Register for housing

You need to complete an online application form (opens new window) to join the Council's Housing Register for affordable housing.

You do not need to complete the online application form or submit all of the necessary supporting documents at the same time. However, please note that any delay will impact on the assessment of your application.

If you have any difficulties in accessing the online application, or need support in completing the online form, visit:

Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Greyfriars House
Greyfriars Way
Great Yarmouth
Norfolk
NR30 2QE

Before starting a housing application, please have the following information available:

• person identification for you and the joint applicant
• date of birth for all household members
• details of your household income
• recent bank statements for all bank or building society accounts
• evidence of any savings, capital, investments or equity in property
• a five-year address history
• contact details for your current or former landlords or mortgage providers

The information required will depend on your individual circumstances, for instance:

• if you have a medical or welfare need to move, we may ask for evidence from other professionals to tell us more about this need
• if you have been asked to leave by your landlord, we may ask for a copy of your tenancy agreement and the notice served, and may need to contact your landlord

Once you have finished your application, you will be asked to provide supporting documents. It will speed up the application process, if you have all your required documents with you at the time of application. The supporting documents are:

• passport
• birth certificate
• driving licence
• proof of National Insurance number
• proof of address (dated within the past three months)
• deed poll change of name
• workers registration documents
• proof of pregnancy (MATB1)
• proof of Child Benefit (the award letter)
• residence order or other supporting documentation to confirm long-term guardianship
• contract of employment or employee's letter
• payslips
• proof of offer of employment (paid or unpaid)
• proof of self-employment
• proof of benefits
• proof of community contribution
• proof of service in the armed forces and time served
• proof of local connection
• medical evidence
• support agency's letter
• bank statements (for all accounts held for the past three months)
• proof of savings/investments
• proof of homelessness (notice, possession summons or eviction warrant)
• marriage or civil partnership certification
• supporting letter(s)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)/Disability Living Allowance (DLA) award letter
• letter from GP/consultant or any other professional who you/household member are working with
• occupational therapist reports
• landlord reference from your current or most recent landlord
• utility bills (gas, electric, water)
• tenancy or licence agreement
• Council Tax bill
• letter(s) from family (such as letters asking you to leave the family home)
• Section 21 notice
• settled status documents
  • leave to remain biometric card (front and back)
  • leave to remain letter

Some people will not be eligible to join the Housing Register due to their immigration status.

The online application will ask a number of questions that will assess whether you are eligible.

If you are not eligible, you can request a review of this decision.

Not all eligible applicants will be able to join the Housing Register. The Council's Housing Allocations Scheme includes several disqualification and qualification criteria.

The Council has a qualification criteria which means that if you do not have a local connection to the Borough as you have not lived in the Borough continuously for three years, you will not qualify. There are some exceptions to this.

For more information see the current Housing allocations scheme 2021.

You should include the details of:

• your partner
• all dependent children or dependent relatives who will be living with you
• a carer (if they are needed for personal care during the day and at night)
• any household member who is living with you and will continue to live with you
• any household member in prison due for release within four weeks who will live with you
• children who normally live with you but are studying at university or serving in the armed forces

You cannot include children on your application if you do not have the main parental responsibility for them.

Before you can accept an offer of a social housing home (owned by the Council or a Registered Provider) you will be asked to attend a viewing at the property. You will then be asked to decide if you accept the property.

Some landlords will ask the top three people on the Housing Register to attend a viewing. If this is the case, you will be told if you are at the top of the list (the nominee) or a reserve.

Once you have been formally offered and accepted the tenancy, the landlord will arrange a time for you to sign the tenancy agreement and collect the keys. Landlords require you to pay rent in advance - dependant on the landlord of your new tenancy, this could range from one week to four weeks rent required, on the day you move in. We recommend you start saving for this.

Applicants will be advised of the sizes and types of property for which they will be considered. The Council will publish a summary of the sizes and types of property each household is eligible for on the Council's website. This property eligibility information will be updated as and when required.

In assessing the size of property that an applicant requires, the following will be taken into account:

• whether there is a need for an additional bedroom for welfare or medical reasons including the need for a bedroom for an overnight carer
• whether the bedroom eligibility should be increased to reflect access to children, in which case the frequency of overnight access and ages and sexes of the children will be taken into account
• whether the bedroom eligibility should be increased to include foster children and any other relevant circumstances

In the above cases, the decision to increase the number of bedrooms an applicant is eligible for, is subject to satisfactory information being provided on the need for additional bedroom(s) and remains at the Council's discretion on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants may choose to be considered for properties that are smaller than their assessed need and, in these circumstances, the landlord may reject a nomination where offering a tenancy would result in the applicant and their household being overcrowded.

Affordable homes to buy or private rented homes may have different property eligibility that allow under-occupation.

Single people will be considered for self-contained properties and also a room in a shared property.

We receive many questions from households wanting to join the Council's Housing Register. This includes enquiries about the type of properties we have and how many are let each year.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council had a total stock of 5,736 as at 31 March 2023. This figure changes monthly due to:

• purchases made under the Right to Buy Scheme
• the acquisition or building of new properties

We currently own:

• 2,618 flats (45.95% of our total stock)
• 898 bungalows (15.66%)
• 2,202 houses (38.39%)

In 2022-23, we let 329 homes as follows:

• 189 flats (58.15% of all lets)
• 74 bungalows (22.77%)
• 66 houses (20.31%)

The availability of homes varies but we have considerably more lets in flats than houses or bungalows. We have many requests for larger properties but as a Council we have a limited number of 4, 5 and 6 bedroom properties and only a handful become vacant in any year.