Frequently asked questions

You must have been accepted onto Tower Hamlets Common Housing Register to be able to apply for rented properties through Homeseekers. Anyone aged 18 years or over can apply to join the Housing Register.

Everyone must apply online. If you do not have access to a computer at home, our Idea Stores and libraries have free computer usage and internet access. You can also complete this application on your mobile phone.

Normally, you can apply as long as you:

• are not subject to immigration control and have recourse to public funds
• are over 18 years of age
• have lived in the borough continuously for the last 3 years or in housing need
• are not guilty of bad behaviour
• do not have a sole or joint income of more than £90,000 per annum
• are not a homeowner

Your address history for the past three years from the date of your application confirming any dates that you moved in or out. We will need proof of residence for the last three years.

These are the documents we will accept:

• main bank statement (i.e. the account where wages / benefits are paid into)
• utility bills
• council tax bill
• credit card bill
• rent book
• tenancy agreement
• itemised postmarked envelopes (not from the council)
• polling cards
• insurance documents
• invoices for online purchases
• a letter from an employer, a government agency, a college or a school confirming the dates that they have known you and the address history they hold for you.

Before you are offered a property you will need to provide additional documents to support your application. We will tell you what documents to provide and when to provide them. All documents provided must be originals, up to date and valid. For a full list of acceptable documents please contact the organisation making you the offer (this may be the council or a partner Landlord).

You will not be able to complete the online application without uploading the required documents.

You will receive an email confirming that you have been accepted onto the housing register. The email will tell you which band you have been placed into, your preference date and the size of property you are eligible for.

There are some people who are not eligible to be included on the housing register. These are:

• Certain people who are subject to Immigration Control under the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act.
• Certain people from abroad who are not subject to immigration control but who are not habitually resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland.
• People (including members of their household) who have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour that makes them unsuitable to be a tenant.
• are not over 18 years of age
• have not lived in the borough continuously for the last 3 years or in housing need
• have a sole or joint income of more than £90,000 per annum
• are a homeowner

Your application will be assessed according to your level of housing need and placed into a band, within each band applications are placed in date order.

It is very important that you tell us of any changes in your circumstances so that we can amend your application. Examples of change of circumstances include changing address, family composition and if you become a homeowner. We will tell you if this results in your application moving to a different band. There are different rules for moving up or down a Band. Please see the allocations scheme (opens in new tab)  for more details.

You should keep your application up to date as any change in circumstances may affect your application

There are times when people need to move because of their health or a disability. Priority on health or disability grounds will only be awarded after an assessment if someone in the household has

• a severe long-term limiting illness, or
• a permanent and substantial disability AND
• their health or quality of life is severely affected by the home they live in.

For further details please see the allocations scheme (opens in new tab) .

Properties available for rent are advertised each week. As soon as we are given notice that a property is due to become vacant we will advertise it.

You will be able to express an interest in a maximum of three properties each time properties are advertised. However, you will only be able to express interest in properties that are the permitted size for your household.

Properties will be advertised from 12.01am on Friday morning and you will be able to register your interest in properties up until midnight the following Thursday.

Yes, when you bid for a property you will be told where you are in the queue. Your queue position is likely to change frequently as other people bid for the same property. Using your queue position information you may decide to withdraw your bid for one property and bid for a different property for which you are higher placed in the queue. You can do this at any time before the closing date.

Once the closing date for bids has passed a shortlist of interested applicants is drawn up. The shortlist is in order of eligibility according to the criteria stated in the advert details for that property. The applicant at the top of the list will normally be offered the property.

You may not be invited to view the property for the following reasons:

• you owe rent or have other housing related debts
• you are a council or housing association tenant and legal action has been taken against you because you have broken your tenancy conditions
• you have sufficient resources to solve your own housing problems
• you have not provided the required documentary evidence to support your application by the date given
• your circumstances have changed and this results in a reduction in your level of priority.
• you have provided incorrect or misleading information, which has resulted in your application being awarded a higher priority than it deserves.

Yes. You will be given an opportunity to view the property and decide whether you would like to accept it.

If you turn down a home offer we will review your application. If you refuse three offers, your application will be moved to the bottom of your current band for 12 months from the date this policy started. This penalty will apply again each time you refuse another offer. After 12 months, your original priority date will be restored.

If you are subject to the one offer only rule, a different penalty will be applied on refusal of an offer. Please see the allocation scheme (opens in new tab)  for full details.

Information about homes that have been successfully let will be published on the website weekly. We will tell you the number of applicants that expressed an interest in each property, the band and the registration date of each property.

It will give you a better idea of how popular a particular property or area is and how long you would normally have to wait. You can then decide whether to look for other types of property or areas where you may not have to wait as long.

You will normally have to acquire your own carpets and appliances.

There is a severe shortage of homes in the Tower Hamlets area. Most applicants on the housing register will have to wait a long time for rehousing. Many of those in the lower bands will still have little chance of rehousing in the local area. Depending on your circumstances you may wish to consider other options such as renting in the private sector.

If the council accepts it has a homeless duty to you your application will be placed in Band 2 on the housing register or Band 1 Group B if you are accepted as single homeless and in priority need because of your vulnerability.

Your preference date will be the date you made a homeless application. Any earlier preference date will be lost if you were already registered on the housing register. Please see the allocations scheme (opens in new tab)  for more details.

Please complete a change request form in the customer portal.

Please see our privacy notice (opens in new tab)  for details.