How to make an application (Step 2)
Applying to be rehoused
Before you apply to be rehoused, please make sure you have the following information to hand which is required to complete your application. We may ask for proof as part of our assessment process:
- Identification (passport, driving licence)
- Proof of address (Council Tax bill, bank statement)
- Current landlord details if in rented accommodation
- Details of income including any benefits
- Details of any savings or investments
- Details of any criminal convictions
Housing Online – new and existing applications
Applications are started and managed on My Housing Online. Please only complete a new housing application if you don’t have an existing application.
If you’re not sure whether you have an existing application or you are having trouble completing an online application, please contact our Homeseeker team on 01226 787878.
Customer notice - March 2024
Due to the high volumes of applications we're receiving and the changes we're undertaking to implement our new Lettings Policy, it's currently taking around 8 weeks to process new applications.
Where we identify that an applicant may have a high housing need, we're prioritising the processing of these applications. Please only contact us to chase an application if you believe you have a high housing need and you haven't heard from us within 20 working days.
Supporting information for applications
In some cases, more information is required to support the application form.
Click below to submit additional information to support your housing application. Please only submit one of these forms if you have a new or existing housing application. Supporting information without a corresponding housing application cannot be considered.
Any other information can be provided by email to homeseeker@berneslaihomes.co.uk
Please include these details in your email:
- Housing Application Number (if known)
- Full name
- Full address (current)
What happens once you’ve applied
Once your application has been submitted, an initial decision on eligibility and priority will be made and communicated to you in writing within 20 working days.
In some cases, additional information may be required before we can decide. If this applies, a member of our assessment team will contact you to discuss this.
While all formal decisions are communicated in writing, it’s often quicker to communicate by telephone or email. If you’re happy for us to call or email, please make sure your contact details are up-to-date and included in your application.
Once a decision on your application has been made, this will be communicated to you in writing.
If your application is accepted, you'll be able to start bidding for properties.
Review of a decision
If you disagree with a decision about your housing application you have the right to request a review. Your request must be made within 6 weeks of the original decision, and can be made online, by email, or by phone.
If your review request contains information that wasn’t considered during your initial assessment, your application will be reassessed taking into account this new information.
Homeseeker Scheme (Lettings Policy) FAQs
Making an application
|
Information Required |
Reason for Requirement |
|
Proof of ID – Passport, driver’s licenses etc |
To verify your identity to make sure you’re eligible for the Homeseeker Scheme |
|
Proof of Address – Driver’s license, utility bill etc |
To verify your address to make sure you’re eligible for the Homeseeker Scheme |
|
Details of your past and present tenancies/housing situation |
To understand your current housing situation and request references from your landlord if applicable |
|
Your local connection to Barnsley |
To verify you’re eligible for the Homeseeker Scheme |
|
Your employment details and/or benefits received |
To verify you can afford to pay your rent and if not, make sure that we offer you the appropriate support to sustain your tenancy |
|
Your household income |
To assess whether you can afford to resolve your own housing needs |
|
Your amount of savings/investments |
To assess whether you can afford to resolve your own housing needs |
|
If you own/previously owned a property |
To assess whether you can afford to resolve your own housing needs |
|
Your reason for wanting to move |
To assess your priority |
|
Any required housing related support |
To understand if we can support you to have a successful tenancy |
|
Details of unspent criminal convictions (excluding traffic offences) |
To assess how we can support you and/or assess your level of risk |
|
Details of any anti-social behaviour or tenancy issues |
To assess how we can support you and/or assess your level of risk |
If you’ve not supplied mandatory information, we’ll get in touch with you to request this. You’ll be required to supply this within 14 days of us asking you to. During this time, you’ll be placed in a ‘pending’ status and will not be added to the housing register. If we do not receive this information within 14 days, we’ll cancel your application.
Our Homeseeker Team can assist with filling in the application form if required. You can contact them at Homeseeker@berneslaihomes.co.uk, or call 01226 787878.
Providing we receive all the required information from you, we’ll complete the initial processing of your application within 20 working days from the submission date. At this point we’ll advise one of the following:
- Your application banding and property qualification
- That your application has been passed to one of our Assessment Team
- We require more information in order to process your application (we will advise you of what we need on the letter)
We’ll complete all assessments within 6 weeks of the information being submitted.
How we assess eligibility, priority and property eligibility
We first determine whether you’re eligible to join the waiting list (details on eligibility criteria can be found in section 3.1 of the Lettings Policy). We then establish whether you qualify to appear on the housing register (see section 3.2.1 of the Lettings Policy). When these steps are satisfied, we look at if any restrictions should be in place before you’re able to start bidding for properties. Restrictions include restricted bidding or inactive bidding (see section 4.4.3 of the Lettings Policy).
The next stage is to calculate your property and bedroom entitlement. We’ll consider the number of people being rehoused, and if additional bedrooms are required (medical, carers etc). You can see how we calculate this in section 4.4.15 of the Lettings Policy.
The final stage is to assess the priority we will attach to your application. Under the new policy we award priority on the highest need an applicant has and not a sum of different needs. We’ll award Band 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on your circumstances. You can view our banding criteria in section 4.4.13 of the Lettings Policy.
We decide your priority by assessing your circumstances in line with our banding criteria (section 4.4.13 of the Lettings Policy). Our Assessment Officers will review the information you have provided on your application form and if we do not require any further information, we’ll allocate you a band based on your highest need. In some cases, we may conduct telephone interviews, home visits, and contact any support services you may be involved with for further information.
The new policy will change the bedroom eligibility rules so that all bedrooms in family homes are filled. For example, a couple with one child will only match for a 2-bedroom home and a single person with 2 children will match for either a 2 bedroom or a 3-bedroom home. We’ll allow a spare bedroom in most 2-bedroom flats and bungalows, subject to age or medical qualification rules.
The table below tells you a little more about the number of bedrooms a household will match for.
|
Household |
Bedsit* |
1 bed* |
2 bed flat and bungalow* |
2 bed house |
3 bed** |
4 bed** |
5+ bed** |
|
Single person |
🗸 |
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
|
|
|
Couple |
🗸 |
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 Adults (not couple) |
|
|
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
|
|
1 Adult/couple plus 1 other |
|
|
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
|
|
1 Adult/couple plus 2 others |
|
|
🗸 |
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
|
1 Adult/couple plus 3 others |
|
|
|
|
🗸 |
🗸 |
|
|
1 Adult/couple plus 4 or more others |
|
|
|
|
🗸 |
🗸 |
🗸 |
Some bedsits, flats and bungalows have age and/or disability restrictions. This will be outlined in the advert and may exclude some applicants (see section 5.2.3)
** We may bypass applications for some of our larger houses, flats, and bungalows to those who match the space and room standard requirements (see 4.4.7).
We may amend these matching rules for applicants with specific and exceptional circumstances, which require them to have a particular property type or bedroom numbers.
You must let us know as soon as possible if your circumstances change so we can reassess your application. You can submit a change of circumstances form here, or contact the Homeseeker Team at Homeseeker@berneslaihomes.co.uk, or call 01226 787878.
If you fail to notify us of a change of circumstances, we have the right under the policy to withdraw any offers of properties based on the out-of-date information.
We review applications on a periodic basis to confirm that there have been no changes in your circumstances which will affect any decisions we have previously made about your application, check that you still qualify to be on the register and check that you still want to be on the register.
We review applications as follows:
- Band 1 every 6 weeks
- Band 2 every 6 months
- Band 3 and 4 every 12 months
You have the right to request a review of the following decisions made about your application under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996:
- Whether you’re eligible for an allocation of accommodation.
- Whether you qualify to join the Homeseeker Scheme.
- Your priority on the Homeseeker Scheme (including factors considered when determining priority or decisions to reduce preference).
- The type of property and area you can apply for.
- Restrictions on members of your household to be rehoused with you.
- The type of tenancy to be offered under the terms of our tenancy policy.
You must request a review of any decision within 21 days of being informed of the decision. You can request a review here.
You can make a complaint about how we have handled your application, how we've followed our Lettings Policy, or the service we have given you in respect of your application.
However, if you've not used your right to review the decision made, this should be done before submitting a complaint. You can request a review here.
We have a separate webpage called “Your Comments Count” which explains how to make a complaint and how we handle them. This page can be found here.
Please read further Lettings Policy FAQs on the 'things to know before you apply' page here and 'bidding for vacancies' page here.
Please read all three steps before making a new application:
Change in circumstances
If your circumstances have changed and this affects your housing application, please let us know.
Cancelling an application
If your circumstances change and you want to cancel your housing application, please let us know.