Careers

Want to rent a home?

How you apply for rental housing will depend on your circumstances and the type of home you are looking for. We have agreements with local councils to allocate a percentage of our empty homes to people from their waiting lists and therefore in the first instance you should contact the Council in the area you wish to live.

We allocate our rental homes from the following sources:

The local councils’ waiting lists
Our transfer list (for our own residents to apply to register on)
Our own waiting list – currently only open for the Southend Borough

The rest of our empty homes are let to people on our own waiting list our Selection and Allocation policy explains how this works.

To apply to register for a home in the Southend Borough please complete our application form. If you need help in completing the form please contact us and we will be happy to assist.

Open market renting

A small number of our homes are let without restrictions and you do not need to be on a waiting list. These properties are let on an assured shorthold tenancy basis and the rents are set at private rental level. We have properties of this type in different areas across Essex and Suffolk borders.
If you would like to find out more please contact Juliet Banks on 01702 445272 or alternatively contact our Centre Place office on 0845 634 0635. You can e-mail by clicking here.

Shared Ownership

Shared ownership is a part buy/part rent scheme where you buy a share in a home, normally by raising a mortgage, and pay rent for the share you have not purchased. You can purchase between 25% and 75% of the property and pay us rent on the remaining share. You can then `stair-case’ your ownership by buying further shares until you own the whole property, if you wish

Please click on Buying a Home button for more information.

Resales of these properties are very limited however Estuary is currently building more shared ownership homes. If you wish to apply to go onto our mailing list for resales contact our sales team on 0845 2728727 or e-mail us at sales@estuary.co.uk

Click here to see details of our shared ownership properties currently available

Further information on associations that operate such schemes can be obtained from your local authority or housing aid centre.

Other Housing Options

If you are looking for housing you may find the following information useful.

I am going to be homeless in the near future, what can I do?

You need to contact the local authority Housing Options team and ask to fill out a homeless application. The Housing Options team will assess your application and if you meet specific criteria they may be able to assist by putting you into emergency accommodation.

Shelter may also be able to help you with any issues you have surrounding your current housing circumstances. There is a 24 hour service available for people looking for housing advice. It is called Shelterline and the number is 0808 800 4444.

If you are already a council or housing association resident you can consider the following to enable you to move.

Transfer

If you are already a Council or Housing Association resident contact your Landlord to see if you can join their transfer list. You should also contact the local authority in the area you live in or wish to live in to see if they operate a joint transfer scheme.

Mutual Exchange

This is where you literally swap homes with somebody. Contact your landlord and local authority to see if they hold a register of tenants looking to exchange. Some residents often advertise for exchanges in local shops and newspapers. You will need to look at the registers on a regular basis to see if there is something you like. In areas of high housing demand this is often the quickest way to move

Tenants can register with HomeSwapper, which is a nationwide mutual exchange service. This service can help find swaps within your local area or throughout the UK. If your Landlord subscribes to this service it could be free to register. For more information look at their website - http://www.homeswapper.co.uk.

Please remember you must always get approval from your landlord first before swapping your home. If you do not do this the exchange could be illegal and you may be evicted.

What other options are open to me?

If you are not eligible for rental housing through a housing association or council you may wish to consider the following options:

Shared Ownership/Homebuy

Shared ownership is a part buy/part rent scheme where you buy a share in a home, normally by raising a mortgage, and pay rent for the share you have not purchased. The scheme is suitable for people who can't quite afford to buy outright or who have savings to meet the cost of the share to be purchased.

Information on associations that operate such schemes can be obtained from your local authority or housing aid centre.

Private Renting

Renting privately is often the quickest way for you to find housing. We would suggest you speak to the Housing Options team within Local Authority of the area you wish to live as they should be able to give you further information about renting privately and you may be eligible for a rent deposit scheme.

You should contact lettings agents in the area by looking in the Yellow Pages or in your local free paper.