The Accommodation Register

Our Letting Policy: 'Points and Bands' - Your Key to the Door

We use a points system to assess the housing needs of those who apply to us for accommodation and a Priority Band system to let our homes. This area of the site explains in brief our letting policy and what will happen to your application for housing.

Acknowledging your Application

When your application is registered on the Accommodation Register, you will receive a letter confirming your provisional points total and your Accommodation Register reference number. Please keep this letter safe. We will also write to you if your application is turned down because your points’ assessment is too low. We will send you a copy of our points’ scheme so that you can check that our assessment is correct.

Our Points’ Scheme

The number of applications we receive is far greater that the number of properties actually available, therefore we use a points’ scheme to prioritise applicants. Points are awarded for a wide range of factors, e.g. overcrowding, lack of basic amenities, sharing basic amenities, working in Cardiff, family separation, time on the list, etc. The higher the points total, the greater the priority you will have.

We only allow those applicants with points above a certain level to register on the waiting list. We do not want to build up hopes unreasonably. So your application will only be registered onto the list if there is a realistic prospect of you actually being re-housed.

After your Application has been Pointed

A member of our housing team will visit you at home, as soon as is practical.

A home visit is carried out to:

• Make sure that the information your have provided is correct.
• Confirm your points total.
• Explain what will happen to your application.
• Attempt to give you some idea of how long you may have to wait.
• Discuss the type of accommodation you want.
• Answer any queries that you may like to raise.

In some cases, our officers may also need to see certain legal documents, such as divorce papers, birth certificates, etc. So it would be useful if you keep these handy.

After the Home Visit

The details on your file are confirmed and your points’ total accurately assessed. We will then send you a further letter confirming your points’ total, the Priority Band you are in and explain how this was worked out. Please check our assessment to make sure you are happy. If you have any queries, contact us straight away.

Your place on the Accommodation Register is now guaranteed and will move up as people above you are rehoused. If you’re top of the list, you’ll stay top until we find you a home. We do this by:

Splitting the list into four priority Bands called:

• Immediate
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze

Points will decide the Band you go in, but the date you go into the Band (i.e. the date of your home visit) will decide your position in the Band.

A Gold Band applicant will have a higher housing need and therefore priority, and will be offered a home before a silver or bronze band applicant. You will move up through the list as the people above are housed, until you get to the top of the band and get an offer of accommodation.

The number of points you require for the different bands can vary with demand. If you want to know the current points ranges, please ask a member of staff or contact our Accommodation Register team at Housing@ccha.org.uk

Providing Choice

By providing certainty, we can also offer you choice.

Let’s say you’re top of the list, but only want a 2 bed house in Moorland Road, Splott. This could take some time, maybe years, to arrange because we only have seven properties in the road, only two of them are 2 bed, and we get very few vacancies. Nevertheless, if you’re prepared to wait, we can get you the property you’ve chosen. This is because there is no possibility of another applicant with more points joining the Band above you. Remember, it’s the date you go into the Band and not your actual points that set your position because everyone in the Band are in housing need.

If you’re in Silver and you only want Moorland Road, we will be able to tell you the choices other people above you are making. This will help you to make the right decision for your circumstances.

Making the Right Decision

We want to help you make the right decision by giving you good information about the housing we’ve got and how regularly it comes available. Let’s go back to Moorland Road. If you knew we only had two houses and that we haven’t had a vacancy for five years, it might help you to make a better decision about where you want to go. If you can wait five years – great; if you can’t you need to think again.

Change of Circumstances

You should tell us straight away as the change may affect your chances of being re-housed. You may be asked to fill out a new application form, particularly if you have changed your address. However, please note that any time you have already spent on the Accommodation Register will be taken into account.

Clearly, the change in your circumstances could result in a change in your points’ assessment and your priority banding. As in the past, we will advise you in writing of any change. Also, if you are on the active Accommodation Register at the time of your change in circumstances, your application will be re-assessed or you will be re-visited as a priority. If as a result of a change to your points you move into another Priority Band, you will join the Band at the date you enter it.

When you are Allocated a Property

We will send you a formal written offer inviting you to call at our offices to view the property. If, having viewed the property, you decide to accept the offer, you will be asked to sign the tenancy agreement, be given a Tenants’ Handbook and the keys of the property. You will then have to inform a number of agencies that you have moved, such as gas and electricity companies and, if you are claiming Housing Benefit, Cardiff County Council.

In most cases the type of tenancy you will be granted is an assured shorthold tenancy which is the standard form of tenancy for all new tenants for the first year. At the end of the twelve month period, the tenancy will automatically convert to a standard housing association tenancy, so long as the terms and conditions of the tenancy have not been broken, particularly in relation to neighbour nuisance, harassment, violence or threatening violence, serious damage to any premises or criminal activity.

Refusing An Offer

If you decide to refuse an offer of accommodation, you should let us know as soon as possible and explain your reasons for the refusal. If it is your first offer, then your application will not be affected and will remain on the Register in its original position. A further offer will then be made as and when another property is available. Should you again decide to refuse, you will once again be required to tell us why. We will then consider the reason for refusal and can decide to remove your application from the Register unless:

• The property was not of a type requested by you.
• The property was not in an area requested by you.
• The property was in poor decorative condition.
• The rent was considered to be too high for you.
• Other personal circumstances.

Having a Complaint

If you are dissatisfied with the way our letting policy has been applied to you, there are a number of actions you can take:

• You can complain by following our Complaints’ Procedure.
• You can request a written explanation of how your points’ total was assessed.
• You can ask to inspect the information recorded on your file.
• You can complain directly to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.
• You could seek the advice of an independent solicitor or Citizens Advice Bureau.

The Immediate Band

Above the Gold Band is a Band called ‘Immediate’. If you are in this Band, you are a CCHA tenant facing extreme housing problems such as severe domestic violence, racial harassment or very difficult medical problems.

If we offer you this Band we will do our best to rehouse you where you want to go; but you must make reasonable choices. If you only want a certain street or an area where we have few homes, that’s not a problem but the Immediate Band is not for you – it’s for those in dire need who cannot afford to wait or those who we need to move for management reasons.

So, if you’re in the Immediate Band and you turn down a reasonable offer, your application will be moved to the Band appropriate to your needs