You can apply for social rented housing in East Staffordshire by applying to join the East Staffordshire Housing Register.
11 Housing Associations provide about 6,000 homes in the Borough, and around 500 become available in a typical year.
The housing register is the route to housing owned by partner Housing Associations Trent & Dove Housing, Orbit Heart of England, Sanctuary Housing, Midland Heart, Waterloo Housing Association, Spirita, Bromford, and Derwent Living. It is also the route to half of the housing owned by Anchor, Guinness-Northern Counties, and Housing 21. East Staffordshire Borough Council does not own any housing. The register is maintained for partners by Trent & Dove Housing and Trent & Dove allocate housing on behalf of the Council in accordance with the Council's Allocations Policy.
There are currently around 2,000 applicants on the housing register waiting for social housing. All the partners are committed to choice based letting which means available properties are advertised and applicants registered on the housing register can express their interest in them. Housing is offered first to those in greatest housing need.
Is it worth me applying?
Most housing associations with housing in East Staffordshire are registered as charitable organisations and therefore have to ensure that tenancies are granted to qualifying applicants. This includes people who are of pensionable age, registered disabled, those with chronic or long-term physical or mental heath problems and those who have a net household income of less than £30,500 (as at April 2009). Hence if you are not a qualifying applicant you are unlikely to be offered a home. Applicants will be assessed by the relevant housing association at the point of being offered a property to take account of any changes in their circumstances.
If you are aged 16 or 17 you cannot legally hold a tenancy until you become 18, Hence you can only be allocated a rented home if you have a suitable trustee. Landlords may also require a guarantor.
You are likely to be excluded from the housing register f you have a history of rent arrears or antisocial behaviour.
There is high demand for most housing association rented housing, and hence you may wait a long time to be offered a home. However some types of home are easier to secure - housing for older people, 2-bedroom flats, studio flats, and some homes in rural areas. To work out your chances:
1. Look at the Allocations Policy and work out your bedroom entitlement and which Band you are likely to be placed into.
2. Look at the sizes of home you will be eligible for in the Lettings Summary. If homes of that size have been allocated to applicants in the Band you think you will be in or a lower Band, then look at the Registration Dates which tell you how long the applicants had been waiting in that Band. Then look at the addresses of the homes. This will give you an indication of how long it might take to be offered a home in a particular area. Look at different types of home and different areas, which Band the successful applicant was in, and how many eligible expressions of interest (bids) were received - the more expressions of interest, the more popular that home was. You will have a bigger chance of being offered a home if you express interest in less popular types of home or areas - in which applicants in lower Bands have been housed and which have received fewer expressions of interest (bids).
Even when you are offered a home it is not normally available for several weeks, so social housing is almost never an immediate option. Hence if you are homeless see Homelessness and if you are at risk of losing your current home see Losing your home.
You may decide it is not worth applying for social housing. See Finding Somewhere to Live for advice about finding other accommodation. You can also contact the Council's Housing Options service at the Council's Customer Service Centres or by phoning or texting (01283) 508120.
How to apply
To apply for housing you need to complete an application form. You can print the form 
here. You can get the form and leaflet from:
- the Council's Customer Service Centres
- from Trent & Dove Housing at Horninglow Street, Burton (opposite the Police Station) or Church Street, Uttoxeter
- by calling Trent & Dove Housing on 01283 528528
- by email to enquiries@trentanddove.org
- from Orbit Heart of England at Borough Road, Burton
Please note that you need to submit your completed form to Trent & Dove Housing not to the Council.
Applicants are asked to provide the following information when submitting their completed application form:
- 2 copies of identification for each adult applicant; one of personal identity - ideally photographic ID such as their passport or driving licence but failing that other ID such as their birth certificate, and one showing their current address (such as a utility bill or bank statement);
- For any child in the household, evidence of receipt of child benefit or child tax credit;
- For any child included in the application to whom an applicant has significant access, evidence of this access such as a copy of legal documentation or a signed letter from the child’s guardian;
- If any member of the household is reported to be pregnant, proof of pregnancy and estimated due date;
- If applicable and possible, a fully completed and signed Landlord Reference from the applicant’s current or most recent landlord and any other landlords within the last 2 years;
- If applicable, evidence of the household’s need to move eg a letter from a relevant professional.
If an applicant is unable to provide any applicable information with their application they need to explain this in a covering letter, since applications will only be received as valid without applicable information if there is an adequate explanation.
Trent & Dove will assess whether an application is valid on behalf of partners. If applicable information is missing and there is no covering letter explaining this, the application will be automatically invalid and the applicant will be told this by return. If there is a covering letter but Trent & Dove decide that the explanation for missing information is inadequate they will inform the applicant in writing explaining why this is, that the application has not been received as valid, and what the applicant needs to do to make the application valid. Applicants may request up to two reviews of such a decision.
Without applicable information it may not be possible to award any level of priority, and Housing Associations may decline to offer a property. Hence if information is not provided, Trent & Dove may ask landlords or agencies for this information to enable assessment of the applicant’s eligibility, qualification, entitlement and housing need. Trent & Dove may also carry out a home visit.