Apply for council housing (Housing Needs Register)

You will need to provide some documents before we can register your application.

We will contact you to tell you what we need.

Documents you will need

The documents we accept are listed below.

Identity:

You will need one form of photographic proof of your identity for you, your partner and any other person over 16 included on your application. This would normally be a passport or a photo driving licence. You will also need to give us at least one other form of identification for every person on the application.

The documents we can accept are:

• Birth Certificate
• Marriage Certificate
• Medical Card
• Driving Licence
• European Union Identity Card
• Immigration Documentation
• Proof of Benefit.

Address:

We need one proof of current address each for you, your partner and anyone else over 16 included on the application. The documents we can accept are:

• Rent book/card
• Tenancy Agreement
• Recent Bank or Credit Card Statement (within last three months)
• Recent Utility Bill (also within last three months)
• If you are living with a parent or guardian, a letter from them confirming your residence, plus proof of their address.
   

Children under 16 included on an application who live with you:

We need:

• a copy of the Birth Certificate for each child
• proof that the child lives with you. This would normally be proof of Child Benefit and/or a letter from the child's school and any other agencies supporting your family.

Employment:

If your only connection with this borough is through your work, you will need to provide evidence of your employment when you apply.

We will also contact your employer for confirmation that you are still employed in the borough before making an offer.

Checks we carry out (Supporting Checks)

We check for:

• rent arrears now or in the past
• other outstanding debts
• a current breach of tenancy which your landlord is taking action against you for,

If we find these you may not be eligible to join the register until this is resolved. We may also cancel applications or make them non-active. In each case we will take into any specific needs, reasons for the debt, and any repayment plans that are in place and whether they are being maintained.

We also check:

• Register of Electors
• employers
• landlords
• and conduct home visits.

If you are a council tenant, your Neighbourhood Housing Officer will visit to inspect your home. They will tell you if you need to do any repairs or decorations before you will be offered a property.

Your application will be made non-active if:

• we need to find out whether you qualify to join or remain on the Housing Needs Register
• where we need to check whether you are eligible for a particular band or property type.