If you’re thinking about renting a home from us, you’ll need to meet certain criteria, which can change depending on where you live.
Most of our homes are let to people nominated by the local council.
This means that, to find out if you’re eligible for a housing association home, you’ll need to speak to the housing department of your local authority.
You can find which is your local authority on the Government website.
We have recently updated our lettings policy. The following is a FAQ guide and below that you can find a link to the full policy document.
The lettings policy ensures that the process of renting our homes is fair, transparent, and accessible for all. It aims to reduce the time properties are empty, match customers with homes that meet their needs, and create diverse and inclusive communities..
This policy applies to the letting of Paradigm’s empty homes, including general needs, market rent homes, intermediate rent homes, key worker homes, supported housing schemes, and temporary accommodation. It does not apply to commercial lettings, leasehold and shared ownership homes, or garages.
We work closely with Local Authorities (LAs) to meet local housing needs. LAs have nomination rights to most of our homes and use Choice Based Lettings Schemes to allocate properties. We also perform pre-tenancy assessments, including checks on affordability, eligibility, and any potential risks.
A Local Lettings Plan (LLP) is a strategy developed in partnership with LAs to promote balanced communities, especially in new and mixed tenure housing schemes. LLPs take into account factors like economic mix, vulnerability, and affordability, and they take priority over other eligibility criteria.
We carry out several assessments before letting a home:
Nominations can be refused for several reasons, including:
If your nomination is refused, you can appeal the decision in writing within seven working days. The appeal will be acknowledged within five working days and decided within 10 working days. Paradigm will not hold the property vacant during the appeal process unless the LA covers the rent and charges.
We ensure that homes with special features, like wet-rooms or stairlifts, are let to the most appropriate customers. This helps make sure that the adaptations are used by those who need them most.
We are committed to treating every customer fairly and equally, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We collect customer data to assess the impact of our policies and ensure non-discrimination.
