Applying for Housing

Applying for a house

Anyone aged 16 or over can be placed on our waiting list. To get on to our waiting list you will need to fill in a housing application form, telling us about your housing needs and where you would like to be rehoused. You can get an application form from:

• Our Customer Service Centre: Freephone 0800 011 3447
• Any of our offices
• The offices of all other social landlords in Dumfries and Galloway
• Here on the website, you can download the form using the link below. You should also download a copy of our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and return this with the application form.

When you have completed your form, return it to us. Your details will then be entered onto our computer system. After registering your application, we will assess your housing application. This will take account of:

• Your present housing circumstances and needs
• The size of house you need
• The areas and house types you have said that you would like to be considered for
• Whether you have any particular needs such as ground floor or adapted housing
• Whether you have applied to us directly, or are being considered for housing because you have been referred to us by Dumfries and Galloway Council or another agency

Once this has been done, you will receive a registration letter to confirm that you are now on our housing list. The letter will also state your reference number and the number of points you have been allocated. Please ensure that you keep your registration letter safe, as you will need to quote your reference number during any correspondence with us.

You must inform us immediately if your circumstances change, as this may affect whether you are entitled to housing and affect your priority need. In addition, if you should make your circumstances worse deliberately or give false or misleading information we may decide not to process your housing application.

Rehousing

DGHP gives priority to applicants based on their housing need and by taking account of the legal requirements we must meet. We place applicants into the categories below, and then decide who has the highest priority for rehousing in each category, based on their needs:

• Housing List – people who are not already DGHP tenants who apply to us direct for a house
• Transfer – people who are already DGHP tenants who apply to us for a move to another house
• Homeless Referrals – people who Dumfries and Galloway Council pass to us as homeless and are eligible for permanent rehousing under the law
• Regeneration – people living in DGHP houses who need to move because their current house is being demolished or redeveloped as part of a regeneration scheme
• Armed forces personnel - people who have served in the Forces and are eligible for direct and priority housing from DGHP.

Other priority needs – this category includes:

• People passed to us for rehousing under agreements with other agencies (e.g. people leaving care).
• People who apply to DGHP direct and who need to be rehoused as a matter of urgency because of domestic abuse or serious harassment.

These are the housing needs for which you can receive points:

• You are living in a house or a caravan that is in very poor condition, is below the tolerable standard or does not have basic amenities
• You do not have secure accommodation
• Your accommodation is overcrowded or is too large for your household
• You have to share basic facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom with other
• Your present home is unsuitable because you have problems with mobility or a medical condition
• You cannot continue to live in your present home because of domestic abuse or serious harassment
• You need to move to give or receive care and support
• You have young children and are living in a flat with a shared entrance and/or no private garden.

Exchanges

DGHP has signed up to an innovative new partnership project using the UK’s leading mutual exchange service, HomeSwapper.

By joining Homeswapper, DGHP is extending the options available to tenants who wish to make a mutual exchange, rather than wait on a transfer list.

The online service means tenants who are looking for a swap either locally, or nationally, can go online and add their property, with pictures as well, and they can state what they would like in exchange. The system then matches their property with any others that may already be online, if the criteria set out match.

Those who have already signed up say the service is simple and easy to use and they are all looking forward to seeing more people using it.

To sign up to the scheme, click here.

Medical Priority

If you need to be re-housed for medical reasons, we will ask you to complete a medical application. This will be independently assessed by DGHP’s Medical Assessment Officer.

The Medical Assessment Officer’s report will tell us whether you qualify for medical priority and what level of priority we should give. The report will usually recommend what type of home would be most suitable, for example a ground floor property with no stairs. DGHP will only offer re-housing in line with the Medical Assessment Officer’s recommendations.

If you receive the highest level of medical points, we will contact you regularly if we feel that your areas of choice are limiting your chances of being re-housed more quickly. We will give you advice on whether you should consider changing your preferred areas.

Care and support

Who can apply for care and support points?

Applicants who may be eligible for care and support points, we will ask you to complete a care and support form. Applicants will only qualify for care & support points in the following circumstances;

• where there is a need to move house to receive care or support, for example because the applicant wishes to be near his or her carer; or
• where there is a need to move house to provide care or support, for example because the applicant wishes to be near the person or persons the applicant is caring for, or is going to care for.

A person will only qualify for care and support points if they are moving closer to the source of support and the distances involved are too great to be considered reasonable.

How We Let Our Houses

When a property becomes available for let we will let it in line with our Allocations Policy. Firstly, we will decide which category of applicant the house will be offered to, taking account of the policy, our Annual Lettings Plan targets, whether the property is required for homeless or regeneration area applicants, and to make best use of our housing. Then we will select the applicant with the highest priority, taking account of who is waiting for that size of house and area.