Council tenancy
If you are interested in becoming a council tenant, please visit our choice-based letting website, Homes 4 Wiltshire (opens new window), where you can find information about making an application for housing.
Council tenants may wish to transfer to another property for a number of reasons, for example - 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, Homes4Wiltshire. To apply for a transfer please visit the choice-based lettings site (opens new window).
Council tenants can move by exchange, with the consent of the council, by finding another tenant who wishes to exchange their home with them.
The council is keen to encourage exchanges, 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 (opens new window) and you can therefore apply to exchange with a tenant in any part of the country. To read more about how to exchange properties see our fact sheet about Applying for an exchange.
If 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 disabled people
*We work alongside the Homes4Wiltshire allocation policy which states tenants must meet the criteria for the size of property they are wishing to exchange with in line with the guidelines below. This is to ensure full occupancy of properties and to reduce those under occupying properties, making the best use of housing stock.
- one bedroom per couple or single person
- one bedroom for any other adult aged 16 or over regardless of sex
- one bedroom for two children aged under 16 years of same sex
- one bedroom for each child aged 10-15 years of different sex
- one bedroom per two children aged less than 10 years old regardless of sex
- an extra bedroom for an applicant who requires overnight care
- any disabled child who for medical reasons requires their own bedroom (please supply proof).
As the above regulations do not apply to those over pensionable age, those over pensionable age will be able to apply for either a 1 or 2 bedroom property.
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 (opens new window) 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 (opens new window) service.
More information on our Right to buy page.
More information on our Ending a council tenancy page.
The purpose of the letting standard is to ensure that all vacant homes are clean and in a satisfactory state of repair before being let to a new tenant.
Our guarantee
Our inspection will ensure that every home we offer for letting is fully checked and passed as:
- safe
- secure
- clean
- in good condition
- with all services in working order.
When we let properties, we ask people to fill in a Housing letting satisfaction survey so that we can ensure a high quality of service. This can be found in our 'useful information' section.
If you would like full details of the Letting Standard, please see Our Letting Standard - the condition of our properties when we let them on our factsheet page.
For more information see our Subletting and lodging page.
Your tenancy agreement is your contract with Wiltshire Council. It sets out the responsibilities and rights that both you and the council have.
The tenancy agreement lets you live in a property as long as you pay rent and abide by the obligations it sets out.
More details can be found in the tenants handbook in the useful information section.
Tenants are reminded that although the council is responsible for the structure of all its properties, the responsibility for the contents rests with you.
You should make sure that you have sufficient insurance cover for all your possessions, furnishings, etc. This may cost less than you think. Remember to read the information from any insurer carefully, as many will insist on certain conditions which, if ignored, may invalidate any claim.
The council operates its own home contents insurance scheme which is available to all Wiltshire Council tenants and is arranged through Aviva. The scheme offers 'new-for-old' insurance and has special low, minimum insured sums starting from £4,000 up to £40,000). Prices start from 36p per week (prices inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax). If you would like more information or to apply for the home contents scheme for Wiltshire Council tenants, contact us to discuss. You will need a clear rent account to apply for this scheme.
To learn how to make a complaint, visit making a complaint.
To view Wiltshire Council Housing's self assessment of compliance to the Complaint Handling code: Paper 10. HRA Complaints - Appendix C - Housing Ombudsman Service Self-Assessment (July2024) (PDF, 295 KB)(opens new window).
To satisfy the requirement under paragraph 8.2 of the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) Code, we have provided a copy of our annual complaints' performance and service improvement report:Annual Complaints Report 2023-24 (PDF, 485 KB)(opens new window). We are required to report this to the landlord's governing body (or equivalent), and it must be published on the section of our website relating to complaints. The governing body's response to the report must be published alongside this. The minutes for the Housing Board meeting held on 25 September 2024 note the following:
The Democracy and Complaints Manager explained that the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) had contacted the council to highlight some compliance technicalities: the performance report was not on the website (the council suggests this is wrong); that it was not considered by the Housing Board; and that the discussion (minutes) were not published alongside it. The paper is being presented this evening to address this matter. Members will note that the scope of the paper is broader than merely Housing Management Services, rather it includes all areas of the council.
Participants noted an increase in complaints for housing and noted the usefulness of the chart. Engaging with tenants is encouraged. The Chairman queried if the data presented was solely and exclusively in relation to Housing Management Services which is the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) or if it included different service areas which could fall under the title 'housing', for example, homelessness prevention or Homes4Wiltshire which is the choice-based lettings system. The Democracy and Complaints Manager directed attendees to paragraphs 36 to 40 as these related specifically to the HRA. The Chairman noted the improvements in the HRA around the complaints process.
For some members, there was a desire to focus on 'service requests' which were previously discussed as being 'informal complaints' that were being rebadged. If a request is made for a service to be carried out but there has not been a request for this already received by the HRA, then this would be treated as a 'service request' rather than a complaint. This could be impacted by HRA record keeping. The service needs to avoid using terminology like 'informal complaints', to ensure compliance with the HOS Code. There were concerns over forcing complaints to be treated as 'service requests' when an individual has said they want to make a complaint. For some members, it was concerning when they compared the complaints data with the TSM data. For some members, it was challenging to comment in detail without being provided with the complaint detail. Other HRA reports presented to the Housing Board will provide more granular details on HRA complaint themes or issues, rather than this council-wide report.
Officers anticipated the number of complaints would increase as there has been a campaign to make sure residents know how to complain if they want to do so, and work undertaken in the HRA has ensured that we are capturing the complaints for reporting purposes. Upheld data was for the service rather than the HOS.
The Head of Service highlighted that monthly complaints meetings are held with managers to review open cases and ensure their smooth stewardship through the complaints process. Managers discuss the cases and actions undertaken and check to ensure that the 'service request' category is not exploited to artificially reduce complaint levels. The Head of Service is personally involved in Stage 2 complaints (where an HRA complaint outcome is challenged by the complainant) to understand the position taken by the corporate Complaints Team. This also assists in diagnosing problems, if there are any, within the HRA.
In the Microsoft Teams chat, a member was "Asking a point of clarification - can a customer complain at corporate level and service level?" An officer replied: "Yes". Another officer added: "There is one council-wide formal complaints procedure. Stage 1 is a response from the service; Stage 2 is a further response from the corporate Complaints team having reviewed the matter." The first officer then continued: "Complaints can arrive directly to the service or via [the corporate] complaints team. They are handled by the service accordingly."
The Board agreed (7 supporting, 0 against, 0 abstentions):
- For the complaints' performance report, now having been formally considered, and the accompanying discussion from the Housing Board minutes, including whilst they are formally draft minutes, to be published on our website in order that the Housing Revenue Account complies with the expectations of the Housing Ombudsman Service.
- To receive a note from the Democracy and Complaints Manager about the number of Housing Ombudsman Service cases, in relation to Wiltshire Council's Housing Revenue Account, that are upheld.
After Board meeting: the Democracy and Complaints Manager has provided the following:
| Financial year | % |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 28% |
| 2023/24 | 40% |
It should be noted that the figure for 2022/23 relates to complaints about the HRA and Housing Options (non-HRA), whereas for 2023/24 it is for the HRA complaints only, as the Complaints Team began separating the data. With that being said, in 2022/23, 70% of the combined complaints were about HRA matters.
After exhausting our internal complaints procedure, if you are still not happy with the outcome of your complaint you can raise it with the Housing Ombudsman Service (opens new window). Wiltshire Council is a member of this service. On the Housing Ombudsman webpage you can hover over the Landlords tab and click on the Complaints Handling Code and/or Housing Ombudsman scheme documents, for more information.
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