Registering for housing in Hillingdon - London Borough of Hillingdon
Registering
for housing
in Hillingdon
Contents
Registering for housing in Hillingdon . . . . . 1
What is the housing register? . . . . . . . . . . . 1
How we assess people for housing . . . . . . . 1
Reassessing an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How soon will I be housed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Confidentiality and telling others . . . . . . . . . 5
Will you keep the information I give
confidential? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Will you give any information to other
housing staff? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Do you give information to other
departments? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What about other organisations such as
the Department for Work and Pensions
or other government departments? . . . . . . 7
Fraudulent information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Can I see my own files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Will you give out my address? . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Housing Needs service standards – our
commitment to you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
If you apply to join the housing register . . . 11
Contact details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Personal information and confidentiality . . 12
Your right to equal treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Comments and complaints (putting
things right) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Registering for housing in
Hillingdon
There are currently over 10,000 people on
our housing register. Due to the serious
lack of affordable housing in Hillingdon
and the surrounding boroughs, we have to
work within set guidelines to make sure
that our limited housing is distributed
fairly to everyone.
What is the housing register?
The housing register is a list of every person
who applies for social housing. Social
housing includes council housing and
housing association properties. We keep the
list on computer and also have a paper
record file for each person. Each record
file contains the original application form
and all other correspondence and
documents associated with the application.
How we assess people for housing
The Locata scheme uses a ‘banding’ system
and a ‘priority date’ system. When new
people join the housing register, we assess
their housing need and give them a band
– A, B, C or D. We also give them a priority
date, which is the date we assess the
application form.
We use the bandings and priority dates to
make sure we offer housing fairly. It also
makes sure we prioritise emergency and
urgent cases above less serious situations,
1
and that everyone on the register (no
matter what banding) can still increase
their priority in line with how long they
have waited.
We carefully assess each application to
decide your housing need and that of your
family. We judge housing need on the
accommodation you are living in, and
whether there are any medical or
environmental things that are making it
difficult for you to stay at the property.
We consider whether the property is big
enough for the number of people living
there. We also consider whether you may
be threatened with homelessness because
you have been asked to leave, or have other
reasons for not feeling safe in your home.
Sometimes we will refer your application
to another specialist housing team if we
feel that the situation is urgent. This could
be the housing options and advice team, the
emergency housing team or the privatesector
team, depending on the problem.
They will then contact you immediately to
give you further advice.
Reassessing an application
Sometimes, a change of circumstance
(such as losing your home or becoming ill)
means that we will reassess your application
to see if you should move to a higher band.
Changes of circumstances can also mean
that you may move to a lower band – for
2
example, if your medical condition improves
or you move to more suitable temporary
or other rented accommodation.
If your band changes, we may also award
you a different priority date.
How soon will I be housed?
The table below shows the total number of
people currently on the housing register.
It also shows how many people are in
each band, and the size of property they
are waiting for.
Housing register as at 1 August 2007
Band A Band B Band C Band D Total
One bedroom need 108 149 913 4013 5183
Two bedroom need 17 91 1301 1531 2940
Three bedroom need 8 16 1119 655 1798
Four bedroom need 1 7 453 124 585
Five+ bedroom need 2 9 162 22 195
Total 136 272 3948 6345 10701
Last year only 933 properties became
available to let to people on the housing
register. We let most of these properties to
people in bands A, B and C because they
are in more urgent housing need.
Although we also rehoused 70 people from
band D, the waiting time for people in this
band is significantly longer. As a result, if
you are in band D, we recommend that you
seriously consider other housing options.
3
You can make an appointment to see a
housing options adviser by phoning 01895
250147.
The table below shows how many people
we housed from each band, and the size
of property they were rehoused in.
Total lettings for 2006/2007 (including
cross borough)
Band A Band B Band C Band D Total
One bedroom need 55 168 200 50 473
Two bedroom need 22 51 197 16 286
Three bedroom need 17 27 74 4 122
Four bedroom need 10 13 19 – 42
Five+ bedroom need 1 5 4 – 10
Total 105 264 494 70 933
From this information, it is clear that we
have many more people waiting for housing
than available properties.
It is very difficult to estimate the average
length of time that someone will need to
wait before being rehoused. This is
because it depends on things such as the
number of people bidding on a particular
property, and their band and priority date
compared with your own.
When first registering on Locata you will
receive a Locata user guide, which will
explain how the scheme works including
bidding for properties on Locata. If you
have difficulties in understanding Locata,
4
you can contact customer services who
can provide further help and advice
including a personal bidding service if you
are unable to bid yourself.
You can make bids by phone, on the internet,
by text message and in person at the
Civic Centre. Bidding on Locata will show
you the position you achieve on individual
properties, so this is a very good way of
understanding how near to a successful
bid you are likely to be. You can find
information on the banding of successful
bids in the Locata magazine.
Confidentiality and telling others
Why we need information from you
We need to assess whether we have a
duty towards you and members of your
household. To do this, we need to ask you
a number of questions about:
• where you have been living
• your immigration status
• your children
• any medical problems you may have, and
• your personal circumstances, such as
income and savings
We will then carry out further enquiries to
confirm what you have told us. We have to do
this by law. We also need to make sure that
we deal with only genuine applications.
We also need information about any
special needs, so we can take them into
consideration.
5
Will you keep the information I give
confidential?
Yes. Only staff involved in your housing
application will have access to our files or
computer records.
Your computer records are also protected
by the Data Protection Act 1998. This sets
out what we can and cannot do with our
computerised records.
However, we will ask you for your permission
to contact people such as doctors, building
societies, banks and other local authorities
so that we are able to confirm the information
you have given us. We will not give these
people your information.
Will you give any information to
other housing staff?
Yes, but only information that is needed to
process your application as quickly and as
fairly as possible. An example of this would
be where we need to pass on information
about you, to make sure details on our
housing register are up to date.
Important note
However, we will warn other relevant
officers if:
• you behave threateningly during an
interview (for example, if you are violent,
or make threats or racist or sexist
comments); or
• we think you may be a danger to others.
6
If this happens, we may send you a letter
telling you that we do not accept this
behaviour. We may also set out standards
for your future behaviour.
Do you give information to other
departments?
Yes, but only in specific circumstances.
For example, if you have a social worker,
we may want to speak to them about you.
Or, they may be helping you with your
application so they may contact us.
We may also speak to medical staff who
are involved with you, or anyone else who is
working with you professionally (for example,
the probation service or solicitors).
In certain circumstances we may also contact
other council staff if we suspect fraud.
What about other organisations
such as the Department for Work
and Pensions or other government
departments?
By law, we have to send details to some
other organisations and departments. For
example, if you are an asylum seeker, we
have to send some details to the Home
Office to confirm your immigration status.
We will always tell you before doing this.
7
Fraudulent information
We must protect the public money we
handle so we may check the information
you provide against other information we
hold.
We may also pass this information to
other public organisations, or similar
outside agencies, but only for preventing
or detecting fraud.
However, you must sign a declaration on
the application form to say that you will
give us correct information, and will not
withhold relevant information or mislead
us in any way.
You must also keep us informed of any
changes in your circumstances.
The declaration says that we may prosecute
you if you provide any false information. If
we prosecute you and you are found guilty,
you could be ordered to pay a fine of up to
£5000.
Can I see my own files?
Yes, you have a legal right to see them. We
are happy for you to see the file although we
will charge a fee for the administration
costs (currently £10 for each file).
However, we would need to get permission
from the doctors, social workers and so on
before we made this information available
to you.
8
Will you give out my address?
No. Your address is completely confidential
and we will not give it out without your
permission, unless the law says we have to.
Housing Needs service standards –
our commitment to you
This section sets out our commitment to
delivering excellent customer service to
you. We have developed it after consulting
our customers.
General standards
• We will make our reception and interview
facilities welcoming, safe and private,
and make sure that everyone is able to
use them.
• We will set aside enough time for your
first interview with us so that we can
listen to and understand your personal
circumstances.
• We will make sure that our staff are
professional, understand your needs
and do not judge you.
• We will give you clear information on the
housing processes and options available
to you.
Accessing our services
Our opening hours are 9am to 4.30pm
Monday to Friday, except on Wednesdays
when we are closed until 1pm for staff
training (you can still phone us before then).
9
• We will offer you a range of methods for
contacting us, including phone, e-mail,
post and our website.
• We will reply to you within seven calendar
days if you write to us or three working
days if you e-mail us. If your enquiry
needs a detailed investigation, we will let
you know within seven calendar days
what we need to do and tell you when
you can expect a reply.
• We will answer your phone calls within
three rings wherever possible.
• If you have an appointment, we will
interview you in our offices within 15
minutes of when you arrive. If you do not
have an appointment, we will interview
you within 30 minutes. If there is likely
to be a delay, we will tell you how long
you might have to wait and give the
reasons for the delay.
• If you need an interpreter, a lip speaker or
a signer, we will provide one within three
working days. We can also translate
documents within five working days.
However, if your enquiry is urgent and
you do not understand English, we can
provide an immediate interpreting service
over the phone.
• We will provide information about our
services in Braille, in large print, on audio
cassette, on DVD and in a range of languages
(within ten days of you asking us).
10
If you apply to join the housing
register
• We will process your application within
14 working days of receiving it.
• We will assess your medical circumstances
within seven working days of receiving
your application.
• We will amend any change of circumstances
(but not a change of address)
to your application within seven working
days of receiving it.
• We will process your appeal against
our decision within 28 working days of
receiving your appeal.
• We will review all applications on the
housing register once a year to make
sure we have the most up-to-date
information.
Contact details
• Housing Needs Reception
Phase 2, Zone 10, Civic Centre, High
Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1UW
Phone: 01895 250147
Fax: 01895 556881
Textphone: 01895 556487
E-mail: nmailbox@hillingdon.gov.uk
Website: www.hillingdon.gov.uk
11
Personal information and
confidentiality
We will always meet our responsibilities
under the Freedom of Information Act and
the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection
Act says that:
• you have the right to see information
about you, which we hold on computer
or in a file;
• you have the right to ask us to correct
information about you which is not correct;
and
• we will not pass personal information
to anyone else without your agreement,
unless they have a legal right to see it.
If you want to apply under the Data Protection
Act, you must make your application in
writing. You can get more information from
the customer care and complaints advisor
(details are below).
Your right to equal treatment
We understand that people are unique
and have different needs, so we will treat
you as an individual and try to help you.
We are fully committed to:
• preventing all forms of discrimination;
• providing fair and accessible services
to the people of Hillingdon;
• making sure our staff treat you fairly,
no matter what your age, disability, sex,
race, faith or sexuality; and
• providing fair access to employment.
12
Please report any incidents of unfair treatment,
or where you feel you have been
discriminated against, to the customer care
and complaints advisor (details are below).
Comments and complaints (putting
things right)
We always aim to provide the best service
possible and appreciate your comments
and complaints as a way of finding out
what we are doing well and what we can
improve. If you are not happy with the
service you receive from us, it is always best
to discuss this with the officer responsible
at the time.
If you are still not satisfied, you may want
to make a formal complaint by contacting
the customer care and complaints advisor
(details below). You can also pick up an
information leaflet on comments and
complaints from council offices or your
local library.
You can phone our customer care and
complaints advisor on 01895 250366
(email complaintsmailbox@hillingdon.
gov.uk or textphone 01895 556487) for
confidential help and advice.
• We will respond in full to your complaint
within ten working days of receiving it.
If we cannot fully solve your complaint
within ten working days, we will write
to you to tell you when you will receive
a full response.
• If you praise a member of staff or a team,
we will thank that person or team for you
13
Produced by the London Borough of Hillingdon. October 2007
ref: 9166
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