Housing Needs Register

There are no council homes in the Epsom and Ewell Borough. Low cost rented housing, known as ‘affordable housing’ or 'social housing', is provided by a number of different housing associations. We let the vacancies through Epsom & Ewell Borough Council housing needs register.

The housing needs register is a waiting list for people in the Borough who are in need of low cost rented accommodation.

Qualifying criteria

Applicants will need to have a local connection to the Borough. You have a local connection if you live or work in the borough and have done so for the last two years. However there are other circumstances where you may be considered to have a local connection.

You may not qualify to join the housing needs register if:

  • you have housing related debts which you are not paying
  • you have engaged in antisocial or criminal behaviour
  • your income or financial resources are too high.

How properties are allocated

Applicants who have been accepted to join the housing needs register will be placed into an application category of either homeless, waiting list, or transfer applicant.

Applicants in each category are placed into one of five bands: A, B, C, D, E.

Band A reflects highest need and E reflects lowest need. Your position in that band will be determined by the date you were placed into the band.

When a property becomes available it will be advertised through Epsom and Ewell HomeChoice. Every week we advertise any vacancies on the HomeChoice website and automated telephone service.

We will state which category the available property will be let to (homeless category, waiting list category, or transfer category). Applicants in that category can bid for the available property. The property will be offered to the applicant with the highest position in the highest band within that category.

Our Housing Allocation Policy contains full details of how we allocate properties and our qualifying criteria.

Availability of housing

There are over 2000 applicants on the housing needs register and we have a severe shortage of social housing in the Borough. It is difficult to predict how long it will take for you to be housed and will depend on:

  • your housing circumstances/needs
  • those of other applicants
  • the number of properties that become available each year
  • who else bids on the properties advertised

On average we get 25 one bedroom flats, 20 two bedroom flats and ten three bedroom properties per year. We get one four bedroom property every two to three years. This means that it is likely to be many years, if at all, before you would be housed.

Please also look at our other housing pages for advice on other housing options, or complete our housing options wizard to receive personalised housing advice.

Affordable rent and fixed term tenancies

Most housing associations in our borough now let their properties at affordable rents. Affordable rents cost up to 80% of local market rent. If you apply for housing please be aware that the rents will often be similar to private rents.

Housing associations can also let their properties on fixed-term tenancies of at least five (or occasionally two) years.

How to join the housing needs register:

Please complete our online housing needs register application form and provide the requested documentation to housing services.