Wealden District Council
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Applying for Social Housing to Rent

The Allocation team are not available on a Wednesday due to large numbers of emails and document uploads. Sorry for any inconvenience.

The Council manage just over 3,000 homes. However, because the demand for homes is greater than the supply, we run a Housing Register. If you are eligible, you can apply to be put on the waiting list.

There are 3 stages:

To join our Housing Register, you must meet our eligibility criteria.

Who can join the Housing Register – Eligibility

Most applicants will be eligible to join the register, but there are some exceptions.

The following will not qualify to join the register:-

  • Home owners or owners of land or other property with sufficient equity to be able to secure suitable alternative accommodation
  • Applicants living outside of the UK
  • Applicants, including transfer applicants, whose housing cost, such as rent or mortgage repayments is less than 32% of the total household income
  • Applicants, including transfer applicants, with savings or assets greater than 7.5% of the lower quartile of a house located in the Wealden area. This figure is currently £21,382 and will be reviewed yearly as property values vary with time due to market forces.
  • Applicants for Retirement Living Court accommodation, including transfer applicants, with savings or assets in excess of £50,000
  • Applicants with no local connection to the Wealden District
  • Applicants whose behaviour means we think they would not be able to satisfactorily manage a tenancy, for example, those with rent arrears or a history of anti-social behaviour.

Section 3 of our Allocations Policy   includes further details of people who will not be eligible. Here you can find our Housing Allocations Policy Key Facts. 

How to apply to join the housing register

To apply to join the Council’s housing register, you will need to complete an application online at Sussex Homemove .

If you don’t have access to the internet, you can use the internet free of charge at the Council offices or most libraries.

If you apply for housing, but you do not qualify, you will receive a letter explaining the reason and have the right to request a review of the decision.

Once you have submitted your online housing application, you will be asked to provide information to support what you have said. For example this may include payslips, bank statements, Universal Credit/Housing Benefit entitlement, photo ID as well as any supporting documentation from other agencies.  This list is not exhaustive. Once we receive all the supporting information we asked for, it will take around sixteen weeks to register your application. If you do not provide the required supporting information you will not receive an offer of accommodation despite being able to bid on individual properties.

Allocation of Homes – Priority Banding and Bedroom Categories

Once you have been assessed, you will be put into a priority banding (as per section 6 of our Allocations Policy) and bedroom category  (as per section 5 of our Allocations Policy). If you feel you have been placed in the wrong priority band or bedroom category you can request a review. This attachment provides guidance on requesting a review of your bedroom entitlement or banding

We also operate a Parish Lettings Policy which aims to sustain and support rural communities by ensuring that housing in a rural parish is allocated to those applicants who have a local connection with that parish. It applies to all parishes in Wealden except lettings in Hailsham, Polegate, Uckfield or Crowborough (see Appendix A of our Allocations Policy).

Changes to your situation

Once you have applied for housing you are legally required to tell us about any changes in your situation as these can affect your housing application.  You can let us know about these, or discuss your situation by emailing:  housingallocations@wealden.gov.uk or by calling 01323 443322.

If you apply for housing, but you do not qualify, you will receive a letter explaining the reason and have the right to request a review of the decision.

Once you have submitted your online housing application, you will be asked to provide information to support what you have said. Once we receive all the supporting information we asked for, it will take around sixteen weeks to register your application. If you do not provide the required supporting information you will not receive an offer of accommodation despite being able to bid on individual properties.

Allocation of Homes – Priority Banding and Bedroom Categories

Once you have been assessed, you will be put into a priority banding (as per section 6 of our Allocations Policy) and bedroom category  (as per section 5 of our Allocations Policy). If you feel you have been placed in the wrong priority band or bedroom category you can request a review. This attachment provides guidance on requesting a review of your bedroom entitlement or banding

We also operate a Parish Lettings Policy which aims to sustain and support rural communities by ensuring that housing in a rural parish is allocated to those applicants who have a local connection with that parish. It applies to all parishes in Wealden except lettings in Hailsham, Polegate, Uckfield or Crowborough (see Appendix A of our Allocations Policy).

Changes to your situation

Once you have applied for housing you are legally required to tell us about any changes in your situation as these can affect your housing application.  You can let us know about these, or discuss your situation by emailing:  housingallocations@wealden.gov.uk or by calling 01323 443322.

If you apply for housing, but you do not qualify, you will receive a letter explaining the reason and have the right to request a review of the decision.

Once you have submitted your online housing application, you will be asked to provide information to support what you have said. Once we receive all the supporting information we asked for, it will take around sixteen weeks to register your application. If you do not provide the required supporting information you will not receive an offer of accommodation despite being able to bid on individual properties.

Allocation of Homes – Priority Banding and Bedroom Categories

Once you have been assessed, you will be put into a priority banding (as per section 6 of our Allocations Policy) and bedroom category  (as per section 5 of our Allocations Policy). If you feel you have been placed in the wrong priority band or bedroom category you can request a review. This attachment provides guidance on requesting a review of your bedroom entitlement or banding

We also operate a Parish Lettings Policy which aims to sustain and support rural communities by ensuring that housing in a rural parish is allocated to those applicants who have a local connection with that parish. It applies to all parishes in Wealden except lettings in Hailsham, Polegate, Uckfield or Crowborough (see Appendix A of our Allocations Policy).

Changes to your situation

Once you have applied for housing you are legally required to tell us about any changes in your situation as these can affect your housing application.  You can let us know about these, or discuss your situation by emailing:  housingallocations@wealden.gov.uk or by calling 01323 443322.

Find out about new homes being developed in Wealden.

If you require additional support with applying for social housing please email Housing Options at housingoptions@wealden.gov.uk 

For information on housing costs/benefits please click here