Applicants have a choice of property types and areas they would like to consider and have the opportunity to express preferences about the housing accommodation to be allocated to them.
To try and be as fair as possible in deciding who should be offered properties, the Council uses a points system. The system is based on an applicant’s housing circumstances, suitability of the property, and any medical problems. Points are also given for the time applicants have lived in the area and for waiting time.
As points will be assessed from the information given on the form, care should be taken to ensure that all questions are answered.
When applicants have a points level high enough to be considered for housing, they will be contacted to discuss the prospects of being housed in the areas chosen, and to discuss the best options to maximise rehousing prospects.
When a vacancy occurs, it is offered to the applicant with the highest points total, who has asked for that area and type of property. If two applicants have the same total, the applicant who has been registered the longest will be offered the property.
The Council reserve the right to determine the size of housing accommodation according to family size and housing need in view of the shortage of social housing in the District. The number of homes which become empty each year is far less than the number of applications the Council receive. For this reason the following is a guide to the type of property the Council will consider suitable:
Single person under retirement age |
Bedsit, 1 bedroom flat or house |
Single person over retirement age |
Bedsit, 1 bedroom flat, house or bungalow |
Couple under pensionable age |
1 bedroom flat or house |
Couple over pensionable age |
1 bedroom flat, house or bungalow |
Family with 1 child |
2 bedroom flat, house or maisonette |
Family with 2 children of same sex |
2 bedroom flat, house or maisonette |
Family with 3 children or 2 children of opposite sex or 4 children of the same sex or 2 children of the same sex with an age difference greater than 7 years |
3 bedroom house, flat or maisonette |
| Family with 4 or more children of opposite sex | 4 bedroom house or flat |
| Single person/ couple with access to child/ren | Upper floor flats |
Priority for houses will be given to applicants with dependent children. Because of the lack of four bedroom properties in Council stock, properties with three bedrooms and two living rooms (parlour type) are offered to larger families within a 10 point range of the highest pointed applicant in the three bedroom category.
For disabled persons there is a limited range of purpose built and adapted properties and people with disability will be considered for suitable vacancies on the basis of medical priority.
Bungalows and ground floor flats will be allocated according to medical need, where applicants with mobility problems have 5-10 medical points, and priority will be given to the elderly. Where there are no applicants with high medical need, preference will be given to transfer cases within the District with high priority for releasing family houses.
Please check before you ask for a particular area that there are properties of a suitable type there.
Applicants with a local connection with the District will be given extra priority. Applicants with a local connection of 10 years with any of the villages in the District within a 10 point range of the highest applicant will be given priority in order to promote sustainable communities.
After three refusals of suitable accommodation, the application will be deferred for twelve months. If the Council agree the offer was unsuitable, the offer will not count as a refusal.
If a property has been refused three times under the allocation procedure, it will be offered to the highest priority applicant, transfer or homeless case who expresses interest.
E-mail: housing@dover.gov.uk
