Who We Will House

The Housing Register is open to all whatever your ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or religion. Stroud District Council promotes equal opportunities, to make sure everyone receives the same high level of service.

We will give priority to you if any of the following apply:

• You work or have a written offer of employment in the area
• You have lived within the area for at least six months immediately before the date you apply
• You have previously lived within the area for at least three years within the last five years
• You have previously lived over 10 years in the area as an adult
• You are 60 or over and need help and support from a close relative who lives in the area
• You need to move to be near a relative who depends upon you for support and has been living in the area for at least five years
• You have very good reasons for wanting to return to the area eg bereavement, relationship breakdown or life threatening illness
• You are a member of the armed forces and have previously lived in the area for at least three years.

We will give priority to young people leaving care. The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 provides a framework within which statutory and voluntary agencies work together to assess and meet the needs of care leavers, each of whom will have a Pathway Plan which will clearly identify how they will gain access to suitable accommodation.

We have a joint Probation Service protocol for the re-housing of ex-offenders. We work closely with the Probation Service and will review each case in consultation with the local Police, Social Services and any other relevant agency. This will properly assess the appropriate housing, support and monitoring network necessary to ensure that accommodating an ex-offender in a particular area would as far as possible, assist with improving community safety.

We will also give priority to households leaving tied accommodation. This applies to those who as a consequence of leaving their employment have to leave their home and do not have the financial means to provide alternative accommodation.

As well as providing accommodation to people on the register, we will also try to provide accommodation under:

• Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976
• HOMES. This is a voluntary national scheme to give priority to those urgently needing to move to another area. Existing tenants of a local authority or housing association who think they might be eligible should apply to their housing officer to be nominated to this authority
• Key Workers Scheme

You can get more information on these from the Housing Advice Section by telephoning 01453 754078 or e-mailing housing.advice@stroud.gov.uk

We can also give property to staff if we believe this would benefit us.