Council housing and housing association
The allocation of Council housing and some housing association stock within the borough is managed by the housing register.
Rotherham Council has over 20,000 Council properties, and we work alongside 21 housing associations who provide over 5,000 affordable homes within the borough.
There are roughly 6,500 households currently registered on the housing register, which is a large demand for social housing. Because of this, it can take some time to be moved into a Council or housing association property, even if you have got a priority to be housed. It takes a long time to be housed because we can only house someone once we have got a property available from a tenancy ending.
To join the housing register, you need to apply. To be accepted, you would need to meet the criteria, such as having a local connection to the borough. You can read more information on eligibility to join the register by reading the Housing Allocation Policy.
If you are wanting to move into a housing association property, you will still need to be registered on the Council’s housing register. However, it is advised that you contact housing associations directly, as they do not advertise all their properties through the Council’s choice-based lettings website. This webpage has a list of the housing associations within Rotherham.
Mutual Exchanges
If you are a current Council or Housing Association tenant anywhere in England, then you can complete a mutual exchange if you find somebody who wants to swap properties with you.
There are various websites you can use, such as Homeswapper, which is an independent website to assist you with finding a suitable property.
If you have a found a suitable property, you will need to let us know. We will need to complete some checks before the exchange is approved, this includes checking your rent account to ensure you are not in arrears, checking that the property is in a good condition and making sure that there are no anti-social behaviour reports. To start the mutual exchange process, complete this form.