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Housing advice and information

Contact the Housing team

Our Housing Solutions Team will be dealing will all housing queries, whether you require Housing Advice or information on our Housing Register.

They will be managing cases from start to finish, so you will have your own individual case officer that will help you find the best solution for your circumstances.

How do I contact you?

We ask that you call us on 01362 656870, we will require the following information:

  • Name of person requiring Housing help
  • Their National Insurance Number
  • Their Date of Birth

Alternatively, you cancomplete our online Housing contact form.

What will happen next?

  • We will offer you advice on housing-related matters, based on your personal circumstances.
  • If your situation is not an emergency the Housing Solutions officer will book an appointment to see you, face-to-face, in one of our council offices.
  • They will inform you of the date, time and location of your appointment and will provide you with a full list of documents required at your meeting.

What will happen at my appointment?

  • The Housing officer will check your documents and discuss and outline your most appropriate housing options.
    • Your Housing officer will work with you to find the most suitable outcome for your circumstances.
    • We have a high demand for social properties, and they are in short supply, so being added to the Housing Register isn't always the best solution.

Where can I find information about benefits?

Accommodation resources

If you or anyone else is at immediate risk of harm, regardless of your circumstances, call the police on 999.

Private tenant at risk of eviction/at the end of a tenancy

Facing eviction from family or friends

Suffering domestic violence

Ex-armed forces

Experiencing mental health issues or impairments

On the basis that you are suffering from a mental illness or impairment, Breckland Council may accept that you are vulnerable and therefore in 'priority need' for accommodation. This will be determined by your personal circumstances and will take into account information we gather from various sources including any medical professionals involved in your care.

The following websites may be useful if you are suffering from mental health issues:

    Leaving prison

    Harassment at home

    Leaving care

    The help you get mainly depends on your age. 

    • Norfolk County Council Children's Services (opens new window) is responsible for finding you somewhere to live until you turn 18. If you are aged between 18 and 25 years and are a homeless care leaver, your leaving care adviser and Breckland housing service will provide you with advice, support and guidance around your housing circumstances.
    • If you are a care leaver, you may be able to get housing and other help from the Breckland Council or Norfolk County Council leaving care team.
    • When you turn 18 you are entitled to claim benefits. If needed, you should be able to claimUniversal Credit (opens new window).

    Leaving hospital

    • You should tell the hospital nursing staff as soon as possible, so that they know that you will be homeless when you are discharged.
      • They will ask the hospital discharge team to help if they can.
    • If referred to the council's Private Sector team, they will assess your situation and you may be offered temporary accommodation while your application is assessed if you fall into a priority need category.
    • If you have a home already but it needs to be adapted, the hospital will refer you to the council team which is responsible for adaptations or the assessment of theHousing grants and loans.

    Options for older people

    How to bid for a property

    Available properties are advertised weekly on theBreckland Key Select website (opens new window), which you can access on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

    To bid you will need tolog on (opens new window) with your email address and password, then use the properties search facility to see what properties are available to bid on.

    Bidding for properties will begin from 12:01 on Thursday morning to 23:59 on the following Monday.

    The adverts tell you who the landlord of the property is, where it is located, the size of the dwelling (number of bedrooms), whether pets are allowed, the rent and other features which will help you to decide if you wish to make a bid or not. The advert will also inform you if there are conditions that you have to meet in order to bid for the property. An example of this might be a minimum age requirement or a local connection to the area.

    Before you make a bid, you may wish to check:

    • The location of the property to see if it is in an area you would be happy to live in.
      • Further information about the location of a property can be found by using the link on the advert to the Up my Street website.
    • The size of the property is suitable for your needs.
    • The floor level that flats and maisonettes are on and if this is lift access.
    • If you would like to consider alternative housing options, further information can be found on the housing options pages of this website.

    Registered applicants of the Breckland Key Select scheme will be able to bid for a maximum of two properties in each bidding cycle.

    Having made your choice and after going in to the property details, you can then highlight this property by ticking in the box on the left of the advert and use the Place Bid button.

    What type and size of property can I bid for?

    The type and size of property you can apply for depends upon your family size. The property description may contain information on who will be eligible to apply for it. Occasionally there will be some different eligibility criteria that apply to certain properties, but this will be clearly shown in the property adverts.

    The system will tell you if you are not able to bid on a property and why in the full details.

    Remember that if you are bidding on the website, the system will only allow you to bid for properties for which you are eligible.

    Please be aware that none of the properties advertised are furnished or carpeted.

    Read more frequently asked questions on bidding.

    Contact your Housing Officer

    Not everyone will have an assigned Housing Officer. If you don't have an assigned officer or you do not know who is handling your case, pleasecomplete our online Housing contact form.

    Officer

    Contact number

    Phil Sherwood

    01362 656374 / 07748 116931

    Amy Greef

    01362 656322 / 07810 637159

    Emily Robertshaw

    01362 656307 / 07827 252971

    Sara Beswick

    01362 656368

    Nina Farrell

    01362 656210

    Stephen Oram

    01362 656381

    Michael de Leyser

    01362 656242 / 07425 618436

    Amman Chaudhri

    01362 656329

    Jennie Hunte

    01362 656847 / 07795 294801

    Alena Mizinova

    01362 656327

    Caroline Deadman

    01362 656281

    Fiona Morgan

    01362 656290

    Housing register changes

    What if my circumstances change?

    You must let us know if there is any change in your circumstances that may affect you application. If you have one, pleasecontact your housing officer directly. If you do not have a named housing officer, please call us on 01362 656870.

    What is classed as a change of circumstances?

    Examples of changes in circumstances are detailed below, although this is not an exhaustive list:

    • People joining or leaving the household.
    • Pregnancy or birth of a child.
    • A member of the household now applying in their own right.
    • Relationship breakdown.
    • Change in medical circumstances.
    • Death of a household member.

    What if my contact details change?

    It is very important that you can be contacted quickly. If the contact details you supplied when you registered with the scheme are no longer up to date, then you must amend them through the website's online portal when you log in. If you successfully bid for a property and cannot be contacted, you will lose the opportunity of being offered the property.

    You will need toreport any changes via our online portal (opens new window).

    Mutual exchange

    If you are an existing tenant of a council or housing association, you can find a new home through exchanging your home with another tenant of a council or housing association. This is called a mutual exchange and can often be a lot quicker than waiting for a transfer. You can look for an exchange anywhere in the district, County, or Country.

    How does mutual exchange work?

    • Find someone who wants to swap with you.
    • Arrange to view each others' homes.
    • Apply to your landlord and the other tenant's landlord for permission to swap. They will normally have forms for you to use for this purpose.
    • Your landlord will inspect your property and will request a tenancy report from the other tenant's landlord.
    • Your landlord will inform you within 28 days whether they agree to your exchange.
    • If both the landlords involved agree, arrangements will be made by them for you to complete the necessary paperwork. This means assigning the tenancies to you and the other tenant involved.

    You will normally also have to meet some conditions before an exchange can go ahead, such as:

    • Not owing any money to the landlord for such things as the rent, rechargeable repairs or any other reason.
    • Doing all the repairs that are your responsibility under your tenancy agreement including those for any damages that you have caused.

    It is very important that you do not move until you have written permission from your landlord, otherwise you could lose your home and then have nowhere to live.

    Reasons landlords could refuse permission for an exchange

    Landlords will not give permission for a mutual exchange to go ahead if:

    • They have started taking legal action against you for breaking a condition of your tenancy agreement.
    • If the property you are looking to move to is too big or too small for your household.
    • The property is adapted for a tenant with disabilities and you do not need these adaptations.
    • The property you wish to move to is not let on an assured or secure tenancy by another housing association or council.
    • The property is designated for letting to certain groups, such as to persons over 60 years old, and you do not meet this restriction.
    • The property has local connection criteria which you do not meet this.

    Help to find an exchange

    If you wish, you canregister on the Home Exchange scheme (opens new window). You can use this site to find another property you would like to exchange your property for and also your property will be advertised here for other tenants to see. This is a free service for tenants of landlords who are members of the service. If your landlord is not a member, then a small registration fee will be charged.

    For further information on mutual exchanges or assistance with registration on the Home Exchange website you should contact your landlord.

    It is very important to remember that you will require your landlord's permission to exchange

    Useful information

    Housing Associations

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    Last modified on 30 September 2024