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Apply for social housing

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How to apply

1. Gateshead Home Choice

To apply for a new home, you need to join Gateshead Home Choice. 

  • Anyone over 16 years old can register. Applicants under 18 will have their needs assessed by a specialist team 

  • You will need to provide information including your national insurance number and details of previous tenancies 

To access Gateshead Home Choice, you need to be registered for My Housing Account.

Visit Join Gateshead Home Choice if you need help to get started, as the process is different depending on if you've previously registered with My Housing Account.  

Once you are registered for My Housing Account, you can apply to join Gateshead Home Choice.  

2. Applying to join Gateshead Home Choice 

Once you are signed into My Housing Account, from the 'My summary' page, select 'Create new housing application'.   

The application form is split into four sections:   

  • Pre-application checklist  

  • Household members  

  • Application questions  

  • Declaration  

You don't have to complete the form all at once - there are 'save' buttons throughout, so you can store what you've done so far and return to finish it later by going to 'My saved applications'. 

Some questions are optional - you only have to answer the ones marked with a red asterisk. However, please try to answer as many as you can. The more information we have, the better the service we can provide.  

An error message will appear if you miss any of the mandatory questions. You will not be able to continue with the form until you answer them.  

Pre-application checklist  

Read and agree to all the information at the beginning of the form before you start your application. This information explains some of the eligibility conditions. It also lists the documents you'll need to upload as part of your application.  

Household members  

You need to enter the personal details of all your permanent household members, even if they do not currently live with you. We need phone numbers for anyone over 18. Please also include any formal or informal carers who live with you or need to live with you. Also indicate if one of your children under the age of 16 acts as a full-time carer.  
  
Carers who only need to live near you should submit their own application form.  
  
Where children live part time with the main applicant, we need proof that you are the main carer. If you are not the main carer, this may restrict the types of property you are eligible for. The proof for the main carer is either child benefit, a court order, or school or health records.  
  
Starting with yourself, select 'Add person' to enter your details. Then 'Add person' for all the other people in your household.   

You then need to provide further information about each person, including their addresses for the last two years. To do this, select the "Actions" drop-down and complete each section with a red exclamation mark next to it.  
  
Once your information is complete, the exclamation marks will be replaced with green ticks. Select "Next" to start answering your application questions.  

Application questions  

This section asks about your:  

  • employment status 

  • income   

  • housing-related debts  

  • current living arrangements  

  • pets   

  • support requirements  

  • reasons for moving  

Submitting the form 

At the end of the section, there is a declaration. You must agree to this before you can submit the form.  

When you submit the form, you will get a confirmation message containing your reference number. Please make a note of it. 

You should also go to 'My saved applications' to upload your supporting documents (for example, your ID or MAT B1 form). Our form accepts uploads in the following file formats: doc/dot/docx, jpeg/jpg/jpe, pdf, png. 

You do not need to do anything else. We will contact you to let you know what happens next.  

2. Search for and bid on homes 

Once your application has been accepted, you can start bidding on the properties that we advertise on the website every week. You need to go to 'property search' within My Housing Account to do this. 

3. What happens next 

If you are successful, we will contact you and give you the opportunity to view the property.  

If you are top of the list for more than one property, we will ask you to choose which one you prefer. If we cannot get in touch with you, we will decide which property to offer you.  

We will not contact you if your bid has not been successful.  

Other ways to find a home

Visit Private tenant support for advice on renting from a private landlord.