Registering with Home Choice Plus

• Who is eligible to join the Home Choice Plus Register
• Who is NOT eligible to join the Home Choice Plus Register
• How to register with Home Choice Plus
• What we do when we receive your Application  
• Your responsibilities once accepted onto the Home Choice Plus Register
• Allocations Policy  
• Removal from Home Choice Plus Register

Who is eligible to join Home Choice Plus Register

Anyone can join Home Choice Plus, but you may be excluded if you have a history of serious rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.

You must be over the age of 16 to apply to join Home Choice Plus.  If you are under 18 years of age at the time of receiving an offer, you may be asked to provide a guarantor for the tenancy until your 18^th birthday.

However, if you are under the age of 18, please contact Housing Services at Wychavon District Council to discuss your need further.

Who is NOT eligible to join the Home Choice Plus Register

Some people travelling to the United Kingdom are not entitled to housing by the Local Authority on the basis of their immigration status as detailed in Section 160A of the Housing Act 1996 as amended.  Where an application form indicates that this may be an issue, Wychavon Home Choice will investigate to determine whether the applicant is eligible.

The following will not be eligible: -

• Asylum seekers who are waiting for a decision;
• People whose immigration status does not allow them to apply to services which depend on public funds and
• People who have previously been guilty of unacceptable behaviour. This could include anti-social behaviour or neighbourhood nuisance.

What we do when we receive your Application

When we receive your application, provided that it is complete and we do not need any further information we will:

• Send you an acknowledgement letter, with your personal registration number and the banding you have been placed in. It is important that you keep this number safe, as you will require it when making a bid for a property.
• We will also send you a leaflet explaining to you how to make your bids.

If your application is incomplete or you have indicated that you may have a priority we will:

• Send you the relevant paperwork to either complete your application or clarify your priority status by asking for further information.
• Once we have completed your application we will send you an acknowledgement letter, with your personal registration number and the banding you have been placed in.

Your responsibilities once accepted onto the Home Choice Plus Register

• Tell us if there are any changes in your circumstances, these may include: -
• A change of address
• Birth of a child
• Medical reasons
• Someone moves into/out of your household

Deliberately Worsening Circumstances

Where there is evidence that an applicant has deliberately worsened their circumstances in order to qualify for higher priority with Home Choice Plus, no additional priority will be given.  Applicants will retain the band they held before worsening their circumstances.

Examples of where someone may have deliberately worsened their circumstances would include: -

• Selling a property that is affordable and suitable for the applicant’s need.
• Moving from an assured tenancy to insecure, overcrowded accommodation with family or friends.
• For an applicant to have deliberately worsened their circumstances there must be evidence that it would have been reasonable for the applicant to have remained in their original accommodation.

Allocations Policy

Details of the Allocations Policy can be downloaded here  (633.36 KB).

Removal from Home Choice Plus Register

We will remove you from the Home Choice Plus Register if you:

• Are, or become, not entitled to be allocated housing;
• Ask to be removed;  
• Change your address and do not tell us;
• Do not get in touch with us when we ask you (in writing) to do so;
• Do not make a bid within two years of applying to the scheme – a new application will have to be made.