Housing register
To apply to join our housing register (sometimes called the waiting list), see Kent Homechoice.
You'll need to start with a pre-assessment. If you're told you are not eligible, you can still continue onto the application form. To do so, scroll to the bottom of the page and click continue. If it does not open the application form or you are still having issues, then please email housing.services@tmbc.gov.uk for some assistance.
If you have recently applied and you are following up on the progress of your application, you should first contact us at housing.services@tmbc.gov.uk and we can let you know the status of an application. However, before doing this, please make sure you have done everything that is required, for example uploading documentation.
We may take some time to process your application as we receive a high number of applications and enquiries. However, on receipt we look at all applications to see if there is anything urgent that needs addressing, any safeguarding or homeless concerns. All applications will be acknowledged once they’ve been through this initial check. We will email you with crucial information on what documents you need to provide to support your application. Please make sure these are provided by uploading them to the system. If you are having any issues with getting documents, or you are not able to upload them email us at housing.services@tmbc.gov.uk. If you fail to supply the correct documentation within 28 days, your application will be removed from the register and you will have to begin the process again.
When we reach your application, it will be assessed against the criteria in our Housing allocation scheme.
How the housing register works
Some people may not be eligible to join our register, for example if they have no local connection to the area, or if they have too much money in their bank account. If you are eligible to join the housing register, you will be awarded a priority band and a priority date. In all instances we will email to let you know the outcome of your application. If at this time you believe we have incorrectly applied our allocations scheme, you can request a review of the decision and provide supporting information to support your review. This review has to be requested within 21 days of you being notified of the outcome of your application. We will not review an application just because you are unhappy with the result of the assessment. You must include a reason related to one of the criteria in the allocations scheme.
If you are accepted onto the housing register, you can then log into Kent Homechoice and bid on homes you are eligible for. Do not bid on bigger or smaller homes, as you will not be considered for these. You will only be made any offers if you bid. If you have some problems bidding, email housing.services@tmbc.gov.uk and let us know. We will contact you to see if we can help by putting on auto bidding for you.
The demand for social housing outstrips supply. While possible, it is very unlikely that in bands C and D you will be rehoused with an offer of social housing, and you will have to consider other options. For those in band A and B, the waits for any offers of social housing are extensive, with average waits being well over two years, although some households may be rehoused more quickly, and some may take much longer than this. There is also a limited stock of larger style homes available, which may increase waiting times for larger households. To increase your chances of being offered a home, you should try and bid in all areas and on all property types. We will also not offer you a home that does not meet your needs, for example if you have provided evidence to support you being a four-bed need, then we will not offer you a three-bed home as this will not fully alleviate your housing need.
The shortlist
For every home you bid on a new shortlist will be produced. You will be placed in this shortlist based on your band and priority date. The housing provider (for example Clarion) will then review these shortlists and make an offer of accommodation. This is not always to the person at the top of the list, as there may be reasons why they cannot be offered this home. This means you do not always have to be at number one to be offered a home. The housing register is not a list where the top person comes off and everyone moves up a place. Each home advertised generates a new shortlist and this may be why you come in different positions on different properties. Your placement on the shortlist depends on how many people bid, and their band and priority dates. MPs, councillors and council staff have no influence over this. Properties are offered in this way to ensure it is fair and equitable.
If you have had any changes in circumstances, you should notify us by completing a change of circumstances form. We will then reassess your application and let you know the outcome. If you fail to tell us of any changes, this may result in you missing out on offers of a home. The housing provider will also do verification checks at the point of offer and will withdraw the offer if there has been a change of circumstances that we are not aware of.
There are, at times, homes that are not put on Kent Homechoice to be bid on. There are many reasons for this, including situations where the housing provider needed the property to house a family into so that major works can be carried out at their home, or someone has been given a managed move (which could happen because their life may be at risk where they are living and the police are supporting this move). You may therefore see a home empty and then it does not appear on Kent Homechoice but a household moves in.
We also have Local Lettings Plans (LLPs) where some homes are offered first to those with a local connection to the area where the homes are. This happens most often on new build homes, although it will also apply when those new build homes are re-let. So, you may see someone offered a home in a lower band with a shorter priority, but they have the local connection to the area, and you don’t. Being contacted to see if you have a local connection to an area does not mean you have been offered a home, it is part of the enquiries that the housing provider and we need to make to ensure the homes are offered correctly.
For any housing register queries contact the housing solutions service at housing.services@tmbc.gov.uk.