homes for rent - Plus Dane Housing

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homes for rent
how to apply for a home in Liverpool
Please note that our Plus Dane customer
contact telephone numbers refered to
throughout this leaflet have now changed to:
0800 169 2988
[free from most UK landline phones]
0300 123 4560
[local rate from a mobile phone]
www.neighbourhoodinvestor.com
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homes for rent
We have a customer centred
approach to letting homes that
helps you make informed choices
about where you want to live.
We provide a range of housing
options which cater for
different needs including families,
single and older people and
those with disabilities. This leaflet
tells you how you can apply for
a home in Liverpool.
Who can apply?
Anyone can apply for housing with
us even if you are under 18 years
old. If you are under 18 you can
apply for a home in the usual way
but we will ask you to provide a
‘guarantor’ and agree to a support
package to help you with the first
12 months of your tenancy.
A guarantor is someone who agrees
to sign an agreement that if for some
reason you could not pay your rent or
comply with the conditions of your
tenancy, will help put things right.
However, there are circumstances
when we would not accept your
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application for housing.
This would be if you have:
■ Had action taken against you for
anti social behaviour or have a
history of anti social behaviour in
the last two years;
■ Had action taken against you for
any racially or hate motivated
offence during the last 2 years;
■ Certain convictions within the
Police and Criminal Evidence Act,
including offensive weapons,
supplying drugs, assault on a
member of staff or any offence
which suggests you could be
a danger to anyone;
■ Current arrears or have owed
money to your current or previous
landlord unless you have fled
from domestic violence, racial
harassment or some other form
of harassment;
■ Left your tenancy with another
housing association without giving
the correct amount of notice;
■ Knowingly or recklessly
misrepresented your
circumstances to secure a
tenancy from another housing
association.
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If you fall into any of the categories
above and you apply for a home,
you will be suspended from our
register. We will tell you how
long your suspension will last.
The suspension time depends
on the reason why you have
been suspended.
If we suspend you and you do not
agree you must tell us immediately
and give us the reasons why you
think your suspension is incorrect.
We will then review the decision
and tell you the outcome within
10 working days.
There are also some restrictions
that prevent us from offering
tenancies to some people who
are subject to immigration control.
Ex offenders who have spent
convictions are not required by
law to disclose such convictions.
A spent conviction is a conviction
under the Rehabilitation of Offenders
Act 1974, that can be ignored after a
set period of time. This time depends
on the sentence imposed.
What to do if you are homeless
If you are threatened with or actually
are homeless, you should contact
your Local Authority Housing Options
Service immediately. They will be
able to help you secure temporary
housing as well as helping to
secure your long term future.
How to apply
To apply for a home in Liverpool you
will need to complete a Property Pool
application by:
■ By calling us on 0800 169 2988
– you can complete a telephone
application or request an
application pack which we
will send to you within one
working day;
■ By visiting our website at
www.neighbourhoodinvestor.com;
■ By emailing your details to
[email protected].
We ask you for a range of
information to support your
application which includes:
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■ Landlord or character references;
■ Proof of identity – photographic
identify is required;
■ National insurance number;
■ Proof of income.
We cannot fully process your
application until we have received
all the correct information. We will
tell you within five days if your
application has been successful or if
you need to give us more information
to support your application.
Most housing associations in
Liverpool advertise their empty
homes through Property Pool. This
means that you only have to make
an application to one association.
Once you are registered on Property
Pool you can apply for a home with
any of the other housing associations
on the scheme.
When you apply for a home in
Liverpool you will be placed into a
band based on your housing need.
These bands are:
What happens next will depend
on the area where you are
choosing to move to.
Band
Sub Band
Urgent
Priority
1 Health / welfare (life at risk)
2 Statutory homeless
3 Decant
High
Priority
1 Health / welfare (high)
2 Overcrowded
3 Non priority homeless
4 High level disrepair
Property Pool
Applying for a home in Liverpool
means you will be included on
Property Pool which is a choice
based letting (CBL) scheme. A
CBL scheme is where housing
associations and local authorities
agree to ‘pool’ together the
properties that they have available
for letting.
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Medium 1 Health / welfare (low)
Priority 2 Living with family / friends
Low
Priority
General need
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Tues
9am
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun
No homes
available
Homes available for bidding
Once your application is registered
with Property Pool you can start
‘bidding’ for homes. Every Tuesday
Property Pool releases a property list
which shows all the empty homes
available that week.
Property lists are available in all
housing association offices, in
One Stop Shops and at
www.propertypool.org.uk. If you are
unable to visit an office and do not
have access to the internet, please
contact us and we can send you a
property list every week.
You have from the Tuesday to
midnight Sunday to bid for homes
that you are interested in and eligible
for. You are allowed to make up to
three bids each week.
When the bidding closes, housing
associations will contact successful
applicants direct. If you do not
hear, you should continue to
apply for homes.
Mon
Applying for sheltered or
adapted housing in Liverpool
ACCESS Liverpool manages the
Accessible Homes Waiting List in
partnership with Liverpool City
Council and housing associations.
This unique service makes sure
that sheltered accommodation
and homes that have been
specifically designed or adapted
for disabled people are matched
to the right people.
You can apply direct to ACCESS
Liverpool by calling 0151 233 2150.
How we let homes
When you have bid for a home with
us or if we let a home through our
register, we interview at least the top
two applicants. The reason for this
interview is to:
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■ Make sure that the home
matches your needs;
■ Complete an assessment with
you to make sure you can
afford the home;
■ Assess if you will need any
support when your tenancy starts.
Once we have completed the
interviews we will contact the
successful applicant within two
working days to offer the property.
This will be confirmed in writing.
All offers include:
■ The amount of rent and other
charges you will be charged;
■ The type of tenancy you will
be granted;
■ A copy of the tenancy agreement.
We will then invite you to view the
home. The viewing will be carried out
with your Neighbourhood Officer and
gives an opportunity for you to look
around to check it meets your needs.
At the viewing we will give you a
copy of the Welcome to Your New
Home leaflet which tells you what
standard of works you can expect
us to carry out.
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When you have accepted an offer,
we will arrange for you to sign
your tenancy agreement and
other key documents.
If you have never held a tenancy
with a Local Authority or Housing
Association, we may grant you a
Starter Tenancy. A Starter Tenancy
is a ‘trial’ tenancy for 12 months.
If you keep to the terms of your
tenancy agreement during the first
12 months you will be granted an
Assured Tenancy. If you breach the
terms of your tenancy, you will be
at risk of losing your home.
Mutual exchange
If you are already a tenant of a
housing association or local authority
and looking to move home you can
try a mutual exchange. A mutual
exchange is where you find another
tenant who wants to move and you
swap homes. This can be a great
way of moving home as it allows you
to search for a home where you want
to live and find someone who wants
to live where you do.
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You can find someone to swap with
using the HomeSwapper scheme.
This is a free national service which
is quick and easy to use with
powerful and effective matching.
Hundreds of households swap each
month through HomeSwapper.
You can register with HomeSwapper
by visiting their website direct at
www.homeswapper.co.uk. If you
do not have access to the internet,
contact us and we can register
your application.
Once you find someone to exchange
with, you should contact us to
complete a mutual exchange
application. Once we have received
this completed application, we will
tell you if you can exchange homes
within 42 days.
behaviour caused by you, your
family or your visitors or your
exchange partner has a history of
anti social behaviour;
■ You or your exchange partner will
be over or under crowded as a
result of the exchange.
You must not exchange homes
until you have received written
confirmation from us.
When you complete a mutual
exchange you ‘step’ into the tenancy
of your partner. This means that you
take over their tenancy and keep
their original tenancy start date and
their tenancy rights.
Tenancy changes under a
mutual exchange may affect
your tenancy rights.
We will only withhold consent if:
■ You owe us money or your
exchange partner owes their
landlord money;
■ There are chargeable repairs that
you are responsible for and have
not put right;
■ There is a history of anti social
If you are an assured tenant,
whose tenancy started after 1989,
you will not have the right to buy.
If your exchange partner is a
secure tenancy whose tenancy
started before 1989 they will
have the right to buy.
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After a mutual exchange you
would become a secure tenant
and gain the right to buy your
exchange partner would become
an assured tenant and lose
the right to buy. The tenancy
stays with the property and not
the tenant under the mutual
exchange scheme.
Please speak to your neighbourhood
officer to get more information about
mutual exchanges.
Transfers
If you are already a plus dane tenant
and want to move home but do not
want to exchange, you can apply for
a transfer in the same way you apply
for a new home.
When you ask for a transfer, your
neighbourhood officer will visit you
within five working days of your
request to discuss why you want to
transfer, where you want to move to
and what type of home you want.
We will also discuss your tenancy
conduct as this will depend on
whether we allow you to transfer.
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After this visit we will then contact
you within five working days to
confirm if your application for a
transfer has been accepted. We
will not approve your transfer
application if:
■ You owe us any money and have
not kept to your agreed
repayment plan;
■ We have secured or applied for
legal action against you for anti
social behaviour, rent arrears or
any other breach of tenancy;
■ You have outstanding chargeable
repairs that you have not put right;
■ You have not lived in your current
home for 6 months or more.
Contact your neighbourhood
officer for more information
about transfers.
Other housing options
As well as offering homes
for rent we have other options
that you could benefit from.
These are:
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Liverpool ONE
Shared ownership
We let 95 apartments in Liverpool
ONE. These are let as assured
shorthold tenancies, which means
that 6 month tenancy agreements
are given. Rents are called market
rents which are slightly higher than
the usual rents we charge as a
housing association.
We offer a range of low-cost
home ownership products known
as HomeBuy to help first-time buyers
or those who cannot afford to buy
a home outright to get a foot on
the property ladder.
These apartments come with one or
two bedrooms, some with en-suites
and balconies, incorporating modern
design with original architectural
features. All have fitted kitchens with
appliances, and they are available
either unfurnished or complete with
sleek, contemporary styled sofas,
dining tables and bedroom sets.
Some also offer views over the new
Liverpool ONE skyline.
Rents on the Liverpool ONE
apartments start at just £430 per
calendar month.
To apply for a home within
Liverpool ONE call us on
0151 330 3532 or email us at
[email protected].
Shared ownership is a great way into
home ownership. If you can't afford
to buy outright, you can part buy and
part rent your home. You might buy
a 25%, 50% or 75% share in your
home. You pay a small rent on the
share that you don't buy. The bigger
the share that you buy, the less rent
you have to pay.
Rent-to-HomeBuy
Rent-to-HomeBuy is designed for
people who want to buy their own
home, but are not ready yet. It
allows you to plan for becoming
a homeowner, and means you
can save some money whilst
renting a new home.
Rent-to-HomeBuy could
be for you if:
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Frequently Asked Questions
■ You are unable to buy a home
at the moment;
■ You would like to try a property
out before you commit to buying;
■ You need to save up for
a deposit;
■ You are unsure about buying
in the current market.
Rent to HomeBuy means you can
rent the home for up to 5 years
maximum, and the rent you pay will
be about 80% of the normal market
rent for the property. This allows you
to begin saving to own your home.
We are the dedicated HomeBuy
agent for Merseyside and have set
up HomesHub, a one stop shop
for anyone considering low cost
home ownership on Merseyside.
We have properties available across
Liverpool, Runcorn, St Helens,
Sefton and Chester.
For more information contact
HomesHub on 0845 603 4559 or
visit www.homeshub.co.uk
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Here’s some questions we often get
asked about applying for a home.
Q How quickly will I be
offered a home?
A It is difficult to estimate when
you will be offered a home.
The length of time you wait will
depend on the type of home
you need and where you want to
move to. It will also depend on
how many bids that you make.
If you do not make bids that you
will not be offered a home.
We have a Where Our Homes
Are guide which tells you exactly
where our homes are and how
often they became empty in
the last year. This gives you an
indication of how long you
might wait.
Homes for rent(m)L'pool_Layout 1 03/07/2012 12:45 Page 12
Q How many offers will I receive?
A We will make a maximum of three
offers to you. If you have refused
all three offers we will contact you
to discuss your application to
make sure we have your correct
areas of choice and type of home
and discuss alternative options
with you.
Q What does bidding mean?
A Bidding is the process used in
choice based lettings schemes
where you have to ‘bid’ for a
property. By bidding you have the
opportunity to look at the
information about the available
properties and decide for yourself
which properties you are
interested in.
Q How many bedrooms
am I entitled to?
A If you have a partner you will
normally be expected to share a
bedroom. A bedroom is then
added for the following people
that live with you:
■ Pair of children aged 7 years or
under regardless of gender;
■ Pair of children aged 8 to 20 years
old of the same gender;
■ Any single adult 21 years or more;
■ A carer or group of carers.
If you have children that don’t live
with you but you have access to
them, we will consider your
circumstances when deciding
the number of bedrooms you
are entitled to.
Q A family member has just
moved in and I have already
made an application for
housing. Will I be considered
for a larger home?
A Your application will need to be
reviewed. You will need to provide
us with information that shows
that the member will be moving in
permanently and they are using
your home as their only and
principal home.
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Q I am registered for Property
Pool through another housing
association, can you change
the details on my application?
A No. Any changes to your
application or appeals about the
band you have been placed in
must be directed to the landlord
that you made your original
application to.
Q I had an interview but was not
offered a property. Why?
A We offer the property based on
priority housing need and the
information we receive in the
interview. If all applicants were
equal with their application,
we would select the applicant
who has been on the register
the longest.
Q Do you let homes to staff, their
relatives and Board Members?
A We can offer homes to our staff
and board members on a case
by case basis in circumstances
where we are clear that they
fully meet plus dane’s published
criteria and priorities and
the necessary regulatory
requirements. This is to make
sure that we let our homes in
a fair and transparent way.
When we let homes to staff, their
relatives or Board Members we
will report this to our Board.
Your rights
You have the right to check any
information that you have given to
us as part of your application, this
includes receiving a duplicate copy
of your application form.
Please contact us if you would like
a copy of information relating to
your application.
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Customer Feedback
We value your views and would
like to hear what you think about
the service you receive from us.
If you wish to make a complaint,
compliment or give us a suggestion
you can do so by contacting us
on 0800 169 2988.
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Plus Dane Group
172 Park Road
Liverpool L8 6SJ
2.4
M
Produced by Plus Dane Group communications team
© June 2012