In order to apply for housing with Fyne Homes, you will be required to submit a Housing Application via HOME Argyll. This can be done online at www.homeargyll.co.uk or by completing a paper application form which can be obtained from any of the Fyne Homes, ACHA, West Highland or Dunbritton Housing Offices. Alternatively, we can post one out to you. You can call us on 0345 607 7117 to have one posted out. If you need help completing an application, it would be advisable to make an appointment for you to visit one of the offices or arrange a telephone appointment.

It is important to include as much information as possible on your application to ensure you are allocated the correct amount of points for your circumstances.

Key information to have:

· Name, date of birth and contact details of all individuals who are moving with you (this includes children)

· National Insurance Number

· 5 Year Address History and landlord details (if applicable)

Once you submit your application, one of the HOME Argyll Partner Housing Associations (ACHA, Fyne Homes, West Highland or Dunbritton) will pick this up and begin to review it. Please note, that any of the partners can pick up any application, it doesn’t mean you will be housed with the Association; as we are part of a Common Housing Register, we all work off of the same system and all review applications in the exact same way. You will only ever get offered a property with the Association that you have selected for on your application.

A member of staff may contact you to ask for further information to support your application. This may include asking for copies of identification, details of any previous tenancies, further information or supporting evidence regarding your health needs or proof of access to any children. All of the information that is asked for is to ensure you are awarded the correct amount of points and that your chosen criteria on your application will suit your needs.

Staff have 28 days to process your application. If you have not heard anything within the 28 day period, please contact one of the Associations for advice.

Applications can only be assessed and awarded points based on the information you provide so please submit your information and any supporting evidence as soon as you can.

Once your application has been assessed and made active, you should receive a letter or email advising you of how many points you have been awarded and what the points are for. If you are unsure of your points entitlement, please contact one of the Associations to seek clarification. All of the points categories are available within the HOME Argyll Allocations Policy.

Points are awarded to each application based on their current housing circumstances.

HOME Argyll operate on a points based letting system which means that when properties become available, Housing Officers run “shortlists” for the property. The shortlist shows every applicant who has selected the criteria of the property. For example, a 2 bedroom house, in Rothesay Town Centre with Gas Central Heating. Only applicants who have these options selected on their application will be on the shortlist. This is why it is important not to limit your preferences as it may mean missing out on an offer of tenancy. Because it is a points based letting system, applicants who have the most points at the time of the shortlist, will be offered the property first.

We are unable to provide timescales as to when you may be offered a property. This is because we have to wait on current tenants ending their tenancies before properties are then available to re-let to waiting applicants.

As we don’t know when this may be or if the property criteria matches your needs, it’s almost impossible to tell when you may get an offer. Another factor is that we work on a points based letting system. This means applicants who have the most points at the time of the shortlist, will be offered the property first.

Unfortunately, it does not matter if you have been waiting longer than someone else; if they have the higher housing need (reflected in their points) they will be offered the property first.

In cases where there are applicants with the same level of points, Housing Officers will offer the property to the applicant with the earliest effective date; i.e. the date the application was made or in maximum point cases, the day the maximum points were awarded.

You can contact any of the Housing Associations regarding your application. If your application is being processed or has been processed, the first point of contact would ideally be the Association who are doing so.

Argyll Community Housing Association is the largest partner landlord in Home Argyll with over 5,000 properties across the whole of Argyll and Bute. They cover Bute, Mid Argyll, Kintyre, Cowal, Oban & Lorn, Helensburgh and some across the Atlantic Islands.

Dunbritton Housing Association has homes in the Helensburgh, Lomond and Lochgoilhead areas.. The Association is based in Dumbarton and also has homes in the West Dunbartonshire council area. These properties are also allocated using the HOME Argyll allocations policy.

Fyne Homes is the second largest housing association in Argyll and Bute. It has homes in Mid Argyll, the Cowal and Kintyre Peninsulas the Isle of Gigha, and the Isle of Bute.

The Association has four offices which are located in Lochgilphead, Dunoon, Campbeltown and Rothesay.

West Highland Housing Association has homes in Oban, Lorn and the Islands. Most of the homes are in Oban and on the Isle of Mull. A small number of homes are in the rural communities of Lorn, Tiree, Islay, Jura and Colonsay. The Association is based in Oban.

In most cases, before you are offered a property, the Housing Association will contact you to check the details on your application. This would usually be done over the telephone or with a pre-arranged home visit.

If all of your details remain the same, the Housing Association will then be able to sign off your offer of tenancy. You should then get a letter or email with your offer that provides details of where the offer is for, the property size and the rental costs.

It is important to contact the Housing Association as soon as possible to make them aware if you are interested in the offer.

Depending on the property and whether it is already empty at the moment, the Housing Association will be able to make an appointment with you to view the property.

They should make you aware of any delays and give you rough timescales of when you can view the property if it is not immediately available to view.

You could also ask for pictures/videos to be sent over if you live out with the area.

Once you have a viewing appointment arranged, a member of staff will allow you into the property and any common areas to have a look round. Take a list of questions you may have and they will endeavour to find out for you. Examples may include:

· Rent cost

· Council tax banding and rough cost

· Access to common areas

· Responsibility for common areas

· Energy supplier

Once you have viewed the property, you usually have 24 hours to decide if you wish to accept the property but the Housing staff may give you extra time, i.e. over a weekend to decide.

The Housing Association should be able to advise when you may be able to sign up. If the property is ready to let, they will want you to sign up as soon as possible. Discuss any concerns or issues with the Housing Association. They will be aware that arranging a move of property takes some planning and time so should be able to come to a compromise if needed.

The Housing Association will arrange a time and date for you to sign up for your new home. This will likely either be at the property on in the Association’s office.

At the sign up, there will be a lot of information that you will be presented with in regards to your new tenancy, your responsibilities, costs etc and you will be required to sign documentation.

Please take your time to digest the information and ensure you ask questions if you don’t understand something. The staff member should try to only give key information so please don’t worry if you feel like there’s a lot to take in or if there’s something you don’t quite understand.

They key takeaways from your sign up would be:

· Signing for your keys

· Signing for information to be passed to Council Tax and Utility Suppliers

· Paying your rent which may include updating your Universal Credit/Housing Benefit or setting up a Direct Debit/Payment Plan

· Signing your tenancy agreement and having a brief overview of your responsibilities and the Association’s responsibilities

· Obtaining information on how to work your heating, boiler and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors

If you have any questions or unsure of anything, even after your sign up, please contact the Association who will be able to assist with your query, Please do not worry about asking questions or not understanding some of the information – there is a lot of it!

You will be responsible for paying your rent, Council Tax and Utility Bills for the property from the day you sign up for your new home.

You will be responsible for maintain your home and reporting any repairs or issues as soon as possible.

You are also expected to be respectful of others in the area and keep noise levels to a minimum, common areas clear and tidy and ensure that yourself or any visitors to your property, do not cause any nuisance.

Fyne Homes do not ask for rent in advance however, you may be expected to pay the balance due between your sign up date and the end of the month. You will also be expected to make a payment plan going forward whether this be setting up a direct debit, updating your Universal Credit/Housing Benefit Claim.