Frequently Asked Questions

If English is not your first language, an appointment can be arranged with an interpreter.

We are committed to offering homes that promotes choice, meets housing need and encourages the development of safe, sustainable and vibrant communities. However, we cannot offer accommodation immediately to everyone who applies, due to shortages of certain types of homes in certain areas and large numbers of people applying for these homes.

To ensure our homes are made available as fairly as possible to all applicants with differing levels of need, we have developed Localised Lettings Strategies. These look at all the home numbers and types within each of our five districts and analyse these against the requirements and housing need of the people applying for them. So that we meet the requirements of our Localised Lettings Strategies, every home will be advertised for a specific band or bands, family type and size relevant to the size and design of the home. Generally, we will consider:

• Older people for flats, bungalows and sheltered accommodation
• Families for houses and ground floor maisonettes
• Disabled people for specially built or adapted bungalows or houses or ground floor flats
• Single people for flats

When and if homes become available varies from area to area, depending on supply, demand and turnover, and this will affect how long you have to wait for housing. However, the Local Lettings Strategies ensure the homes that are available are distributed as fairly as possible whilst still meeting housing need within the Wakefield District.

Certain groups of people will not be eligible to join the Homesearch Scheme. Currently this applies to:

• People subject to immigration control as defined in the Asylum and Immigration Legislation
• People defined by the Government as non-eligible people

The rules say that these people are not to be allocated housing:

• Anyone who is not an habitual resident in the Common Travel Area
• Anyone notified by the Government that they have no right to live in the UK

It is our policy that these people may be classed as not eligible to join the scheme:

Anyone evicted for breach of tenancy by a council, housing association or other Registered Social Landlord

Where we feel someone could be a threat of danger to a local community because they could re-offend or have been convicted of offences like:

• dealing in illegal substances
• using our home for storing stolen goods
• burglary
• violent behaviour
• racial attacks

Financial Eligibility

Because we are a registered charity we are only able to help people who are in greatest housing need. Some people who have the financial means to purchase suitable accommodation for themselves may not be eligible for help with our accommodation. Therefore a financial assessment will take place before an offer of a home is made and if the member could financially afford to purchase a similar home in the area we will be unable to make them the offer. If you are not eligible to an offer due to these reasons we will tell you why in writing. We will also tell you about your right to ask us to review the decision if you are not satisfied with it.

We must ensure that all Homesearch members are eligible for social housing. Depending on your circumstances we may need to make checks with a few different people. These include Police, Local Authority, Employers, Banks/Building Societies, Social Services, Probation Service, Benefits Service, Support Agencies, Doctors, Current/Previous Landlords.

We will also check all the information you give us. If you knowingly or recklessly give us any information that is inaccurate or incomplete, we can:

• Cancel your housing application.
• Take action to repossess any tenancy it has provided for you.
• Take criminal proceedings against you for any offence(s) committed.

You need to be a member of Homesearch to apply for homes. If you are not currently a Homesearch member, you need to complete an Application Form. As soon as we have all the information we need and a signed declaration from you, we will tell you that your form has been registered and you will be eligible to start applying for homes you are interested in.

Each week we advertise details of the homes we have available that week, this is called an 'Advertising Cycle'. Advertising cycles will run from 10.00am Wednesday until 09.55am the following Wednesday.

The homes are advertised on this website.

You can make up to three expressions of interest at any time during an advertising cycle. There are a number of different ways to do this:

Online: Enter your login and password on the Homesearch website, go to Find a Home and click the 'Apply for this home' button at the side of the home you are interested in

Telephone: Phone 0344 9 02 02 02 to make an expression of interest.

Hub:: You can visit one of our Hubs in Wakefield or Pontefract to express an interest in an available home.

Advertising cycles run from 10:00am Wednesday until 09.55am the following Wednesday. At any time during the cycle you can apply for up to three homes you are eligible for. If during the cycle, you change your mind about the homes you want to apply for, you can let us know by calling us or changing your expressions of interest on the website. Every time you submit an expression of interest or change ones that you have already made you will be given a unique Reference Number so that both yourself and we can keep a track of what expressions of interest you have made that week.

You can only express interest in homes while the cycle is still open. Once that week's advertising cycle is closed you cannot express interest in homes that were advertised in it.

We will only contact applicants who have been successful i.e. the people who were first on the list. If you are not contacted, then you have not been successful and should carry on applying for homes in the following advertising cycles.

Yes, we will contact you and arrange for you to have an accompanied viewing of the home. This means you can view the home and ask any questions you may have about it before making your mind up whether you want to live there.

In most cases if, after you have seen the home, you decide it is not what you want, we will offer the home to the next person on the list. If you refuse two reasonable offers within a twelve-month period, your membership will be suspended for three months. After the three-month suspension, if you refuse another two reasonable offers within a twelve-month period your membership will be suspended for six months. If you have an A Band priority, refusing a home may lead to us carry out a review of your priority classification.

Every week we publish the details of how homes from earlier cycles have been allocated. The information gives the details of the home, the number of expressions of interest we received for the home, the priority band and registration date of the successful applicant.

By looking at the number of expressions of interest we received and the registration date of the successful applicant, you will be able to see which types of home in which areas are in highest demand. The higher the number of expressions of interest and the earlier the registration date of the successful applicant, indicates that you will have to wait much longer to be successful for a home of this type in this area.

We will try to advertise all our available homes via Homesearch. However, there may be rare occasions when due to management reasons, we cannot advertise a home, and the home will be allocated directly. However, this will only happen in special circumstances and most of our homes will be made available through Homesearch.

If you claim Housing Benefit and you are of working age, your Housing Benefit will be reduced by the Council if they decide your home has too many bedrooms for your needs. This is due to a change in Government rules on Housing Benefits. If you need to clarify if a home could be classed as too big for your needs please contact Homesearch on 0344 9 020202.

If you are homeless or have an urgent need for rehousing, either we, or Wakefield Council Homeless Persons Unit will assess your circumstances to see whether you can be awarded an urgent priority.

We want to ensure that the Homesearch Scheme is accessible for all its members. If you need help with the scheme contact your local Hub. They will be able to give you advice on how to look for homes, make expressions of interest and help you fill in forms.

If you need a higher level of support and you have no one at home who can assist you, we will make a referral to the Vulnerable Persons Officer in the Homesearch Team who can offer a range of support services to help you use the Homesearch scheme successfully.

When you apply for a home which another Housing Organisation has advertised on Homesearch, we will pass your details on to them. If you are successful they will contact you and arrange the letting of the home. If you are allocated a home by another Housing Organisation, your tenancy will be with them, and not us. We advertise the homes on behalf of other Registered Social Housing Organisations, but are not responsible for any resulting allocation or tenancy.

You are deemed to meet the definition of employed:

If you are responsible for a child and work over 16 hours a week. If you are not responsible for a child and work at least 30 hours a week,

or

Individuals who have a disability and are currently in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Employment Support Allowance and have been classed as in the Support Group or Personal Independent Payment. Or are in receipt of Universal Credit and included in your payment is a premium for Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Employment Support Allowance (support group) or Personal Independent Payment.

or

You are claiming Carers Allowance, or qualify for the underlying payment of Carers Allowance.

or

You are Retired and in receipt of an Occupational Pension or State Pension.

No pets stated in adverts - This does not include assistance animals provided by a specific charity or organisation. For example, a guide dog or animal to assist with hearing is allowed. If you have been provided with an animal to help you then please contact us so we can discuss a reasonable adjustment with you.

A person can apply for a priority move on health and/or medical grounds by applying for Health and Medical Rehousing (HMR). Applicants must have a physical disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010 or a long-term medical condition that prevents them from accessing essential facilities within their home. This includes anyone who experiences excessive pain, substantial discomfort, or difficulty in performing day to day tasks and it can be proved that a move to a different home type will significantly relieve these difficulties, and their current home cannot be adapted. To qualify for priority for HMR you must:

• be a permanent tenant of your current home or be identified as a permanent member of the household to where you are living;
• have resided in the current home for longer than six months; and
• have a local connection (or be exempt) as defined by the Choice Based Lettings Policy.

More detailed information can be obtained by searching our website for 'Rehousing on Health and Medical Grounds'. We do not assess people applying for additional priority on the grounds of mental health. Wakefield Council assess those applications and in the following circumstances:

• any person applying for HMR who is in hospital and unable to return home;
• any person in residential rehabilitation or residential care;
• any person with an assessed complex disability that requires specialist accommodation; such as disabled dwelling or purpose-built accommodation;
• children under the age of 18; and
• children and adults assessed as having a moderate to severe learning disability

Please see Wakefield Council's website for further details: Wakefield Council Housing Needs . To apply to us in the circumstances mentioned above, please contact 01977 724460. Please do not send in any medical information or documents unless asked to do so as this will not lead to any changes to your application, and they will not be responded to.