Apply for social and affordable housing

To make an application for social or affordable housing (either council or housing association owned) within the district of Folkestone & Hythe you will need to complete our application form.

Applying for the Folkestone & Hythe housing list

Eligibility criteria

To apply for the Folkestone & Hythe housing list you have to meet one of the following local connection criteria:

• currently live in the district and have continuously for the past 2 years or 3 years out of the last 5 years
• work in the district for the last 6 months for 16 hours per week or more, in permanent employment (not casual)
• have close family members who currently live here and have for the last 5 years (parents, brother, sister or children) over the age of 18 years
• are currently or have served in the armed forces within the last 5 years immediately preceding your application

and 

• have a housing need that you cannot meet from your own resources, or
• if your current home does not meet our housing requirements

Complete application for housing

Sensitive Lettings

Occasionally a property becomes available for letting that is particularly sensitive, for example the frailty and vulnerability of neighbours.

Where a sensitive letting is required, the tenancy will not be offered to the prospective tenant until it is confirmed that neither they nor any member of their household who will be living with them have:

• a serious history of anti-social behaviour or nuisance
• a serious history of relevant criminal behaviour
• not caused serious housing management problems in previous accommodation, including bed and breakfast or temporary accommodation

In these circumstances applicants will have to provide evidence of all of their tenancy history within the last 5 years prior to the allocation of a property.

Applying for a transfer?

If your current home no longer meets your housing needs and you wish to transfer within the Folkestone & Hythe district you should also complete the online housing application using the button above.

Need help?

If for any reason you are unable to complete the form online email us or phone 01303 853300

Demand for housing in the district

Please note there are around 1,500 applicants on the housing list but only approximately 300 homes become available each year. This means that you could face a long wait before being successful in receiving an offer of accommodation suitable for your needs; unfortunately some people may never receive an offer.

What happens next?

When you have completed the online application form and supplied all relevant information requested it is our aim to complete the assessment of your application within 15 working days providing all supporting evidence is received.

If  you are accepted onto the housing list you will receive the following notification:

• Kent Homechoice number
• Band 
• Band reason
• Registration/Priority date

If you or a member of your household have medical problems and this is made worse because of your current living accommodation please complete the Health Section of the online form. We aim to carry out this assessment, once all medical supporting information required has been submitted, within 40 working days. We will write to you again confirming if any additional banding has been awarded to your application. 

How do we allocate vacant properties?

If you wish to know more about how we allocate properties that are vacant or becoming vacant within the district this is set out in our Housing Allocation Policy.

Housing Allocation Policy [381.69KB]