What is a Housing Association?

Housing Associations are also registered social landlords (RSLs) and are funded by the Housing Corporation with money raised in partnership with the private sector and local authorities.  They are run as a business but they do not trade for profit.   Any surplus is reinvested back into the organisation to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones.  They are managed by a board made up of volunteers.   Board members may include representatives from local authorities and community groups, residents, business people and politicians.

Other than local authorities, Housing Associations are the main providers of social housing and in particular new build properties.  There are over 2,000 Housing Associations in England, currently managing around 1.7 million homes and housing at least twice that many people.  They charge reasonable rents and usually offer an “assured tenancy”, which provides considerable protection for the tenant.

Housing Associations also offer affordable homes for sale to help people get onto the property ladder who otherwise may not be able to do so.

What sort of properties do they have?

We work closely with around 16 Housing Associations in Sheffield.  They vary in size, and manage approximately 15,000 properties between them.  The larger ones including Acis, Arches, Chevin, Northern Counties, Parkway Housing, Places for People, Pennine, Sanctuary, South Yorkshire, and Yorkshire Metropolitan have a variety of properties and mostly offer homes for families and general needs applicants.  Some of the smaller organisations tend to deal with specialized accommodation for elderly people.

A link to a list of the main Housing Associations in Sheffield and more information about their housing stock can be found at the bottom of the page.

All the Housing Associations propose to bring their properties up to a standard above the Decent Homes Standard by 2010.

How do I apply for Housing Association properties?

You can:

• Apply directly to the Housing Associations. Some hold their own waiting list and allocate properties independently from Sheffield Homes in accordance with their own Lettings Policy. You will need to complete an application form and in some instances references will be requested. 
• Bid for any Housing Association property offered to the council for nomination using your Sheffield Homes rehousing registration. You will need to be registered with Sheffield City Council and bid for properties in the same way as you would for Council properties.  The properties are advertised on the Sheffield Property Shop website and there is a section in the mailshot specifically for Housing Association properties.  Each advert shows who the landlord is and any special eligibility criteria.  Eligibility rules often vary for these properties and you need to pay careful attention to the advert details before placing a bid.  The details of the person who bids successfully for a property are passed onto the Housing Association and this is known as a nomination.

Here are some links to the websites of the 16 Housing Associations we work with:

• ACIS Group
• Affinity Sutton Group
• Arches Housing Ltd
• Chevin Housing Group
• Equity Housing Group
• Great Places Housing Group
• HOME Group
• Housing 21 – care, help and housing for older people
• Johnnie Johnson Housing
• Guiness Northern Counties
• Padley Housing Association Ltd
• Pennine Housing 2000
• Places for People
• Sanctuary Housing Group
• South Yorkshire Housing Association
• Yorkshire Housing Ltd

Nominations

We work closely with Housing Associations to ensure that an agreed percentage of their properties are let to Sheffield City Council applicants.  The nomination process is carried out in agreement between the Housing Associations, Sheffield Homes and Sheffield City Council in accordance with the South Yorkshire Charter.

Housing Association properties advertised under Sheffield City Council’s Lettings Policy are subject to the I in 4 rule.  This means that for every property advertised with preference being given to applicants with waiting time, the next three properties of a similar type, size and estate will be advertised with preference being given to applicants with a priority.  Housing Associations can also advertise properties under their own policies, which means they will be exempt from the 1 in 4 lettings policy.  This is also true of properties advertised with preference being given to mobility priorities, ringfencing, demolition and the allocation of 4 beds or larger.

Before you can be nominated we will carry out tenancy checks for arrears and anti social behaviour and would advise the Housing Association of any findings.  This may result in your nomination being rejected by the landlord.

What happens to my registration?

When we receive confirmation that you have accepted a property offer from a Housing Association your Sheffield City Council registration is cancelled in the same way as it would be if you were moving to a Council property.  You will be given the opportunity to re-register if you wish.

If you accept a first come, first served property offer from a Housing Association you will be entitled to have your registration date re-instated when you re-register with Sheffield Homes in the same way that you would if it was a Sheffield Council property.