The Allocation team are available after 10 am Monday to Friday, 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:
Stage 1 – Applying to Join the Housing Register
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.
Stage 2 – Making your housing application live/Supplying Verifying Documentation
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.
Stage 3 – Bidding for Homes
Once you are on the housing register and have been allocated a priority banding and bedroom category you can bid for homes through Sussex Homemove . This will normally be 4 weeks after we have received all documentation that has been requested.
Most applicants will be able to “bid” for homes via Sussex Homemove themselves. By bid we mean “express and interest in a property” Applicants can only bid on eligible properties – this means properties of the right size and type for their families needs. Housing Applicants that cannot bid themselves can request auto bidding/assisted bidding and for homeless applicants auto bidding will happen automatically.
Available properties are open to bid on for 2 weeks. At the end of the 2 weeks he Housing Allocations Team will receive information on all the bids. They manually assess all of these in accordance with the Allocations Policy. The details of the housing applicant at the top of the list are sent to the housing provider at the same time the housing applicant will be informed of this, usually by email. The housing provider will contact the successful housing applicant directly. Unsuccessful applicants will not be informed.
However, in exceptional circumstances properties may go to someone not at the top of the shortlist – where a local lettings plan exists (see section 9 of our Allocations Policy).
A Local Lettings Plan is an agreement between Wealden District Council Housing Allocations team and a housing provider. It sets out how properties will be allocated in exceptional circumstances to meet area specific issues. They are used for a number of reasons including to create mixed, balance and sustainable communities. All properties advertised that are subject to a local lettings plan will explain the criteria eligible applicants must meet. View details of current local lettings plans .
For more information on the properties available in Wealden and what vacancies arise:
Access to your information
You can request information about how your application is being treated and whether you are receiving reasonable preference. You can ask for information that may help you assess if and when suitable accommodation may be available. You can also ask to see personal information from your case file.
New Build Affordable Homes
Find out about new homes being developed in Wealden.