Housing applications and choice based lettings questions and answers
Other housing options
What other options are there for housing?
There is a severe shortage of homes in the Swindon Borough Council area. Most applicants on the Housing Register will have to wait a long time for re-housing and many of those in the lower bands will still have little chance of re-housing in the local area. If you are already a tenant with Swindon Borough Council or with a Housing Association, you may wish to consider mutual exchange on our website and register with Homeswapper.
You may also wish to consider other options such as renting in the private sector. We may be able to help you access the private rented sector.
If you are need emergency accommodation, contact the Housing Options Team at Hoptions@swindon.gov.uk. Interviews to discuss your housing options are available with Options Advisors in the One Stop Shop in Wat Tyler House, Beckhampton Street, Swindon. You could also consider Low Cost Home Ownership schemes.
What is a Section 106 policy?
A number of Housing Associations have properties in rural areas that have a section 106 local connection agreement attached to them. This means that these properties can only be allocated to persons with the strongest local connection with that area. Therefore, these properties will be advertised as such. Each Housing Association has its own criteria but generally you would need to either live or work in the village other cases considered could have adult children, siblings or parents residing there.
The strongest connection would be shortlisted first regardless of their position on the list. Therefore, applicants may not be shortlisted and skipped, even though they are at the top, because they did not have the strongest local connection.
Vacancies in rural areas
The council have a number of properties in rural areas.
These are:
- North area: Inglesham, Hannington, Castle Eaton, Blunsdon, Stanton Fitzwarren and South Marston
- South area: Wroughton, Chiseldon, Wanborough, Liddington and Bishopstone
Whilst these do not have a Section 106 agreement attached to them we do have a local connection policy. This is due to the few vacancies that occur in these areas and to allow applicants who already have a strong local connection there to be successful in remaining in this area. Therefore, these properties are advertised as such. The criteria used for shortlising will be very similar to the one for the Section 106 as noted above.