These are some of the common questions you’ve asked us about choose & move. If you have a different question, you can contact us here.

can anyone register to join the choose & move scheme?

Yes, provided

• you are a UK or Irish national and you normally reside in the UK or the Republic of Ireland or
• you are a foreign national with indefinite leave to remain in the UK and are eligible for Social Security benefits or
• you are a European Economic Area national.However If you are an EU national from one of the east european states that joined the EU in May 2004, you must demonstrate that you are a worker (and registered with the UK worker Registration Scheme)or are self-employed.Further information can be obtained from the UK Government website  
• nationals from 2004 accession states (Estonia,the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) cannot be considered for accommodation unless they are in Worker Registration Scheme approved employment or are self employed or are now in receipt of an EEA Residence Permit (having completed 12 months work in the UK).
• Bulgarian and Romanian nationals can only register if they  work as an employee under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, under the quota schemes or are self employed or are now in receipt of an EEA Residence Permit (having completed 12 months work in the UK).

how old do I have to be to join choose & move?

Over 18, or over 16 if you have agency support such as Social Services. You would also need a guarantor

how do I apply for a home?

You need to be registered with choose & move before you can apply for homes.  You can register online, or download a form from the website, or you can obtain a form by calling into our property shop or any other whg housing office .Complete and return the form to us.

When you have been registered, you will be given an application number, and told which band you are in.You will need to use this number when you apply for properties.

For a full explanation of how to apply for a home, click on how to use choose & move

I haven't got access to a computer or printer

We have computers that customers can use at our Bridge Street  Property Shop and in all of our offices. If it is more convenient  you can always  visit one of Walsall Council's Libraries and use the public access computers there.  If you live outside Walsall please enquire at your local library.

how do you decide which band I will be in?

There are 3 bands, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

As a household in Gold band, you are:

• applicants who are nominated to us by Walsall Council.
  We have an  agreement with the Council where up to
  half of our lettings are made to Council nominees;
  in the main, these are applicants who are homeless
• applicants with a proven medical need for housing
• applicants with a proven and urgent reason for re-housing such as a need to provide or receive support

As a household in Silver band, you are

• applicants who are aged 60 or more who live in properties with stairs and need to have accommodation on the ground floor
• whg tenants of flats with dependent children
• whg tenants where there is a joint tenancy and the relationship between tenants has broken down – our aim is to re-house the tenant who will not have full time care of the children
• applicants who have less bedrooms than they need. We assume that each applicant needs one bedroom for each person or couple in the re-housing group. We only apply this if the applicant’s family occupies one or two bedrooms as shown in the table below

Family Size	Bedrooms Occupied	Band
Single applicant	None	Silver
Single applicant	One	Bronze
Couple	None	Silver
Couple	One	Bronze
Applicant/s with one child	None or One	Silver
Applicant/s with one child	Two	Bronze
Applicant/s with two children	None, one or two	Silver
Applicant/s with two children	Three or more	Bronze
Applicant/s with three or more children	None, One or Two	Silver
Applicant/s with three or more children	Three or more	Bronze

Bronze band

• Applicants who do not live, work or study within the Borough of Walsall
• Applicants who are not short of a bedroom (as outlined in the above table).

how do you band properties?

At least 50% of properties are allocated to the Gold band, 30% to Silver and 20% to Bronze

how do you select the successful applicant?

We place applicants in each band in order of their effective date which is normally the date of registration. The earliest date usually secures the offer but we will check that the bidder is eligible before we make an offer. This also applies in cases where we have applied an age limit; for example, if we don't attract a person above 60 but have agreed to accept bids from persons 50 and above,then we will offer to the oldest applicant irrespective of band.

what does that mean ?

If you already live in a whg home we will check that your rent account is up to date and investigate any incidents of  property damage or anti-social behaviour.

If  you are not one of  our tenants already we will ask you to provide suitable references. If you are, or have been, the tenant of another landlord we will want to make sure that you paid your rent on time and otherwise conducted your tenancy in a satisfactory manner.

If  we have concerns about your suitability we would usually restrict your access to the waiting or transfer list.  Please ask for a copy of the relevant leaflet or for further information if you think that this might  affect you.

If all the checks are O.K. and you are top of the bidding list you will receive a letter offering you the property.  

how many homes can I apply for?

You can apply for up to three properties each week.

can I choose any home I want?

You should only bid for properties that you are eligible for as specified in the advert.

where and when will the homes be advertised?

The new properties available for rent each week  will be advertised on-line, in our Bridge Street property shop  and in all of our offices. You can bid for these properties from 9.am on the Thursday and bidding will close the following Tuesday at 5.00pm ( or midnight on that day if you bid on-line)

can I look at a home I’m interested in?

if you are offered the property whg will arrange an accompanied visit for you to inspect the property . We also, on occasion, issue invitations to groups of applicants to view some properties during the bidding process

do I have to take a home I’m offered and if I don’t take it, will it affect my chances of being offered another property?

If you refuse 3 offers you will not be able to bid for 12 months. It is in your interest to make further enquiries to the appropriate trust about specific properties before you enter a bid.There are also special conditions applying to some applicants (e.g. statutorily homeless or those in receipt of medical priority) where the banding level may be reviewed after refusing an offer

how will I know what has happened to the properties I’ve applied for ?

If you are successful we will contact you.

Unfortunately, due to the number of people applying, it is not possible to let customers know that they have been unsuccessful. We do however publish results of all advertised properties on-line and at our service points on a regular basis, giving details of how many applications were received, and the band and registration date of the successful applicant.

This information will give you an indication of how long you may need to wait before moving, how popular properties in different areas are, and may help you in deciding what properties to apply for in the future

can I apply if I am currently homeless?

Yes. If you are classified as statutorily homeless by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, you will be given ‘urgent’ priority housing.

what if I’m already a whg tenant?

You can still apply to be re-housed through this scheme.  

are there fixed contracts on these homes and will I have to pay a bond or other fees?

No. whg currently offers Assured tenancies which are not time limited.You will not have to pay a deposit or any other fee but you will be expected to pay your rent in advance prior to receiving the keys. For more information about whg tenancies click here

can I keep pets?

This depends on the type of property you are bidding for and the type of pet you want to keep.  If you register an interest in a property and you want to keep a pet there, you will need to ask specifically about guidelines for that particular property.

what if my circumstances change?

If your circumstances change please let us know as soon as possible as this may affect your housing application.If you no longer require housing from us please advise us.

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