Allocations SchemeSummary for New Charter

GeneralApplicants

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Policy SummaryThe allocations policy contains a number of schemes,the two main ones being;

The general scheme for people who are notyet New Charter tenants and

The transfer scheme for New Charter tenantswho need to move.

Whilst there are similarities between both schemes,they have separate application arrangements andpriorities.

This booklet provides a summary of our generalscheme for customers who are not yet New Chartertenants.

Quotas will apply to available homes, providing 15%for the transfer scheme and 65% for the generalscheme. The remaining 20% will be offered to theLocal Authority for nominations.

Available homes which are assigned to the two majorschemes will be advertised using Choice BasedLettings. The advert will provide an outline ofproperty details and an indication of which group willbe given preference.

A proportion of available homes will be advertisedindicating that preference will be shown to those withcommunity contribution. Applicants have theopportunity to advise us when they have met therequirements of our community contribution scheme.

Scope of the policyThe policy will apply to residential lettings by NewCharter Homes. The following will not be consideredto be lettings and will not be covered by this policy:

• Mutual Exchanges

• Successions of Tenancy

• Assignments of Tenancy

• Conversion of sole to joint tenancies and vice versa

• Market Rent properties

Who can apply (Eligibility)A key objective of this scheme is to providecustomers with honest and accurate prospects adviceat first point of contact, only registering applicationsfrom those with realistic prospects of being offered aNew Charter home.

The following groups will not be eligible to jointhe scheme:

• Groups excluded by the Secretary of State due toimmigration status, or having limited leave toremain in the UK

• Owner occupiers and tenants of other RegisteredProviders who do not have a housing need andthose in suitable private rented accommodation

• People currently resident in penal institutions, carehomes etc. We will direct these enquiries toTameside Housing Advice

• Applications claiming to be of No Fixed Abode(NFA) will not be accepted. People in this situationare in need of more immediate assistance than awaiting list can provide, and will be referred toTameside Housing Advice

• Applications including a current New Chartertenants - these will be managed via our TransferScheme (please see the summary booklet forTransferring Tenants)

• Applications including someone who hascommitted unacceptable behaviour or who hashousing related debts, they are not addressing

In addition, people will need a local connection to theTameside area. This may be any of the following:

• Residence in Tameside currently or previousresidence for at least 3 out of the last 5 years

• Work/volunteering in Tameside, for at least 6 outof the last 9 months

• That they are a registered carer for someone wholives in Tameside

• Members of H.M. Forces where the application ismade within 12 months of an honourabledischarge. Bereaved spouses and civil partners ofmembers of the Armed Forces leaving ServicesFamily Accommodation. Serving or formermembers of the Reserve Forces who need tomove because of a serious injury, medical conditionor disability sustained as a result of their service.

There will also need to be a realistic prospect ofapplicants being made an offer. This will include arequirement that applicants are seeking:

• The type and size of home they would beeligible for

• Area preferences which are reasonable

• Either a housing need or an exemption basedon age (only if requiring a maximum ofone bedroom)

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Sustainable tenanciesWhere an application includes someone who hasa record of housing related debt (rent arrears,recharges, court costs etc) to either New CharterHomes, any other Registered Provider (RP) orLocal Authority (LA), the total combined debt willbe considered.

Where the total debt to either New Charter or anyother RP & LA is below £500, the application will beaccepted onto the scheme. The applicant may bid onadvertised homes, but that at the point of offer; theywill be required to supply evidence of consecutivepayments off the debt for a minimum of 12 weeks.Any missed payments will normally result in the countre-starting.

Where the combined debt is greater than £500, theapplication will only be accepted following a financialassessment and an individually tailored repaymentagreement which the applicant must adhere to beforebeing admitted to the scheme. This agreement maybe for a period of 3 to 12 months according to theindividual’s circumstances.

Where the applicant has abandoned a New Chartertenancy or been evicted by New Charter for debt orany other reason, no new application will be consideredfor 5 years following the date of the eviction.

Where an applicant or a member of their householdhas declared unspent convictions below the thresholdwhich would prevent them from being admitted tothe register, they will be included on the register andable to bid for vacant homes. They will be advisedthat before any offer of a tenancy is confirmed, wewill carry out a risk assessment.

We operate a pre tenancy training programme (KeysTo Your Door) developed to equip people with theskills needed to sustain a tenancy.

We will offer this programme to the customer groupwhere the incidence of “failed” tenancies is greatest.This is single people or couples aged 39 and under(without children on their application) and withoutexperience of successfully running a home. This maybe an application for their first home, or they mayhave a history of a previous home(s) which they havelost due to reasons which were preventable. If invitedto join the programme, customers will be expected tocomplete the programme within a period of 6 monthsfrom their application date. Failure to engage with thescheme will result in cancellation of the application.On successful completion of the programmeapplicants will be awarded community contributionstatus for a period of 6 months.

The Priority Band assessmentsystemFollowing a housing needs assessment, applicantsaccepted onto the scheme will be placed in one of thefollowing bands.

Multiple housing needs will not increase the level ofpriority awarded to an application.

Within each band, applications will be prioritisedaccording to the date they were awarded that band.

Housing need will be recognised where one or moreof the following circumstances arise:

Overcrowding - One or more bedrooms shortbased on the “bedroom standard”. This allows onebedroom for each person or couple living as partof the household, with the following exceptions:a child aged 21 or under would be expected toshare with one other child of the same gender; anda child aged 9 or under would be expected toshare with one other child aged 9 or under,regardless of gender. (Statutory overcrowding willbe referred to Tameside Housing Advice for adviceand assistance)

Insecure or unsuitable private tenure -

Lodgers (whether lodging with family, friendsor in a private arrangement)

People in “tied accommodation”(service tenancies)

Residents in supported housing schemes

Private tenants will only be considered to be intenure based housing need if their currentaccommodation is under threat e.g. the landlordhas served them with a valid notice

• Fitness or mental health need - Unable to climba flight of stairs and currently living above groundfloor or in a property with stairs. Or unable touse bathing facilities or access their home dueto steps. NB people with for example mobilityrelated medical need will only be considered forrehousing in flats on the ground floor orbungalows. In the case of mental health, need willonly be recognised where a professionalassessment indicates significant risks linked totheir current housing.

• Under occupying social housing belonging toanother Registered Provider - The sameformula will be applied to assess the number ofbedrooms needed by a household as is used todetermine Housing Benefit entitlement.

Community ContributionHousing allocations is an area which has the potentialto influence our communities. The communitycontribution scheme aims to address this by providingfor people who work, volunteer etc. to be awardedadditional preference.

The benefits of Community Contribution prioritywill be available to applicants on both the general andtransfer schemes.

Band Housing Need

Gold Overcrowded by 2 or more bedroomsFormer armed services personnel

Silver Fitness and mental health needOvercrowded by 1 bedroomPrivate tenants or residents in unsuitableor insecure accommodation (includesresidents in temporary / supportedhousing)Lodging with family, friends or privatearrangements

Bronze Tenants of another Registered Provider(RP) needing to move for caringarrangements (in receipt of carersallowance)People in tied accommodationUnder occupying tenant of socialhousing belonging to another R P.

*Time limited to 6 months following completion of programme unless they engage in volunteering or becomeemployed during this period

Group Criteria

Employed Including:

• Permanent full time employed

• Self employed

• Employed on a temporary contract

• Part time employment

This will normally be at least one member of the household will have beenemployed for a minimum of 16 hours per week for at least 6 of the last 9 months

Volunteers Including volunteering for:

• Registered tenants groups

• Registered charities

• Not for profit organisations

• Recognised community groups

This will normally be at least one member of the household will have beenvolunteering for a minimum of 25 hours per month. Evidence will be requiredthat they have been engaged in this volunteering activity for at least 6 out of thelast 9 months

Training • Approved job related training

• Completion of accredited pre tenancy training (e.g. New CharterKey to Your Door will provide additional priority for new applicants)*

Carers People in receipt of Carers Allowance

Foster Carers Registered foster carers

Armed forcespersonnel

Serving or former members of the armed forces or reserves will be awardedCommunity Contribution. This award will continue for up to 12 months from thedate of any honourable discharge. It will also be applied to the spouse or civilpartner of service personnel required to vacate Ministry of Defenceaccommodation following the death in of their partner

Sheltered housingNew Charter Homes manages a variety of shelteredhousing schemes, (bedsits, flats and bungalows) acrossTameside and the neighbouring areas.

These schemes are designed for communities of olderpeople. In order to qualify for consideration for thistype of housing, people will need to be aged eitherover 60, or over 55 with a support need, whichwould normally be evidenced by them being in

receipt of a disability benefit.

Customers indicating an interest in this type ofhousing will be asked to provide additional detailsincluding the areas they would most like to live.

Sheltered vacancies will be advertised once. Shouldthere be no eligible bidders; direct offers will be madefrom a traditional style shortlist of eligible applicants.

Extra Care SchemesNew Charter Homes has a number of extra care units.

In addition to traditional housing services, residentsof these properties benefit from additional caresupport services commissioned by the LocalAuthority. All extra care vacancies are offered toLocal Authority nominees.

Neighbourhood Lettings SchemesThere may be occasions where triggers within ageographical area indicate a need to manage theallocations in this area differently. The Housing Act1996 (s167) allows for the use of NeighbourhoodLettings Schemes to allocate certain accommodationfor the exclusive use of certain applicants of aparticular description. They will therefore be appliedto homes offered to the local authority for nominationas well as properties let according to New CharterHomes Allocation Policy.

How to Apply - Three easy steps1) Check you are eligible to apply to us by

visiting our website: www.newcharter.co.ukto complete our questionnaire OR call ourConnect Team on 0161 331 2000 OR call intoone of our Hubs, contact details are on theback of this leaflet.

2) If you are eligible to join our waiting list, youwill then be able to complete our applicationform online, or at one of our Hubs. If youdon’t have access to the internet and arehaving difficulty getting to one of our Hubsthen please call 0161 331 2000 and we canarrange a home visit.

3) Once your application is registered you canstart bidding. Please remember it is yourresponsibility to provide evidence requested,if you delay you will not be made an offer ofhousing. Please only bid on properties youreally want as we will suspend applicants whomake unreasonable refusals.

Advertised homes will indicate the group of bidderswhich will receive preference. However, if there areno suitable bids from that group, we will considerother bids ranked according to their position in band.

Some properties due to their nature, e.g. shelteredhousing and groups of properties designed for andpredominantly occupied by older people may betargeted reserved for single people or couples aged55+. This will be indicated in the advert.

Applicants may place up to 3 bids each advert cycle.

RefusalsOne of the underlying principles of Choice BasedLettings (CBL) is that customers express an interestonly in those homes that they would wish to accept.As people have proactively chosen to bid for thehome, refusals of offers should not occur frequently.To encourage people to be serious about the bidsthey place, the following arrangements are in place:

• Before refusing any offer of a tenancy, customerswill be advised that doing so could adversely affecttheir application.

• Refusals will be assessed to determine whetherthey are “reasonable”.

It is not practical to be precise in defining what isa reasonable or unreasonable refusal, butexamples include:

Reasonable Refusals are based on:

• Something the applicant wouldn’t have knownor been expected to know when they placedtheir bid

• Error in advert information

Preference to:

General Scheme bidswith CommunityContribution

Open to bids fromall General Schemeapplicants

Bids from NewCharter tenantswith preferenceto band 1 orCommunityContribution

Open to bids fromall New Chartertenants

Unreasonable Refusals are based on:

• Something the applicant would have knownwhen they bid e.g. area

• Trivial e.g. colour of door, south facing garden

• Repairs we will remedy whilst empty or afterthe tenancy starts

• No response to attempts to contact

• Requests for work that would exceed ourpublished Lettability Standard

Unreasonable refusals will trigger the following actions:

• 1 refusal 3 months deferred

• 2nd refusal within a 12 month period 6months deferred

• 3rd refusal within a 12 month period applicationcancelled. No new application for a minimum of12 months (this may be extended in somecircumstances)

Advice, support and informationA summary of the Allocations scheme is availablefree of charge at www.newcharter.co.uk or at anyof the Hubs. A full copy of the scheme will also bemade available on our website.

Should support be required at any stage in theapplication process, for example with language orliteracy issues, this will be made available on request.

Customers who are eligible, are invited to apply usingour online application facility, or by visiting our Hubs.

Proof of identityIn order to confirm the identity of the applicant/jointapplicant, proof of identity for each will be required.This will include their National Insurance Number,proof of their current address (Council Tax, utility bill,bank statement etc.) and photographic ID (passport,photo driving licence, bus pass etc.).

Incomplete applicationsApplications need to be completed fully and honestly.It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide allinformation required. Where information has beenomitted, the application will not be registered.

Changes in circumstancesDuring the course of an application, it is likely that acustomer’s circumstances may change. Customersare required to advise us promptly of these changes.

Where customers deliberately withhold informationabout a relevant change in their circumstances,this may lead to their application being withdrawnor action taken to recover a tenancy they havebeen offered.

Relevant changes include changes to the peopleincluded on the application, the accommodationavailable or any community contribution or caringarrangements which have been incorporated in thebanding decision.

Deliberately worseningcircumstances/intentionalhousing needCustomers must not deliberately alter theircircumstances to gain greater priority under thescheme. Examples of deliberately worsenedcircumstances may include ending a tenancy andmoving to lodge with another household, moving to asmaller property to create overcrowding, notrenewing a private sector tenancy agreement.

Where there is reason to suspect that a customer hasdeliberately worsened their housing situation, theirapplication will be deferred to enable an investigationto take place.

Where deliberate worsening of housing need isestablished, the application may be placed in a lowerband, or in more extreme cases, the application beingcancelled and the applicant no longer deemed aneligible applicant.

Ending applicationsIn order to ensure that waiting list information is up todate and that the list is maintained efficiently,applications will be reviewed each year on theanniversary of their application date.

Applications from those who have not actively engagedin the scheme by bidding for a property during a 12month period will automatically be cancelled. Shouldapplicants make contact within the first 28 days aftercancellation, the application may be reinstated. Afterthis time, they will need to begin a new application.Any previously accrued time in band will be lost.

Applications may be cancelled where an applicantdoes not respond when we try to contact them.

Data Protection / InformationSharing ArrangementsAs part of the application process, applicants arerequired to sign a declaration authorising us to shareinformation with relevant agencies.

Resource Housing Reg. No. 2111

New Charter HubsAshton: 2, Henrietta Street, Ashton, OL6 6EF

Denton: 9, Albert Street, Denton, M34 6ZA

Hyde: 12/14, Clarendon Street, Hyde, SK14 2EL

Stalybridge: 63/65, Grosvenor Street,Stalybridge, SK15 2JN

www.newcharter.co.uk

0161 331 2000

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