Waltham Forest

Welcome to the Waltham Forest page on the East London Lettings Company website. Since April 2012, Ascham Homes has managed the Housing Solutions Service on behalf of the Council.

Allocations Policy Changes - Important Please Read

We will soon be changing our Allocations Policy. It’s important that you know how this affects you if you are applying for housing.

• You must be at least 18 years of age
• You must be living at an address in Waltham Forest and have lived in the borough for the last 2 years
• Applicants that have ‘no preference’ will not be able to bid for advertised properties, but will receive advice only
• You will be required to renew your application every 12 months
• We will be making offers of homes with a private landlord to some homeless households
• The bedroom size criteria is changing to align with the criteria used for benefit assessments
• Succession rights to new Council tenancies will be restricted to spouses and partners only

There are a number of other technical changes to the policy which may affect you. Once the policy has been redrafted and published, we will advise you of the start date.

Accessible housing now available through the Choice Homes Scheme

If you are assessed as needing an adapted home because of a disability, please remember that we try and let all of our accessible homes through Choice Homes.

If you have been assessed by the Council’s Health & Disability Panel and have been given priority for a specific type of accessible housing, you need to keep your eyes on the Choice Homes website or magazine for advertised accessible homes.

How will I know if the property advertised has the facilities I need?

We will use the Accessible Housing Register categories to describe the property in the advert.  For more information, please read the “Guidance – Key to Symbols” at the back of the Choice Homes magazine or on the website.

What is the Accessible Housing Register (AHR)?

The Accessible Housing Register (AHR) has been developed to add to the information already available to housing applicants when using Choice Based Lettings schemes. This information allows disabled applicants to bid for properties which meet their mobility/access needs and reduce the number of properties considered accessible being let to applicants who do not need them.

An AHR provides information about a property's accessibility in a consistent format.  For example, whether a property is wheelchair accessible, has no steps or stairs, has a lift, or is located close to shops, transport and community facilities.

For more information or if you are unsure how this may affect you, please contact the contacting Housing Registration Section on 020 8496 5422 or call the Disability Adviser Melinda Christopher on 020 8496 5545.

Lettings Waltham Forest

Lettings Waltham Forest is Ascham Homes’ private sector lettings agency for homeless households & Council tenants. We launched fully in September 2012.

We currently have over 1200 homeless households in temporary accommodation (mainly private sector leased properties) and over 2200 Council tenants wanting to transfer to another home.

Because of this, we set up Letting Waltham Forest to try and find homes for qualifying households and also a ‘self-help’ option to help some our customers to find their own rented accommodation themselves with the help of a deposit-guarantee. The scheme is aimed at assisting our homeless applicants in temporary accommodation and existing Waltham Forest Council tenants.

Please note that we can only help Council tenants who currently occupy a property with 2, 3, 4 or more bedrooms. In most instances, Council tenants overcrowded in 1 bedroom properties may also be considered. Unfortunately, Council tenants in studio/bedsit accommodation are not eligible.

To see if you are interested in a private sector home and think you are eligible for help through Lettings Waltham Forest, please call us on 020 8496 5525.