APPLYING FOR HOUSING - AREAS OUTWITH EDINBURGH HEAD OFFICE The Priory, Canaan Lane, Edinburgh, EH10 4SG 0131 447 9027 housing@arkha.org.uk www.arkha.org.uk Scottish Housing Regulator No: HEP66. Scottish Charity No: SCO15694. Industrial & Provident Societies Act No: 1899r(s) 1
CONTENTS Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Introduction How to apply How an application will be assessed Points award Change of circumstances Annual review Shortlisting & offer Suspension of applications Cancelling an application Confidentiality & Data Protection Appeals & Complaints Where do we have properties Availability of vacant properties Rent & service charges 2
1. INTRODUCTION This leaflet describes how applicants can apply for housing with ARK and how we will allocate our properties. A copy of ARK s Allocations Policy is available on request or can be downloaded from our website, details of which can be found on the front page of this leaflet. Our primary objective is to provide affordable and secure rented accommodation to those in housing need, and to assist in the creation and maintenance of sustainable communities in the areas in which we operate. Properties located in the City of Edinburgh will be allocated through EdIndex and the Key to Choice process and is described in a separate leaflet. Properties in all other areas will be allocated from our own housing list through a points plus groups process. Applications from applicants needing supported accommodation are assessed through a referral process and is described in a separate leaflet. We will ensure that in implementing the Allocations policy and the supporting procedures, we comply with our Equality and Diversity Policy. We will undertake to provide a high quality of advice and support to assist all applicants and will seek to secure appropriate advice and information from external agencies where necessary. 2. HOW TO APPLY In all cases, applicants for housing must be at least 16 years old. Applicants must complete our Application form, which may be downloaded from our website, available for collection from our Head Office or posted to the applicant on request. All the relevant sections should be fully completed. Additional information can be provided on extra sheets if necessary. The application advises where supporting documentation is needed. This must be provided to allow the application to be fully assessed. The form should then be returned to our office, details of which can be found on the front page of this leaflet. Please ensure that the correct postage is used when returning the form. 3
3. HOW AN APPLICATION WILL BE ASSESSED Your application will be awarded a set number of points based on your housing needs and current circumstances. The list of points is provided in Section 4. After pointing, you will be placed in a needs group which best describes your main reason for requiring housing. There are seven groups which are designed to reflect a range of needs within the community, as follows: Homeless Health Overcrowding/Under-occupation Harassment & Abuse Property Below Tolerable Standard Social/Support Transfers Applications for housing will be processed and placed onto the housing list within 5 working days of receipt. A confirmation letter, with the application reference number, will be sent to you within 10 working days. This letter will provide a summary of how the application has been assessed. We will not take account of the following factors when assessing your application: how long you have lived in a particular area; whether you are resident in a particular area; any outstanding debt for a property where you were not the tenant; any rent or other arrears which are no longer outstanding; any outstanding debts which are not tenancy related; your income; the value of any property you own. 4
4. POINTS AWARD Group Criteria for assessment Points Homeless Priority Homeless award by LA 30 Non-priority homeless award by LA 6 No security 6 Tied accommodation & asked to leave 4 Asked to leave 4 Housing Deficienies Statutory Notice 6 Overcrowding / Underoccupation Environmental Health Issues x 3 (maximum 18) 6 Major Dampness 4 Major Structual Defects 4 Major Disrepair or dilapidation 4 Lacking cooking 4 Lacking bathroom/shower room 4 Lacking full central heating 4 Lacking inside toilet 4 Each bedroom short (maximum 16) 4 Each bedroom unused (maximum 6) 2 Harassment Violence in the home 8 or 6 Violence by neighbour 6 or 4 Violence by unknown 4 Anti-social behaviour / break-in's 4 or 2 Racially motivated additional 10 Support Care needs 9 / 6 / 3 Emotional support 6 / 4 / 2 General support 3 / 2 / 1 Health In hospital & unable to return home 30 Housebound 8 Severly restricted in home 6 Restricted in home 4 Large unmangeable garden 2 Long term illness, no support, insecurity & ASB 6 Long term illness, support, insecurity & ASB 4 Long term illness, support, insecurity OR ASB 2 Economic / Social Travel to work 4 / 2 Difficulty accessing amenities 4 Any other specific Not otherwise covered by above -severe 4 housing related problem Not otherwise covered by above - minor 2 5
5. CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES If an applicant s circumstances change, for example if a baby is born, a medical condition develops or a member of the household leaves, the applicant should notify ARK of this change as it may affect the points award and their priority for being considered for housing. 6. ANNUAL REVIEW Once a year we will carry out a review of the housing list by writing to each applicant on the list. The review form should be completed and returned to ARK. One reminder will be sent to the applicant, after which the application will be cancelled and removed from the list. 7. SHORTLISTING & OFFER When we are notified that a property is going to become empty, we run a shortlist from our housing list. The shortlist is ranked with the applicant with the most points being at the top of the list. If your name appears on the shortlist we will contact you to arrange a pre-allocation visit and assessment. If your award is as initially assessed and you are best placed for the property we will seek references for current and/or previous tenancies. If these are acceptable, we will make a provisional offer to you and arrange for you to view the property. If you are happy to accept this offer, we will make you a formal offer and issue you with a Tenancy Agreement. The Tenancy Agreement is an important legal document and, in signing this, you will be entering into a contract with ARK Housing Association. This contract lays out your responsibilities as a tenant and ARK s responsibility as a landlord. Your main responsibilities are: To pay your rent; To live quietly without disturbing your neighbours; To treat the property respectfully and not cause wilful damage to it. ARK s responsibilities include keeping the property in a wind & water tight condition. 6
8. SUSPENSION OF APPLICATIONS We may suspend an applicant from the housing list if any of the following circumstances apply: Arrears or tenancy debt Applicants, including current tenants, with arrears or tenancy debt of more than 1/12th of the gross annual charge of the property will be suspended unless they make an arrangement to reduce their arrears and have kept to this agreement for 3 months. Anti social behaviour If any of the following apply the applicant will be suspended: The applicant has been evicted for anti social behaviour by any Local Authority or Registered Social Landlord in the UK. A decree for possession of their house had been granted on grounds of anti social behaviour but they left prior to the eviction taking place. The applicant or a member of their household is or has been subject to an Anti Social Behaviour Order anywhere in the UK in the past 3 years. Information about a serious matter related to the conduct of a tenancy has been obtained through the Joint Police Protocol for Sharing Information for the Prevention of Crime and Disorder. The applicant has failed to declare any previous eviction, anti-social behaviour order or conviction for a serious offence, which could reasonably be held to be a threat to the community. The applicant has been convicted of assault on a member of staff. Other The applicant has knowingly misrepresented information or circumstances to obtain a tenancy. The applicant has carried out serious damage to a current or previous tenancy. A suspended applicant will be advised in writing of the decision, the duration of the suspension before review and what action they are required to take in order to have the suspension lifted. The applicant will also be advised of their right of appeal against the decision. In these circumstances an applicant may be considered for a Short Scottish Secure Tenancy. 7
9. CANCELLING AN APPLICATION In accordance with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and current guidance we may cancel an application for the following reasons: the applicant has died; the applicant has written to ask that they be removed from the housing list; the applicant has not responded to the annual review or to a subsequent reminder asking that they confirm they still wish to remain on the housing list. Where an application has been cancelled and the person contacts us within 12 months of the cancellation the application will be reinstated. Where agreed, reinstatement will be from original date of application. Where no request has been made within 12 months, the application date will be from the date of a new application being made. 10. CONFIDENTIALITY & DATA PROTECTION We will ensure that in implementing this policy and the supporting procedures we comply with our Openness & Confidentiality Policy. Page 15 of the Application form details our Data Protection Statement. Page 16 asks for your permission to store the information you supply in the application form. Please sign this to allow us to store your information. 11. APPEALS & COMPLAINTS If you are unhappy about the way your application has been assessed, you can ask a senior member of staff to review the assessment. If you wish to complain about how we have applied our Allocations Policy, please ask for a copy of our Complaints Policy and submit your complaint in writing. an- in- Eng- We will provide help, or engage services from external sources, to yone who experiences difficulty in making a written complaint, cluding translation services for those whose first language is not lish. 8
12. WHERE DO WE HAVE PROPERTIES In considering where you would like to be housed, please check the table below to see if we have a suitable property within the area you are interested in. If we do not have a property which suits your needs, we will be unable to put your name on our housing list. REGION AREA TOTAL NO. PROPERTIES PROPERTY SIZE 1 Bedrooms 2 Bedrooms 3 Bedrooms ABERDEEN Aberdeen 9 3 6 ABERDEENSHIRE Fraserburgh 6 3 3 Macduff 11 6 4 1 Peterhead 4 4 Portlethen 16 5 10 1 ANGUS FIFE MORAY PERTH & KINROSS Arbroath 2 1 1 Forfar 11 5 3 3 Dunfermline 2 2 Glenrothes 1 1 Buckie 14 12 1 1 Forres 18 9 9 Blairgowrie 2 2 Perth 8 2 1 5 MIDLOTHIAN Dalkeith 5 4 1 WEST LOTHIAN Linlithgow 5 4 1 Uphall 11 2 7 2 TOTAL 125 57 48 20 9
13. AVAILABILITY OF VACANT PROPERTIES ARK has a limited number of properties available to rent. Within these properties only very few vacancies, therefore, it is likely that you may have to wait for sometime before we can make you an offer. The table shows the areas in which we have properties available for rent, the total number of properties within the area and the number of vacancies that have arisen within the last 4 years. This will give you an indication of where vacancies most frequently arise. REGION AREA TOTAL NO. OF 2009- PROPERTIES 10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 ABERDEEN Aberdeen 9 1 1 ABERDEENSHIRE Fraserburgh 6 1 1 2 TOTAL Macduff 11 1 1 Peterhead 4 1 1 Portlethen 16 1 2 2 2 7 ANGUS Arbroath 2 1 1 Forfar 11 2 1 3 FALKIRK Grangemouth 1 0 FIFE MORAY PERTH & KIN- ROSS Dunfermline 2 0 Glenrothes 1 0 Buckie 14 1 1 2 4 Forres 18 3 4 1 8 Blairgowrie 2 1 1 Perth 8 1 1 MIDLOTHIAN Dalkeith 5 0 WEST LOTHIAN Linlithgow 5 0 Uphall 11 0 10
14 CHARGES RENT CHARGES Listed below is the average monthly rent that we charge for each of the different property sizes. This information is only to give only you an indication of what you may have to pay, and is based on the rental charge for 2010-11. The rent for a particular property that we may rent to you may differ to this depending on the location and amenities of the property: 1 bedroom property 247.04 2 bedroom property 274.99 3 bedroom property 307.45 4 bedroom property 340.47 SERVICE CHARGES In addition to rent charges, there may be a service charge payable depending on the services offered. Different services that may be included are listed below: Stair cleaning Window cleaning Provision of a lift Communal Gardening Communal Stair lighting Communal Laundry Depending on your income, you may be eligible to apply for housing benefit to help towards these charges. 11
I hope this leaflet has answered all your queries, however if you have any further questions, or queries when completing the application form, please feel free to contact to contact us on: Tel: 0131 447 9027 E-mail: housing@arkha.org.uk Please return your completed application form to: ARK Housing Association Ltd The Priory Canaan Lane Edinburgh EH10 4SG To ensure it arrives, please check that the correct postage has been used. 12