How to apply for a home for rent
In Cumbria, Castles & Coasts Housing Association (CCHA) are a member of Cumbria Choice - Choice Based Lettings, and you'll find the process for applying in the North West below.
In the North East of England, there is a different application procedure and details can be found by clicking here.
North West
Registering
To apply for housing with Cumbria Choice you must be on the Cumbria Choice Housing Register. Once you're on the Cumbria Choice Housing Register you'll be able to apply for housing with a number of housing providers:
- Accent
- Castles & Coasts Housing Association
- Eden Housing
- Home Group
- Riverside
- South Lakes Housing
How to register
Firstly, you need to complete an application form online at www.cumbriachoice.org.uk . This is the Customer Housing Portal.
When you are accepted onto the Register you will receive a letter with your registration number, date of registration and band (the priority you have been given for housing). Keep this information safe, as you'll need it in the future when you start applying for properties.
When you complete your application form you have to choose one housing organisation to administer your form. If you are a current or former tenant of any of the partner organisations, then they must administer your application.
They will assess your qualification and priority for housing and will review your application each year.
It's important that you tell Cumbria Choice straight away if your circumstances change, as failure to do this may mean that you can't be offered a home. You can upload any supporting documents for your application at any time directly to your application through the Customer Housing Portal.
How to find out about available properties
You will be able to view all the properties available each week via the 'Cumbria Choice' and 'Our Find a Home page' buttons below.
The adverts will give you information about the property to help you make the right choice. The advert will tell you who is eligible for the property, such as a couple with 3 or more children, any age restrictions (over 60 years for example) and any local connection requirements.
If you try to bid on a property and you're not eligible you will be told the reason why. For example, you may be ineligible because you are a family with one child and the property is only suitable for a single person. Eligibility will also be subject to ages of children.
Household type and eligibility
| Household size | Number of bedrooms |
|---|---|
| Single person | Bedsit, 1, 2 (D) or 3 (D) bedrooms |
| Couple | Bedsit, 1, 2 (D) or 3 (D) bedrooms |
| 2 adults (non-couple) | 2 or 3 (D) bedrooms |
| 2+ adults (non-couple) | 2 or 3 (D) bedrooms |
| Household with one child | 2 or 3 (D) bedrooms |
| Household with 2 children | 2 or 3 bedrooms |
| Household with 3 children | 3 or 4 bedrooms |
| Household with 3 + children | 3, 4 or 5+ bedrooms |
Please note:
(D) Discretionary and only accepted in low demand areas.
Households who have only part time access to, and not permanent custody of, children will not be able to bid to include them as part of the household in relation to property size.
In South Lakeland District Council area applicants without children will not be able to be considered for houses.
CCHA will carry out Right to Rent checks as part of the Pre Tenancy Assessment.
How to bid for a home in Cumbria
You can express an interest (or 'bid') on a property by:
Visiting Cumbria Choice, or contacting us by telephone on 0800 085 1171
Priority for Housing - The bands
Those accepted onto the Register will be placed in one of three bands in accordance with the Cumbria Choice Allocations Policy.
| Band | Banding reasons |
|---|---|
| Band A |
|
| Band B |
|
| Band C |
|
Further guidance on banding criteria can be found on the Cumbria Choice website.
How shortlisting works
Properties are advertised on a weekly cycle. Applicants may express an interest through 'bidding' on any advertised property that meets their needs. Applicants in bands A or B are able to place up to 3 bids each week. Applicants in band C can place unlimited bids to improve their prospects of getting an offer of a lower demand property where there might be a few lower demand properties advertised in that cycle. Your final position on the shortlist will not be known until the end of the bidding period. You can see how your position is changing during this period as other people also express an interest in the property. It's up to you if you leave your name on the list or remove your bid and choose a less popular property.
In Band C, you will be able to bid each week on a 'rolling' basis from when you placed your first bid. It doesn't matter when you bid during the cycle as the shortlist is drawn up once the bidding period has closed.
At the end of the bidding process, Cumbria Choice puts the bids for each property in order – by Band, any special requirements such as medical need, and effective date. Please note that the Cumbria Choice system does not currently show priority of local connection, so your place in the shortlist may change once the Lettings Officer has checked local connections.
Usually, the person at the top of the shortlist will be invited to carry out a Pre-Tenancy Assessment to assess suitability before viewing the property. Only the person to interviewed for the property will be contacted.
How properties are offered
Cumbria Choice aims to contact the person at the top of the shortlist within 48 hours.
An offer of a property will only be made once a Pre-Tenancy Assessment has been approved and the information on the application form has been checked, acceptable references received and proof of identity and Right to Rent provided.
If you have been matched to a property you won't be able to bid on another property until you have decided to accept or refuse the offer.
If you refuse three properties in one year you may be placed in a lower priority Band.
Feedback
Details of the properties offered will be given the following week on the website. It will show which Band the successful applicant was in and the length of time they had been registered with Cumbria Choice.
If you are unsuccessful with your bids you can use this information to help you decide how best to bid in the future.
North East
Across the North East of England, CCHA works with a number of local authorities to provide affordable housing. The allocation of properties is administered through Choice Based Lettings (CBL) Schemes. These let you to make choices about where you want to live and the type of home that is most suitable for you.
The CBL schemes in the North East that CCHA is a partner with (click on the name to go to their website) are:
We’ll carry out ‘right to rent’ checks as part of our pre-tenancy assessment.
To find out more on how to apply for properties please watch our video or email our Lettings & Neighbourhoods Team on lettings@castlesandcoasts.co.uk
Would you like to apply for a home in the North East of England?
If you're looking for a house swap, CCHA subscribes to the HomeSwapper mutual exchange service and pays for our residents' registration, subject to no breaches of tenancy.
You can access the service online, through social media, or download an app for your mobile. Once you've seen adverts for properties you like, you can contact the resident to arrange a viewing.
You can also register for a mutual exchange through Cumbria Choice (Customer Housing Portal) with no need to be eligible for a full application. Here you can search for other households wishing to swap homes.
For more information, visit www.homeswapper.co.uk
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