How to make an application (Step 2)

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.

When you first apply to the Homeseeker Scheme we'll complete initial checks your application within 10 working days from the submission date. At this point we’ll advise one of the following:

• Your application is live, and you can start applying for properties. We'll tell you your banding, property qualification, and information about when we'll review your application.
• Your application has been passed to one of our Assessment Officers to assess.
• We require more information in order to process your application further (we'll advise you of what we need either by email or letter).

If your application has been passed to our Assessment Team

We may need to contact you over the phone or carry out a visit to your home to assess your housing need. We'll provide you with a decision on your housing application within 20 working days of it being passed to the Assessment Team.

If we require more information from you

The email or letter you receive will clearly advise you on the information we need to assess your application. If you don't provide this within 28 days of the email or letter being sent, we'll assume you no longer require rehousing and cancel your application. Once we receive all requested information this will be passed to one of our assessment officers for assessment.

We may need to contact you over the phone or carry out a visit to your home to assess your housing need. We'll provide you with a decision on your housing application within 20 working days of it being passed to the Assessment Team.

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 Barnsley Homeseeker Scheme uses four priority bands to decide how urgently someone needs to move. Applications are assessed based on the applicant's housing circumstances, evidence provided, and the criteria set out in the Berneslai Homes Lettings Policy 2024.

Priority is usually awarded according to the applicant's highest assessed housing need. This means that where someone has more than one housing issue, their band is normally based on the most serious need, rather than adding several issues together.

Band 1 - highest priority

This is for applicants with an emergency or very urgent need to move. 

Examples of who may be awarded this band:

• people owed the Full Homelessness Duty

• emergency medical or welfare priority

• statutory overcrowding

• young people leaving care or a risk of going into care

• existing tenants needing or freeing up an adapted home

• existing tenants freeing up a home needed for another priority applicant

• people leaving the Armed Forces without accommodation

• people needing rehousing due to witness protection

Band 2 - urgent priority

This is for applicants with a significant housing need, but not normally at the emergency level of Band 1.

Examples of who may be awarded this band:

• people owed the Homelessness Prevention Duty

• Health Priority 2

• high social or welfare priority

• significant disrepair where a home is unsafe or lacking essential services

• severe but non-statutory overcrowding

• applicants needing an adapted home where their current home can't reasonably be adapted

• formed Armed Forces personnel in need of social housing

• people under-occupying rented accommodation by two or more bedroom and downsizing 

Band 3 - moderate priority

This is for applicants with a recognised housing need which is lower than Bands 1 and 2.

Examples of who may be awarded this band:

• people with health issues that are having a minor impact in their current home

• low-level overcrowding

• people under-occupying rented accommodation by one bedroom and downsizing

• households in upper flats without lifts with children under five 

• people wanting independent accommodation

• people moving to be near schools, work, or local amenities

• people moving to give support

• people with low-level social or welfare needs

• two social rented tenants moving into one home

• people who aren't in priority need or are intentionally homeless under homelessness legislation.

Band 4 - lowest priority

This is for applicants who are suitably housed or who don't have a priority need under the scheme.

Examples of who may be awarded this band:

• people who are suitably housed

• people who can resolve their own housing needs

• people with health issues where rehousing would not reduce or alleviate the risk

• people previously in Bands 1 - 3 who, following review, haven't proactively tried to resolve their housing need by bidding for or accepting reasonable offers

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.

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.