Renting a home with Stonewater

Congratulations on taking the first step to finding your ideal home.

We know how important it is to find accommodation to suit your needs, from the cost and location to the size of the property, that's why we've developed MyPropertyShop a one stop portal where you can find your home in an area that you choose.

We offer a wide choice of property sizes, types and styles across many popular locations throughout the country. From flats and apartments to cosy bungalows and spacious 4 & 5 bedroom family homes, finding the perfect place to call your own could not be easier than with Stonewater.

Why rent?

Renting is an affordable and flexible option, especially if you don't want to be tied down to a location or have the responsibility of property maintenance. Furthermore renting with a housing association can also provide further benefits such as:

• No upfront fees or admin costs
• Rental prices set at levels that are affordable being a maximum of 80% of the open market rent.
• No deposit payable
• Security that your home is yours for as long as you need it, subject to you fulfilling your obligations under the tenancy

Why choose Stonewater?

Because we own and manage our properties we have high standards, a great customer package and a reliable network of suppliers who help us achieve provide the best experience for you as a Stonewater Tenant:

• Well maintained properties in good decorative order throughout
• Bring along your furry friends; for many properties we are happy to allow pets
• Advice on all aspect in life from money management to job searching
• Wide choice of unfurnished properties that come with freedom to decorate and place your own stamp on your home
• A dedicated customer service team.
• Communal cleaning of shared areas
• A neighbourhood management service ensuring your home is safe for you and your family.
• Ground maintenance of shared gardens and landscaped areas
• An expert repairs team on hand and ready to help you should anything go wrong.
• Maintained car parking facilities where available
• Out of Hour Emergency Repair Service
• Regular servicing and maintenance of your home and appliances including planned replacement of rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom.
• Annual property inspections

Who can rent our homes?

To apply for one of our homes, you must be unable to afford to buy your own home or rent from a private landlord. We check your affordability based on your income and savings as part of your application, you may also need to provide details of your income to the Local Authority when you register to join their housing list.

Anyone aged 16 or over can rent a Stonewater home, although if you are aged 16 or 17 you will need to show that you have support in place to help you get your tenancy off to the best start.

What type of home can I apply for?

This will depend on your household need and your family's circumstances.

Stonewater always try to make sure our homes are let to best meet your need as well as that of others searching for a place to call home. We do this in connection with Local Authorities across the country via a process of Choice Based Lettings (CBL schemes).

We let our homes in line with the bedroom standard which has been set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). We allow customers to under occupy their homes by up to one bedroom, just make sure you can afford the extra rent this could incur.

Extra bedrooms may be given to those with additional needs, for example those with medical needs, live in carers and/or foster children.

Depending on the property, we may restrict who can apply to live there. These can include when we have:

• A local lettings plan (LLP) - these are put in place to help us to create a balanced community where people want to live and more importantly, stay
• Age restrictions - some of our homes are designed specifically to certain age groups for example, over 55s.

What is the best way for me to find a Stonewater home to rent?

There are three different ways you can find and apply for a Stonewater home:

• Choice-Based Lettings
• Interested parties lists
• The Property Shop
• Moving Soon

Choice based lettings

We rent most of our homes through Choice-Based Lettings (CBL) schemes, which are operated by local authorities.

Homes are allocated through CBL according to local authority's allocations policies. If you wish to register for housing in a local authority area you will need to contact your local council. Their website will give you information on their allocations criteria, and how to register.

To know which local authority is in your area it will be the same as your refuse collection and Council tax.

We rent some of our properties to people from our direct property shop without the involvement of your local authority. We allocate on a first suitable applicant basis.

Shelter provides more information about the CBL process.

Interested parties lists

Stonewater do not hold waiting lists for our homes.

We do however hold interested parties registers for our specialist Retirement Living homes. For more information on this and to read more about our amazing offer for those over 55 please visit our dedicated Retirement Living page.

MyPropertyShop;

Congratulations you are already in the right place.

For some of our homes we are able to offer to opportunity to rent to those outside of our Local Authority arrangements.

These homes are often available to move into very soon if not immediately.

You can see what is currently on offer by simply clicking here.

Once you find a home you are interested in you can either:

• Express an interest; If you are interested to find out more about one of our lovely homes then simply click this button and provide us with the best way to contact you and a member of the team will be in touch very shortly.
• Apply now; for some of our homes we will allow you to make an application to rent straight away. As these homes are rented on a first come, first served basis then why wait? You could be just a few clicks away from a new home.

Be the first to see what's new with MyPropertyShop; our listings are updated regularly so be sure to check back to see homes added daily.

Moving Soon

Moving soon is an online waiting list for people who need to find a home. Stonewater and other registered landlords use this site to advertise some properties.

To sign up, just go to the Moving soon website and register with your name and an email address. Once you've registered, you will be able to save the areas where you want to live and the type of property you are searching for.

When a home matching your choices is advertised, Moving soon will email you, and you are then able to 'express an interest'.

Please note that any Stonewater home applied for through Moving soon will be allocated according to our allocations criteria, including from any direct waiting list that is in place for any property.

Why are some people unable to apply for a home with Stonewater?

We may be unable to rent to some people due to:

• Legal reasons
• Housing related debt or fraud
• A history of anti-social behaviour and/or crime, including domestic abuse
• Tenancy breaches and/or history of not looking after their home
• The person not being ready for independent living
• The tenancy being unsustainable due to affordability reasons
• The person being too young. We'll accept under 18s if they've been nominated by their local council. All other 16 and 17 year olds will be referred to our young person's services

I am already a Stonewater tenant. Can I transfer to another of Stonewater home?

Stonewater do not offer transfers between homes unless in exceptional circumstances.

If you have additional needs that your current home doesn't meet then you can apply to your Local Authority to find another home which may be more suitable.

Additional needs usually mean:

• You're under occupying or your home is overcrowded
• Your home isn't affordable for you anymore
• You live too far away from work or education to commute (over an hour travel time)
• You need to move to another area to be closer to give or receive care
• You have medical needs that mean you can no longer get in or out of your home or you can no longer manage stairs

If you haven't got additional needs but still want to move, you can look for a mutual exchange.

Let's get social!

Whether you are already a Stonewater customer or are looking to become one in the future, why not get in touch with us on our social media channels.

• Our Facebook page - where you'll find updates from our teams and helpful hints and tips
• Our Stonewater Community Group - a place where residents can come together to share experiences

Our Customer hubb is a place for you to get involved to shape and improve the services we provide.

The hubb allows you to feedback about our services, share experiences with others, and discuss ideas about how we can improve for the future.

You can also use the hubb to find other people with similar interests to you, find out what's happening where you live, find training, jobs and apprenticeships - all in one place!