Apply for a House or a Transfer

Our application process

The first step in applying for a house or a transfer is to register with us. You’ll need to complete an application form that sets out your present housing circumstances. We can only consider applications from people who are at least 16 years of age.

You can now complete a housing application online by following this link here. You can also download an application form to print off & fill in, the link can be found below. Alternatively we can post one to you if you phone us on (01595) 694986 or email us mail@hjaltland.org. You can also pick one up in person from:

Hjaltland Housing Association, 6 North Ness Business Park, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LZ

or

Shetland Islands Council, Housing Service, 8 North Ness Business Park, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LZ

Hjaltland Housing Association and Shetland Islands Council have developed a joint application form. This means that applicants who would be happy to be offered either an Association or Council house only need to complete one form. In that case, we’ll simply pass a copy of your application to the Council, for more information you can also download a copy of the Shetland Islands Council’s Allocation Policy leaflet.

Forms you may need:

You can fill the Housing Application form in here online (please note that clicking on this link will take you to a log in screen where you will need to sign up for an account before going on to the Housing Application form. If you have aready signed up for an account (you may have completed other Council forms), then the mygovscot email address and password is what is used here. Alternatively you can sign in with a Yoti account). Or download the Housing Application Form.

You can fill the Medical Assessment Form in here online, or download the Medical Assessment Form.

You can fill the Child Contact form in here online, or download the Child Contact Form (please note that you will need to fill out a downloaded form for each child you have access to).

The Privacy Notice for Tenants & Applicants can be found here on our website.

We have a policy for allocating our houses which takes account of our legal obligations under the Housing (Scotland) Acts 1987 and 2001. We use a points system to allocate houses; the number of points you have depends on your circumstances and the more points you have, the higher your place will be on the waiting list. You can also download our allocation policy leaflet, which contains details of our allocation policy.

On this page, we have information about:

• Our approach to allocation
• Our application process
• What happens after you’ve applied
• How to find out about the homes available
• Local Authority nominations and Section 5 referrals

More information about Shetland Islands Council Housing Department can be found here on the Council's website.

Our approach to allocation

Our system is intended to give priority to those applicants in greatest housing need. This system takes account of the present housing conditions of the applicant, social and medical factors and the needs of the Shetland community.

Your application will be placed in one of three categories:

1. General: open to anyone aged 16 years and over, who is not already a Hjaltland tenant.
2. Specially Adapted and Sheltered Housing, for people needing re-housing for social and/or medical needs.
3. Transfer: for all Hjaltland tenants.

You can indicate the type and location of the property you’d like, but we can’t always match your preferences. You'll find the areas of choice, which indicates where our properties can be found and a map showing where in Shetland those areas are on pages 8 and 9 of the downloadable housing application form.

If you have medical needs, you can fill in a Medical Assessment Form online or download one from here.

There are seven priority groups in the system and applicants are placed in points order within the group from which they receive most points. Applicants may qualify for points from more than one group. The groups are:

1. Substandard accommodation
2. Sharing amenities
3. Social needs
4. Overcrowding/under-occupancy
5. Insecure tenancy
6. Medical
7. Support

It’s important to understand that we do not simply offer new homes to the people with most points. We have a choice based allocation system: in other words, you must choose to apply for a particular house when we advertise it for let.

I’ve applied. What happens next?

When we receive your application, we’ll consider it and may make further enquiries or ask you to provide proof of your circumstances. We’ll then award points on the basis of what you’ve told us and then advise you, by letter, of your points level.

It is important that you tell us, in writing, about any changes in your circumstances as this may affect your points level. For example, you must let us know if there’s a change in the composition of your family, such as a new partner moving in or a child’s birth. You must also let us know if you move to a different address

In order to keep our waiting list up to date, we’ll write to you every six months, asking you to confirm that you want to remain on the waiting list. It is important that you contact us within three weeks of receiving the letter if you wish to remain on the list. If you don’t, your application will be cancelled and shredded.

As part of the awarding of points to your application you may be required to confirm or provide proof of your circumstances. Prior to the allocation of a property a home visit will be undertaken to confirm the details provided by you in your application.

How do I find out about the homes available?

We list all available properties here on our website, we also advertise properties to let in the Shetland Times and on our Facebook page. We provide details of

• The address of the property
• The rent and service charge
• Whether the property will be available for Hjaltland Applicants, including which points group or Transfer Applicants only
• The closing date for registering an interest

If you’re interested in one of the properties advertised, you must register your interest by the closing date. You can do so either by phoning our office on 01595 694986, emailing us at mail@hjaltland.org or using the contact form. Another person, such as a family member, carer or friend, can register an interest on your behalf if they have your permission to do so.

Local Authority Nominations and Section 5 Referrals

In line with Scottish Government targets and a local agreement with Shetland Islands Council, we aim to allocate 50% of our lets to nominees from the Council. These properties are advertised for allocation in exactly the same way.

We are required to have in place what is known as a Section 5 Protocol between the Association and Shetland Islands Council. This protocol enables the Council to refer homeless applicants to the Association for consideration for re-housing. A copy of the Section 5 Referral agreement is available at the Association’s Office.