unavailable elsewhere.
The applicant needs to move to Norwich where failure to meet that need would cause extreme hardship to themselves or others.
Tenants of social housing needing to move to Norwich for work-related reasons where failure to meet that need would cause hardship, who can evidence that they meet the criteria set out in the 2015 Regulations (SI 2015/967).
Care leavers – Applicants aged 18-21 years (or up to 25 years old if they are pursuing a programme of education agreed in their pathway plan), who are owed a duty under Children Act 1989, section 23C.
Applicants fleeing domestic abuse who are living in refuge accommodation or who need to move urgently for the safety and security of themselves and any dependent children.
Applicants that can demonstrate a lifelong residential connection to Norwich which has been broken for only a short time.
These are examples and this list is not exhaustive.

2.5.6. Residents in prison, bail hostel, hospital or approved premises, or those households referred into or placed into any form of accommodation in Norwich by another agency or local authority will not gain a local connection and time spent in such premises will not count toward local connection.

2.5.7. Applicants whose only residential connection to Norwich is through further education or student accommodation will not be considered as having gained local connection. Student accommodation is that provided by an educational establishment or where a student exemption certificate has been provided for council tax purposes.

2.5.8. Where an applicant has only become eligible for housing assistance in the last two years, their local connection will commence from the date they became eligible.

2.5.9. Where an application is taken from a client who has not lived in Norwich continuously for the previous two years, and the client would normally be placed in a priority band, a ‘reduced preference’ will apply until the two year connection is established.

2.6 Exception to the criteria: Armed and Reserve Forces

2.6.1. The council is committed to ensuring that service personnel and their families have access to appropriate accommodation when they leave the British armed forces. Under the terms of the Armed Forces Covenant, to which the council is signatory, the local connection criteria will not apply to the following:
Those who are currently serving in the regular forces or who have served in the regular forces.

Bereaved spouses or civil partners of those serving in the armed and reserve forces where (i) the bereaved spouse or civil partner has recently ceased or will cease to be entitled to reside in Ministry of Defence accommodation following the death of their spouse or civil partner and (ii) the death was wholly or partly attributable to their service.
Existing or former members of the reserve forces who are suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability which is wholly or partly attributable to their service.
Divorced or separated spouses or civil partners of Service personnel who are required to move out of accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence.

Under these terms, the council can ensure that current and former service personnel in urgent housing need are awarded preference in line with the priority need bands.

2.7 Those who will not qualify: need considerations

2.7.1. Home Options policy aims to manage expectations realistically and to focus resources on those in most need of them. Therefore, having considered the provisions made in the Localism Act 2011, the following applicants will not qualify:

Applicants who are tenants of scheme landlords who have made a ‘right to buy’ application on their property.
Applicants who are tenants of scheme landlords and are in the process of carrying out a mutual exchange or have completed a mutual exchange in the previous 12 months.
Applicants who have been housed through the scheme will not be able to reapply for Home Options for a 12-month period from the commencement of their new tenancy. This restriction does not apply where the household circumstances have changed and the property is no longer suitable or where there are extenuating circumstances.
Applicants who have been housed through the council’s private sector leasing scheme (Let NCC) or through a loan from the council’s Homelessness Prevention Fund will have their Home Options application cancelled and will not be able to reapply for a 12-month period from the commencement of their new tenancy. This restriction does not apply where the household circumstances have changed and the property is no longer suitable or where there are extenuating circumstances.
Clients who have been sponsored to enter the country in the last five years based on an undertaking given by a sponsor that accommodation was available (and where that sponsor is still alive).
Applicants who own or have an interest in a property as a freeholder, leaseholder, a part-owner through shared ownership, including part commercial/residential property, in the UK or abroad will not qualify unless there are extenuating circumstances, as determined by a review panel. Examples of extenuating circumstances could be someone who requires sheltered housing in Norwich.

2.8 Those who will not qualify: need considerations

2.8.1. The council, scheme landlords and Norwich residents have a right to expect certain standards of behaviour. Where an applicant or a member of their household has a history of behaviour which is evidenced to have caused a detrimental effect to others, the Council may decide that the applicant does not qualify to be accepted onto the Home Options scheme.

2.8.2. Some examples of the type of behaviour that could mean that an applicant does not qualify for the Home Options scheme are:

Serious rent arrears which, in the council’s view, would entitle the landlord to a possession order.
Causing deliberate damage to a property.
Causing anti-social behaviour such as nuisance to neighbours, discriminatory behaviour or harassment, abuse, violence, or intimidation to the community or to council staff.
Conviction for using or allowing a property to be used for illegal or immoral purposes.
Committing domestic abuse.
Conviction for violent crime or the supply, use or possession of drugs.
Conviction of a criminal offence in the property or in the locality of the property .
Eviction from hostel or temporary accommodation .
Being convicted of, issued with, or accepted a sanction for Benefit or Council Tax fraud within the last five years.
Making a false statement in order to obtain accommodation.
Failing to provide relevant information that has been reasonably requested to verify an application for housing
Failing to allow contractors to enter the property to carry out maintenance.
Requesting or colluding with a landlord or family member to issue them with a Notice to Quit.

These are examples and this list is not exhaustive.

2.8.3. The examples relate to both current and former tenancies and apply no matter who the landlord is, when they happened or what form of tenancy was held. Paragraphs 15.3 & 15.4, together with Appendix B, deal with the way in which applicants may demonstrate that they have addressed past behaviour in order to requalify.

2.8.4. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, with each case judged on its own merits.

2.9 Public protection arrangements

2.9.1. Applicants subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements can only access the register with the consent of the Housing Options manager. Each case will be considered on its own merits in determining whether an application will be accepted.

2.10 Assessment of applications

2.11 Legal background

2.11.1. All applicants who are eligible and who qualify for Home Options will be placed in the appropriate banding based on an assessment of their housing needs. This is to ensure that the council allocates homes to those in the greatest assessed need and to ensure that its legal obligations are met.

2.11.2. The council is required by law to give reasonable preference in the scheme to people with high levels of assessed housing need:

People who need to move on welfare or medical grounds (including grounds relating to a disability),
People who need to move to a particular locality of the city to avoid hardship to themselves or others,
People living in unsanitary, unsatisfactory, or overcrowded housing, and
People who are homeless within the meaning of the Housing Act 1996, and people who are owed a particular statutory duty by any local housing authority under section 190(2), 193(2) or 195(2) (or under section 65(2) or 68(2) of the Housing Act 1985 or who are occupying accommodation secured by any such authority under section 192(3).
• Former and serving members of the armed or reserve forces who have an urgent housing need or need to move because of a serious injury, medical condition or disability sustained as a result of their service
• Bereaved spouses and civil partners of members of the armed forces leaving services family accommodation following the death of their spouse or partner

2.11.3. Applicants outside the reasonable preference categories can also be given additional consideration to meet local priorities.

2.11.4. Applications are processed by the council’s Home Options team, in accordance with this policy.

Norwich Home Options Allocation Scheme - Application Procedure