You are here: Home | A to Z of Services | Council house - Registering

Council house - Registering

How we provide this service

South Holland District Council owns approximately 4,000 properties. We have around 1,500 people on our Housing Registers and around 200 properties that become vacant each year. The majority of these are in Spalding and our other larger towns and villages. In some of the smaller settlements in the district we only have one or two properties.

We offer housing to people on the basis of their housing need, and we make every effort to give advice and assistance to people from our community with housing needs. We can help with advice on housing with other agencies and landords.

This service is supported by Housing, Operational.

Fax: 01775 723496

What to do to get this service

A guide to the housing register explains who can apply for Council Housing in South Holland.

To apply to go onto the Housing Register you need to fill in an application form. We will ask you for details of your household, your housing needs and the areas in which you would perfer to live.

Once you have filled in your form you will need to send it back to us at the address shown at the top of the form. It is important that you give us all of the information that we ask for.

When we have received your application we will check to make sure that you are eligible to join the housing register. Once we have done this we will either:

register your application and generate a position on the Housing Register

write to you asking for more information or letting you know that you are not eliglble to join and why.

Geographical areas vary in popularity and in the availability of the type of housing you may be seeking, but we will discuss your needs with you and advise you of the number of points your application has been given and we will endeavour to tell you approximately how long you will have to wait to be housed by the Council or Housing Association. You can get an idea of where our houses and bungalows are by viewing the local district map.

Generally once your pointed application reaches the top of the list, you will be offered the next appropriate dwelling in your area of choice. You will have a specified number of days to decide whether you wish to accept the offer.

Who can apply?

General and Family Housing Register:
We offer housing to people on the basis of housing need and anybody over 18 years old can apply to go onto this register.

Elderly and Disabled Persons Housing Register:
Anyone over 60 or with a qualified need for ground floor accommodation can apply to go onto this register.

How long will I have to wait for a response?

If your application contains all of the information we have asked for, it normally takes about 14 days to process your application.

How long will the whole process take?

We can't tell you how long it will be before we can offer you a home. Unfortunately there are many more people wanting accommodation than is available.

Links to forms, leaflets and websites providing more information

SHDC Allocations Policy

Change of Circumstance form: if you are on the Housing Register and your circumstances change, you need to let us know. You can do this by filling in a change of address form.

What's available gives types of accommodation available and contact details for other local housing providers.

Common Questions

Q. What if i am a Council tenant and want to move?
A. If you wish to move to another council property, you have three options:

- Join the housing register.
- Find another tenant to exchange with you - this is called a mutual exchange.
- Join the HomeSwapper scheme - this is a national scheme for council and housing association tenants to swap homes.
Q. I am a Council tenant/Longhurst Housing Association tenant, can I apply for a transfer?
A. Yes, you will need to fill in an application form. If you have any rent arrears you will need to clear them before you can go onto the waiting list.
Q. How many points will i need before i am offered a home?
A. This is a difficult question to answer and depends on the type of property and area. Generally you will need between 160 and 200 + points for a 1 and 2 bedroom flat and between 100 and 200 for a 2 and 3 bedroom house. For a sheltered 2 bedroom bungalow you will need anywhere from 40 to 160 points and for non sheltered anywhere up to 200.

How do you rate this information / service?


Good	Average	Poor

Contact Details

If you have any queries about the information provided above, or require further information, please contact Customer Services on 01775 761161 or email info@sholland.gov.uk.