Our housing allocations team is often very busy and it may take at least 10 working days before you recieve a response to an email.
This list of frequently asked questions will help you to manage your own application and answer any queries you might have.
The Council will cancel your application if you move from the address where you registered your application. If you move but still want to stay on the Housing Register, you must inform the Allocation Service by submitting a new online housing application within six months of moving, to keep your original registration date
The service receives significant volume of applications and the team is currently working to register all applications received. Due to the high volume submitted, housing applications can take up to six months before being verified. However, any form submitted is processed in date order, and you will be sent confirmation either by email (if provided) or letter. Please allow this timescale before sending any further enquiry. Your application will be backdated to the date you applied.
When you initially place your bid, the system will provide you with a number. This is not fixed and is not your overall position on the Housing Register, and is likely to change as other applicants will have the opportunity to bid, which will affect your position. Your position is also likely to differ with each property you bid for. You can check your position throughout the edition whilst it is live. Only the applicants in positions one, two and three, will be considered. This means they are in the highest band and have the earliest date. An offer of accommodation is only confirmed when the property has been allocated and you have received written confirmation from the lettings team, which will be within five working days of the property being allocated. We will not be able to provide individuals with their final positions on individual properties, and refer you to your previous interest details through your bidding history.
If you have been asked to provide documents regarding your housing application, these can be sent by post to the Allocations Service, 4th Floor, The Woolwich Centre SE18 6HQ. Please DO NOT send your original copies, photocopies of your documents will suffice. You can also email your documents as an attachment to the service at housing-registration@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. Once received, it will also be dealt with in date order of receipt. Please state your reference number and name when contacting the team.
A shortlist is made up of all of the people that have bid on a given property and who are eligible. Those applicants are put into band and date order, meaning that the person at the top of the shortlist will be the applicant in the highest band that has waited the longest time. As different people bid for different things at different times, no two shortlists are ever the same and it is for this very reason that you may find yourself in for example in 11th - 20th positions for one property and not in the top 20 for another. Generally though, over time, we would expect to see an improvement, but that can take a number of years. You may wish to look at the results pages of each edition to obtain information on who was successful, their band and how long they have been in that band. This is published both online at www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk and in Greenwich Info newsletter, on the choice-based letting pages.
An overcrowding assessment can be carried out, if it is confirmed that you are living in an overcrowding settled accommodation. Only applicants with children under the age of 15 will be considered under the severely overcrowded policy. Applicants will not be awarded priority where it is assessed that they are responsible for creating the overcrowding. Overcrowding is identified from information provided on the application form, and will be verified by a home visit for private rented tenants and by other investigations for Council tenants. The Council's Visiting Officer will contact you for an overcrowding assessment, if you are identified as been overcrowded. Due to the huge number of households being referred for Severely Overcrowding Assessment, it is not possible for the team to complete the assessment as quickly as we would like. Once your case has been referred, you will be contacted with an appointment date by the Council's Visiting Officer and a decision will be sent to you in writing following the Severely Overcrowding Assessment. Your case will be backdated automatically if you meet the Severely Overcrowding criteria.
Children sharing a bedroom does not necessarily mean you are in priority need. The ages of the children will be addressed as part of your application and determine the size accommodation you are eligible for. The rule allows for any two children of the same sex aged under 16, and two children aged under the age 10 to share a bedroom.
The Council has a scheme for assisting key workers who need to move to the borough to take up employment. Key workers are placed in Band B1. The scheme applies to: Applicants must be:
Royal Greenwich tenants who have found another tenant to exchange with, need to complete the Mutual Exchange form. Please contact us by emailing housing.registrations@royalgreenwich.gov.uk for a form. If you wish to register for the mutual exchange scheme, the schemes we recommend are House Exchange and Homes Swapper. However, Registered Social Landlords (RSL's) tenants will have to contact their landlords to get verified on the scheme.
Please contact the Council's Housing Inclusion team for further advice by calling 0208 921 2863. You can also fill out an online form:
To contact your case officer, or another officer within the Housing Inclusion Team or Temporary Accommodation Team, please email tempaccommodation@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or fill out our online form. If your query is covered within the frequently asked questions above, please do not email us. If however you have another query, we will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.