We have a housing stock of just over 11,000 properties and are a mixture of houses, bungalows and flats. We also have sheltered housing for older or disabled tenants which has the benefit of a warden service. Our properties are located throughout the East Riding, as far as Flamborough and Bridlington in the north, Goole in the west, Withernsea in the east and the suburbs surrounding Hull, including Anlaby and Hessle.
The following pdf booklet gives details of the types of properties that we own and in which locations. If you decide to apply for council accommodation you should check that we have the type of accommodation that you want and in the area that you want to live.
What and Where? A Guide to Social Rented Housing in the East Riding (pdf 697kb opens in new window)
Am I eligible for a council house/home?
We operate an ‘open’ waiting list, which means that most people aged 18 or over are eligible to join the waiting list. There are, however, some exceptions, for example if you are an asylum seeker, have limited right to stay in the UK, or are not normally resident in the country. People under the age of 18 may be eligible if they are homeless and supported by another agency.
Our allocations policy sets out who is eligible to go on the waiting list, and how we allocate our properties. We operate a date order, group system of allocation. This means that when you register on the waiting list you are put into a group (numbered from 1 to 10) according to your housing need – group 1 being the highest group and having the greatest housing need.
Your position within that group depends on how long you have been in the group. When a property becomes empty, it is allocated to the applicant in the highest group (i.e. with the most housing need) and who has been in that group the longest, where the property is suitable for them in terms of size, type, location and facilities.
Council Housing Allocation Policy (pdf 98kb opens in new window)
However, some of our rural properties built since 2010 are subject to a Local Lettings Policy.
If you are a pensioner or disabled and live within the East Riding, we can help you look at the options for moving to more suitable accommodation. We can provide practical help when you move, and if you are in receipt of a means-tested benefit we can provide financial help towards the costs of moving. If you would like to find out more about our Housing Options Advice Service please email housing.services@eastriding.gov.uk or telephone (01482) 396320.
Applying online
If you want to apply for housing you should complete an housing application form online (opens in new window).
You will receive a written response confirming whether the application has been accepted or not, and confirming what group your application is held in, in accordance with our allocation policy.
When you are registered on the waiting list you will be sent a renewal form every year on the anniversary of your application, to ensure that your details are up-to-date. As the length of time that you are in a group is an important factor in determining who a property is allocated to, it is very important to return
your renewal form promptly. If you do not complete and return the renewal form by the given date your application will be cancelled and when you next apply, your waiting list will start from scratch. If you move home, or your circumstances change e.g. you have a baby, and you wish to remain on the waiting list you must complete a change of circumstances form (opens in a new window).
When a property is available for you, you will be contacted by telephone or letter, and given the chance to visit the property before deciding whether to accept it or not. If you accept the tenancy, you will be given a tenancy start date and arrangements will be made for you to sign your tenancy agreement. If you refuse the property, you may receive two further offers of accommodation, but if you refuse all three, no further offers will be made for a period of 12 months.
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Many applicants ask how long it will take to obtain a council property – this unfortunately is impossible to predict, as we don’t know how many properties are going to become vacant, and people are constantly joining and leaving the waiting list. Probably the most helpful information we can give you is about the last allocation of each property type within the last calendar month (it is also divided by area), so that you can see how long the applicant who was allocated the property had been in their waiting list group and which group they were in.
The following PDF gives our latest property allocation information:
Council Home Allocation Information (pdf 86.58kb opens in new window)
This information is also displayed in our customer service centres. The report is published around the 15th of each month and covers lettings in the preceding calendar month. If after looking at this information you believe that you had been in a higher waiting list group or had been in the same group as the new tenant but for longer, please contact us to review your application.
Email: housing.services@eastriding.gov.uk
Tel: (01482) 396301
We will contact you by email, telephone or letter as soon as a property is available for you, so please ensure that we have your up-to-date contact information, so that you do not miss out.
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The length of your council tenancy depends on the type of tenancy you are offered. The type of tenancy offered is determined by our Council Housing Tenancy Policy.
Secure Lifetime Tenancy
Secure Lifetime tenancies are offered to all new tenants aged 60 or over on the date that their tenancy starts. If you have a joint tenancy only one party must be 60 or over.
Exceptions to this apply where:
- you are offered a family house because there is a child aged under 16 in your household (in which case you will be offered a flexible secure tenancy), or
- you have a financial interest in another permenant residence (in which case you will be offered a five year flexible secure tenancy until such time as the property is sold).
Flexible Secure Tenancy
All other applicants will be offered a flexible secure tenancy, the length of which is determined by your circumstances.
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Five year flexible secure tenancies will be offered to applicants under 60 years of age who don't have children residing with them, or who have children residing with them that are aged 16 or over on the date the tenancy starts.
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Where a household has one or more children under the age of 16 on the date the tenancy commences, they will be offered a flexible secure tenancy for a minimum of five years and a maximum of 21 years, depending on the age of the youngest child in the household. For example, if the youngest child is aged 10 on the date the tenancy starts the tenancy will be for 11 years.
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Where the applicant is pregnant or the youngest child is under the age of one (and there are no other children in the household) the tenancy offered will be for 21 years.
For the purposes of the policy a child must be part of the household being rehoused and should be living within the tenants family on a permanent basis.
There is a right of appeal if you believe that the length of the tenancy offered is not in accordance with our Council Housing Tenancy Policy.
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Our benefits section deal with claims for housing benefit from our tenants. You may be able to claim housing benefit if you are the tenant of one of our properties, you live in the dwelling and you are on a low income. You can apply for housing benefit online (open in new window) or visit one of our customer service centres. Please take original evidence with you.
In order to process a new claim the benefits team will need proof for you, and your partner, of your identities, national insurance numbers, income, capital and savings; along with proof of income for any other adults in your home.
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When you are registered on the waiting list you will be sent a renewal form every year on the anniversary of your application, to ensure that your details are up-to-date, and that your housing circumstances have not changed. As the length of time that you have been in your group on the waiting list is an important factor in determining who a property is allocated to, it is very important to return your renewal form promptly. We would also be grateful if you would complete and return the questionnaire enclosed with your renewal form as this helps us to improve our service.
If you do not complete and return the renewal form by the given date your application will be cancelled, and when you next apply, your waiting time will start from scratch.
If you move home, or your circumstances change e.g. you have a baby, and wish to remain on the waiting list you must also complete a change of circumstances form (opens in a new window).
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If you want to apply for housing you should complete an housing application form online (opens in new window).
If you need to move on medical grounds, you may be eligible to apply for a medical priority. We will look at your housing application and if you are eligible to apply for a medical priority we will send you an application form. These applications are assessed by a health authority doctor, who can grant a priority for a type of accommodation, e.g. ground floor accommodation. They cannot specify the area or proximity to facilities.
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Some of our properties which have been built in rural villages since 2010 are subject to a local lettings policy - in some cases this was a condition of obtaining planning permission. This basically means that priority is given to applicants who have a strong local connection with the villages where the properties are located.
In accordance with our allocations policy, such properties will be offered to the applicant in the highest priority group who has been waiting in that group the longest, but only where they meet the definition of local connection. If no one meets the criteria in that group then applicants in the next group will be considered, and so on.
You will have a local connection with a village if you:
- are normally resident in permanent accommodation in the village where the vacancy is and have been so for at least six out of the last twelve months or three out of the last five years. Holiday or other temporary accommodation (e.g. hospital or student housing) is not to be regarded as normally resident unless you can demonstrate that this has been your sole or main home for a period of at least five years; or
- have secure employment in the village where the vacancy is. Secure employment means that you, or an adult member of your household, have permanent employment for at least one year’s duration and at least 20 hours a week. Where this employment has been for less than one year at the time of application a letter from the employer is required to confirm that the employment is permanent; or
- have family association with the village where the vacancy is. This is defined as your parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, a brother or sister who currently live in the village and have done so for at least five years. In exceptional circumstances and where support is required family association may be extended to include in-laws, step children and adoptive relatives.
If there are no applicants in any of the priority groups that meet the local connection criteria for the village where the vacancy is, then applicants will be considered in group order from applicants who live in the surrounding villages listed in the table below.
Should no one meet the local connection criteria from these villages then applicants will be considered who have a connection with the East Riding as a whole. Finally should there be no applicant wishing to be considered who has a local connection with the East Riding then applicants will be considered from the wider waiting list.
Scheme Location
| 1st Priority Settlements
| 2nd Priority Settlements |
Barmby on the Marsh
Oakfield Avenue
| Barmby on the Marsh
| Asselby, Brind, Newsholme,
Knedlington, Wressle |
Burstwick
Station Road
| Burstwick | Burton Pidsea, Camerton, Danthorpe, Elstronwick, Halsham, Keyingham, Lelley, Preston, Ryehill, Salt End, Sproatley, Thorngumbald
|
Holme on Spalding Moor
Port Royal
| Holme on Spalding Moor
Bursea
| Eastrington, Everingham, Everthorpe, Foggathorpe, Gilberdyke, Gribthorpe, Harlthorpe, Harswell, Hive, Hotham, Laytham, Newport, North Cliffe, Portington, Sandholme, Seaton Ross, Shiptonthorpe, South Cliffe, Spaldington |
Keyingham
School Lane
| Keyingham
| Burstwick, Camerton, Halsham, Ottringham, Paull, Ryehill, Thorngumbald |
Sancton
Goldie Hill
| Sancton
| Cherry Burton, Gardham, North Cliffe, North Newbald, South Cliffe, South Newbald |
Skirlaugh
Hillfield Drive
| Skirlaugh
| Arnold, Long Riston, Old Ellerby, Oubrough, Rise, Swine |
Thorngumbald
| Thorngumbald
Camerton
Ryehill
| Burstwick, Keyingham, Paull
|
Local Lettings Policy
If you have any queries with regard to this policy please contact your Area Housing Office on (01482) 396301.
The following pdf gives details of our local lettings policy.
Council Housing Local Lettings Policy (pdf 86kb opens in new window)
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