What do you need to think about before you start looking?
- The type of property you need (bedsit, flat, house, bungalow)
- Are you ok with stairs or do you need ground floor accommodation?
- What areas do you want to live in?
- How much rent can you afford to pay?
- How much deposit will you have to pay?
Where to look for private rented accommodation
Wiltshire times, Salisbury Journal, Trade It and the Western Daily Press regularly advertise rented properties.
CloseLocal shop windows / community notice boards / supermarket notice boards or anywhere where people may advertise. Landlords often advertise available properties here.
CloseWeb sites such as Zoopla, Propertywide and Rightmove advertise available properties.
Sharing a house or flat with others can be a good way to cut the costs of renting in the private sector. Websites such as Flatmaterooms and Houseshare let you post adverts for a houseshare and search for other people in the area who are also looking to share a property.
Agents manage properties on behalf of private landlords. Agents should not charge you to just to look for a property. If you find a property through an agent you will often be charged a fee - usually one third of a month's rent plus VAT. This fee may be non-refundable.
They will also require a deposit and up to two months rent in advance. Wiltshire Council cannot recommend individual letting and management agents but we can provide a list of local letting agents in Wiltshire.
CloseHow to join the housing register Homes4Wiltshire
Wiltshire Council operates a choice-based letting system called Homes4Wiltshire.
You can choose which properties interest you and place a 'bid' under our Choice Based Lettings Scheme.
- People assessed as having a housing need may join the housing register
- People we assess as having no housing need, including most owner occupiers, join the Open Market Register
- To apply to join the housing register complete an online application form at our dedicated Homes4Wiltshire website
Please visit the Homes4Wiltshire website or contact the Homes4Wiltshire team:
Email: homes4wiltshire@wiltshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 456 0104
Homes4Wiltshire
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
TROWBRIDGE
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN
What to do if you are a council tenant and:
- Council tenants may wish to transfer to another property for a number of reasons, perhaps because their family has grown or they have moved jobs
- A tenant who wishes to move will be expected to have kept to the Conditions of Tenancy.
For example, a tenant should not have caused antisocial behaviour and either have no rent arrears or be making genuine efforts to clear them.
Transfers of council properties are now done through the choice-based letting system, Homes 4 Wiltshire.
To apply for a transfer please visit the choice-based lettings site
Close- Council tenants can move by exchange with the consent of the council, by finding another tenant who wishes to exchange their home with you.
- The Council is keen to encourage exchanges and consent will only be withheld if your rent is in arrears or if the accommodation that you wish to move to is too large or too small for your needs, or if it has been built for people with special needs, for example; disabled adaptations.
Wiltshire Council participates in the Home Swapper scheme and you can therefore apply to exchange with a tenant in any part of the country. There is a list of tenants wishing to exchange, which is kept in the housing department and is available for you to look at during normal office hours. If you require further details of this scheme do not hesitate to contact us. To read more about how to exchange properties see our fact sheet about Applying for an exchange.
CloseIf you are a council or housing association tenant you can swap homes with another tenant. This is called a "mutual exchange".
Finding a mutual exchange means you will not have to wait for months (even years) on a housing transfer list. And the best bit is that you get to choose the home you want yourself.
HomeSwapper is a mutual exchange service. You can use this service to help you find a new home. HomeSwapper has the UK's biggest list of members all wanting to swap homes. This means there are millions of possible swaps waiting for you.
A mutual exchange doesn't just mean you have to swap like for like you could:
- Downsize
- Upsize
- Swap across the country...or down the road
- Swap a flat for a house
- A house for a maisonette
- Get somewhere with a garden
- Find a property without stairs or adapted for the disabled
- The choices are endless
Once you have found the property you wish to swap to you must always obtain the written permission from both of your landlords. Your landlords will the complete all the paperwork with you to make your move happen. If you don't have any restrictions on your tenancy agreement and are not in rent arrears your landlord cannot refuse your swap.
To register for HomeSwapper you need to go to the online home page and click on "Join" to complete the online registration form. Once you have completed the registration process, you will have full access to the HomeSwapper service.
CloseHomes4Wiltshire Housing Allocation Policy
Demand for affordable homes exceeds the number of available properties, so the council has to prioritise those in the greatest need. The allocations policy represents the fairest and most transparent way to decide who to prioritise. We have reviewed our policy and made important changes. The review took in account the view of our councillors, residents, area boards, landlords and partners.
You told us you wanted local homes to go to local people, you wanted the council to manage the expectations of what people can expect, in terms of their housing options and to make the best use possible of our limited housing stock, and that those who have demonstrated they would be good tenants be rewarded.
The majority of vacant homes will be matched to applicants with a strong local connection based on the following criteria:
- Someone living in the area, the residency have to be permanent and the applicant must have lived in the area for six months of the last year or three years of the last five
- Someone in permanent paid employment or who has a fixed term contract for a minimum of one year or permanent offer of paid employment in the area, or is self employed and works predominately in the area
- Someone with close family (grandparents, parents, legal guardian, adult children or brothers and sisters) who have lived in the area for five years or more.
Once a local connection has been confirmed we will allocate to the applicant in the highest band with the longest effective date, which is the date of application.
CloseThe banding system was changed in 2015 so it has been simplified it to ensure social housing is accessible to those most in need. Applicants will still have their housing need assessed in the same way and be banded according to their assessed need to move
CloseThe Government’s bedroom standard will be used to decide the right size of property for applicants. Houses will be allocated strictly according to the size of the household to ensure every allocation is as effective as possible and to counter the “bedroom tax”. This is in line with housing benefit rules and private sector housing.
We will exclude the following:-
- Those who have caused unacceptable behaviour enough to make them unsuitable as a prospective tenant
- Those who do not meet the connection criteria to live in Wiltshire
- Those who have assets or income above the financial resource limit and could resolve their own housing needs themselves
- Those who are already adequately housed
- Those who have moved into social housing within the last year
- Those whose own actions have made their housing situation worse.
Downloads
Claiming Housing Benefit
If you are planning on claiming Housing Benefit you will need to think about the level that you could be entitled to.
- A couple who live together
- Someone else in the household who is 16 or over
- Two children of the same sex
- Two children of any sex who are younger than 10
(A child is someone under 16)
And the following (maximum) number of living rooms:
Number of people | Number of rooms |
1 - 3 people | 1 living room |
4 - 5 people | 2 living rooms |
6+ people | 3 living rooms |
If you are single and aged under 25 your Housing Benefit will be assessed differently (Single Room Rent) which means you will usually only be able to rent one room (e.g. a bedsit, or a room in a shared house).
CloseIf you have more rooms than this, Housing Benefit may not cover some of your rent and you will need to make up the difference yourself. You should contact your local housing benefit department to find out more information and make sure the property is right for you.
You will also need to think about how long you have to find somewhere and move. If you need to move within a short space of time you may wish to widen the areas you'd be happy to live in to give yourself more choice and a better chance of finding somewhere suitable.
CloseLetting and management agents
Agents manage properties on behalf of private landlords. Agents should not charge you to just to look for a property. If you find a property through an agent you will often be charged a fee - usually one third of a month's rent plus VAT. This fee may be non-refundable.
They will also require a deposit and up to two months rent in advance. Wiltshire Council cannot recommend individual letting and management agents but we can provide a list of local letting agents in Wiltshire.
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Charles Faye: 25 High Street, Calne SN11 0BS | 01249 822 555 |
Your Move: 1 Wood Street, Calne, SN11 0BZ | 01249 813 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Martin & Co.7 Market Place, Chippenham, SN15 3HD | 01249 460 783 |
Michael Antony: 7 New Road, Chippenham, SN15 1HH | 01249 653 000 |
Strakers: 33/34 Market Place, Chippenham, SN15 3HP | 01249 652 717 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Elliot Properties: 17 Pickwick Road, Corsham, SN13 9BQ | 01249 714 717 |
Strakers: 6 High Street, Corsham, SN13 0HB | 01249 712 039 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
M Lettings: 48 High Street, Cricklade, SN6 6DA | 01793 752 157 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Belvoir!: 19 High Street, Devizes, SN10 1AT | 01380 726 129 |
Philip O’Shea: 40 St John’s Street, Devizes, SN10 1BL | 01380 720 400 |
Strakers: 6/7 Market Place, Devizes, SN10 1HT | 01380 723 451 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Carter Jonas: 93 High Street, Marlborough, SN8 1HD | 01672 519 700 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Jayson Kent: 35 Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES | 01225 707 798 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Gem Estate & Lettings Agents: 1 Windsor Road, SP4 8AA | 01980 654 888 |
Letting Agent | Contact |
ATC Management: 167 Victorian Road, SN1 3BU | 01793 618 691 |
Market Right: 33/33 Commercial Road, SN1 5NS | 01793 618 691 |
McFarlane: 27/28 Devizes Road, Old Town, SN1 4BG | 01793 611 841 |
Orchard Properties: 28 Bath Road, Old Town, SN1 4BA | 01793 619 419 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Soul Residential: 7 Narrow Wine Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8EN | 01225 754198 |
Wright Residential: 44a Castle St., Trowbridge, BA14 8AY | 01225 755553 |
Northwood: 4 Fore Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8HD | 01225 763105 |
Complete Lettings: 11a Silver St., Trowbridge, BA14 8AA | 01225 760016 |
Layzell Property Lets: 7 Church St., Trowbridge, BA14 8DR | 01225 751819 |
WSB Group: 54 Castle Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8AU | 01225 716400 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Northwood: 8 Market Place, Warminster, BA12 8AN | 01985 220290 |
Upsalls: 70 Market Place, Warminster, BA12 9AW | 01985 847846 |
WSB Group: 44-46 Market Place, Warminster, BA12 9AN | 01298 215000 |
Letting Agent | Contact number |
Modern Lets: 54 Warminster Road, Westbury, BA13 3PF | 01373 824958 |
Smart Property: 12 Maristow Road, Westbury, BA13 3DN | 01373 826999 |
Davies & Davies: 12 High Street, Westbury, BA13 3BW | 01373 859944 |