How to apply for a home to rent with RSMHA

The majority of all RSMHA vacancies are now let through the Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme operated in the town/area concerned by the local council. We do also still hold our own waiting lists for a few of our schemes for older people, where applicants have to be 55 years or older. 

Anyone interested in obtaining a home with RSMHA should therefore register an application with the relevant CBL scheme(s). We currently work with the following schemes:

Elmbridge CBL = SEARCH Moves   (contact Elmbridge Borough Council   tel.01372 474474)

Guildford CBL =Homechoice   (contact Guildford Borough Council   tel.01483 444244)

Woking CBL =Hometrak   (contact Woking Borough Council   tel.01483 755855)

Runnymede CBL = SEARCH Moves   (contact Runnymede Borough Council   tel.01932 838383)

Adur & Worthing CBL = Sussex Homemove   (contact Adur & Worthing District Councils   tel.01273 263 316)

Hove CBL = Sussex Homemove   (contact Brighton & Hove City Council   tel.01273 293 230)

CBL has replaced the traditional way of allocating social housing vacancies, where the council or housing association tended to simply offerthe next vacancy to the highest placed applicant on their waiting list.

Instead, all applicants registering with a CBL scheme are placed in to one of five or six bands (eg A – F) according to their current housing circumstances. All vacancies are advertised (eg on the CBL website and in free sheets available at council offices) on a weekly or fortnightly cycle and applicants may then 'bid' (i.e. register a specific interest – not a monetary bid) for any suitable vacancy. Many popular vacancies will often attract dozens of bids, whilst others may only receive a few. Some applicants may therefore choose to bid on less popular properties because their prospects of being offered these are greater. What ever the number of bids for any vacancy, it will be offered to the bidder in the highest band. Where there are several bidders in the same band, the vacancy will usually be let to the one who registered their CBL application first. 

What are the benefits to applicants of CBL?

Whilst CBL hasn’t created any more vacancies – demand for social housing still greatly outstrips supply - it has meant that applicants are now better informed about what and where vacancies exist and are able to make their own decisons about which ones to bid / apply for. Another benefit is that applicants only need to complete one CBL application, rather than to apply to lots of separate housing providers in the same town.  

Additional information

For more information about our properties please select RSMHA properties For Rent or for more information about CBL schemes or RSMHA in general please contact us .