Those accepted on to the Housing Register from September 2009 will be automatically registered with the Your Choice Your Home scheme.
If you are not currently on the Housing Register you can apply direct online here or complete a paper application which can be downloaded from the website or obtained from the Housing Options Team.
If you need help to complete your application you have a friend, family member or support worker who can help you? If not the Housing Options Team will be pleased to help.
You will not be able to bid for an advertised property unless you are on the Housing Register. Once we receive your application we will assess it as quickly as possible and in most cases would expect that this would not take more than 14 days as long as your application is complete and we do not need any supporting information. There may be a delay in assessing your application if large volumes of applications are received. Paper applications will need to be entered onto the Your Choice Your Home IT system by the Housing Options Team and therefore it is likely that applications completed online will be assessed more quickly as they will not require entering. We cannot guarantee that an application will be assessed in time to enable an applicant to bid in a particular bidding cycle and therefore you should not wait until you see a property that you are interested in before applying to join the Housing Register.
If you are accepted onto the Housing Register you will be sent a letter or email to tell you what band you are in and your relevant date (see Step 2: Banding of applications). You will also be told what size property you will be able to bid for. You will be sent a copy of this Guide, or an email link to an electronic copy of this guide if you apply online and have an email address. You will be given a unique Your Choice Your Home registration number which you will need to access the Your Choice Your Home website and to bid for properties using the phone or text.
If you are a housing association tenant who lives in North Norfolk you will be called a Tenant Applicant and all other applicants on the Housing Register including Council tenants and Housing Association tenants living outside North Norfolk will be called Homeseekers.
You must keep the Council informed of any changes to your circumstances, for example, changes to your household size or address. This is very important, as it could result in a change to your banding or the type of property you can bid for. If you do not keep us informed you may not be considered for a property for which you have been shortlisted or there may be a delay in the offering of a property for which you have been shortlisted. In addition you may miss out on the opportunity to bid for properties for which you would be otherwise able to bid for.
If you change address but wish to stay on the Housing Register you will need to complete a new application. If you do this within 1 month of moving your original registration date will be carried over to your new application. If you apply more than 1 month after you move or notify us you have moved your old registration date will not be honoured and your registration date will be the date you re-applied.
Some applicants may not be accepted on to the Housing Register although this does not happen very often. If we are unable to accept you onto the Housing Register we will let you know why and you will have an opportunity to appeal against this decision (see Appeals).
There are many more applicants on the Housing Register who want to live in North Norfolk than available properties and therefore most applicants will not be successful in their bids for a property. You may want to consider other housing options and the Housing Options Team at the Council will be able to help you with this.