Housing Register

If you would like to join the housing register because you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, please see our Homelessness page for information about how we can help.

The housing register enables us to prioritise people for social housing in Crawley. On average around 350 properties become available each year. We must take a balanced approach and give the right priority to people with the highest level of housing needs in the town.

Who can join the housing register?

Our Allocations Policy explains how we assess eligibility to join the housing register. Certain factors can rule out or restrict access, including:

• Having rent or mortgage arrears
• A history of anti-social behaviour
• Ownership of, or a legal right to a property (in this country or abroad)
• Having a higher income and/or savings
• No local connection to Crawley

For more information or to apply to join the housing register, please use the contact details to the right on this page. The Housing Help Point is open from 10am to 4pm, however anyone arriving after 3pm may not be seen if there are several people in the queue.

How will you assess my application?

We assess applications in accordance with our Allocations Policy . It is a three stage process which may include a home visit to confirm your current housing status.

• Stage 1 - Check eligibility
• Stage 2 – Assess income and savings
• Stage 3 - Decide the priority of the application and give it a priority banding (A+, A, B, C or D)*

*Please Note – We do not accept new applicants onto the register if they are assessed as either band C or band D.

How can I find and bid on a home?

We operate a choice based lettings scheme. If we accept you onto the register you will need to bid on the properties you are interested in.

We advertise properties weekly, from Monday to Thursday at www.crawley-homechoice.org.uk . You can also see them on the property board within the Town Hall. Bidding closes at 4pm each Thursday.

You can make your bid:

• Online through the Property Search page on the Home Choice website
• By completing a bidding card. These are available by the property board in the Town Hall

See more information about bidding .

You can only bid on properties that match your housing needs. For example you cannot bid on a two bedroom property if you are eligible for a one bedroom property.

How are homes allocated?

We allocate properties in accordance with our Allocations Policy . We rank bids by the highest banding first and then by the earliest priority housing date. This is usually the date of your application, or the revised date if your banding has changed. This process makes sure that from the bids received we consider those in greatest housing need first.

If you do not hear from us once you have placed your bid, this means you were not successful. Unfortunately due to the large number of bids we receive, we are not able to contact unsuccessful bidders.

What happens if my circumstances change?

If your circumstances change; for example if you move home or you would like to add or remove someone from your application you can call us on (01293) 438608. You can also visit the Housing Help Point Service at the Town Hall.

I am a Council tenant

You can find out more about housing options for council tenants on the Transfers and Mutual Exchanges page .

Crawley Borough Council Town Hall The Boulevard Crawley West Sussex RH10 1UZ
tel: 01293 438000 fax: 01293 511803 email: comments@crawley.gov.uk