Cookie Consent by Privacy Policies Generator website

Applying for a council home

Are you looking for social housing in Darlington?

If you are looking for social housing in Darlington, you can apply online atDarlington HomeSearch [external link], our stand alone digital lettings platform.  On the HomeSearch website you can complete a simple online application form and view our advertised properties.

When you complete an application you will be asked to provide supporting documents.  Once your application has been fully verified you will be able to apply for properties that meet your requirements.

How do we assess your housing need?

We will assess your housing need using the Housing Services Allocation policy [pdf document].  We will consider your current circumstances and medical needs where applicable, and you will be placed in a band relevant to your housing need.  The bands are numbered from 1-4, most applicants will be placed in Band 4 when they first register.  If you are later found to have a higher priority you may be moved to a higher band. Summary of housing priority bands [pdf document].

Which other landlords advertise on HomeSearch?

There are many other Registered Providers of social housing who use HomeSearch [external link] to advertise their properties. Once your HomeSearch application is verified, you can bid (express your interest) on their properties.  Contact details of the other social landlords we work with can be found here

Please be aware the demand for all types of social housing in Darlington is extremely high. This means you may be waiting a long time to be offered a social housing tenancy.

Do you need some help to get started?

We have created the following guides to help you register and start using Darlington HomeSearch.

The Housing Allocation Policy is available in other languages

Frequently Asked Questions

Once your application is verified you can see what band you are in by:

  • logging in to your account
  • clicking on "Housing Register"
  • scroll down the page to click on "View Need Assessment" 

We will upload our new adverts to Darlington HomeSearch [external link] every Thursday morning.  They will run until the following Tuesday night and then close.

We will review the shortlisted applicants on Wednesday and we will contact the successful applicants after that.

Unfortunately it is not possible to contact unsuccessful applicants.

Bidding on a property means you are expressing your interest in that property.

You can bid for properties that meet your assessed requirement once your application is verified.

We can offer telephone appointments to customers who are unable to register online themselves.  During the appointment we will also discuss how you can apply for properties and discuss any additional support you might require.

Please call 01325 405333 to request an telephone appointment.

If you are homeless, threatened with homelessness or in urgent housing need please contact us for advice.  For further information please go to our homeless advice pages.

We generally do not advertise properties on Wednesdays so you will not see any adverts if you visit Darlington HomeSearch [external link] on this day.

If you have very specific search criteria you may also find that sometimes there are no advertised properties matching your criteria that week.

You can upload information to HomeSearch [external link] at anytime but if your application has already been verified and you want us to reassess it, please let us know via email that you are uploading additional information.

Darlington Borough Council is the largest social housing landlord in Darlington.

We have a range of properties available including:

  • 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses
  • 1 and 2 bedroom apartments
  • 1 bedroom bungalows

We also offer:

How to contact us

There are several ways housing applicants and tenants can contact us:

Tenants can report emergency repairs to 01325 405333 24/7 365 days a year.

What if I am not satisfied with the response?

We hope that we can work together with our residents and listen to their voices and resolve any problems, but if you are unhappy with the response from the Housing team we have a complaints procedure you can follow and you can contact our Complaints Team by:

Install our web app.