Dealing with offers

The accommodation you are offered should be suitable for your needs. You are entitled to three reasonable offers of accommodation. You have two or three working days to decide if you want to accept the accommodation.

What is a reasonable offer?

The Housing Executive or housing association will decide if the accommodation is suitable. When making an offer the Housing Executive or housing association should consider the size, suitability and condition of the accommodation.

Size

The accommodation must be big enough for your household. If you only have overnight access to your children you will be offered two bedroom accommodation, even if you have more than one child. You should not be offered accommodation if it is too small for you and your family.

The Housing Executive has strict guidelines on overcrowding.

a room less than 3.7 square metres (40 square feet) is not suitable as a bedroom;
a room between 3.7 and 6.5 square metres (40 and 69 square feet) is only suitable for a child under 7;
a room between 6.5 and 9.3 square metres (70 and 99 square feet) is suitable for one person of any age, two people of the same sex under 18 or two children under 7;
a room over 9.3 square metres (100 square feet) is suitable for one person of any age, two people living as a couple, two people of the same sex under 18 or two children under 7.

A bedroom must have suitable headroom and should contain a bed and appropriate furniture. If you are over 18 or a lone parent, you will not be expected to share a bedroom. If a property has two reception rooms, one will be counted as a bedroom.

Suitability

The accommodation should be in a suitable location, and should usually be in one of your areas of choice. When offering you a house the Housing Executive or housing association should consider:

is it close to schools if you have children?
can you get essential support from friends or relatives?

The accommodation should also be suitable for your needs.

Condition

The accommodation should be safe for you to occupy after the Housing Executive or housing association offer it. It should be in a reasonable state of repair. You should not be offered accommodation if:

it is not structurally stable;
it has damp (not temporary condensation);
there is no lighting or heating;
there is no running water;
there is no sink with hot water in the kitchen;
there is no bath, shower or toilet;
the drains don't work properly.

I haven't been offered ground floor accommodation

You are only guaranteed to be offered ground floor accommodation if you (or a member of your family) was awarded more than six points for functionality.

You can still be offered ground floor accommodation if you scored less than six points. However, this is at the discretion of the Housing Executive or housing association.

Can I refuse an offer?

You are entitled to three reasonable offers of accommodation. If you refuse three reasonable offers you won't get any further offers for a year. Therefore, you should think carefully before you refuse an offer.

How long do I have before I can make a decision?

You will usually be given two or three working days to make a decision. The Housing Executive or housing association will assume that you have refused the offer if you don't reply within two or three days of receiving the offer.

If you are an applicant with complex needs you will usually be given more time to make your decision.

Multiple offers

The Housing Executive may sometimes offer a property to more than one person. The Housing Executive will usually only make multiple offers if:

the property has been empty for more than four weeks;
nobody has applied for it.

You will be given two or three working days to reply to the offer. If more than one applicant accepts, the Housing Executive will give the property to the applicant with the highest points score.

If you refuse a multiple offer it won't count as one of your three reasonable offers.

What do I have to do to start my tenancy?

Once you accept the offer you must sign up to become a tenant. This means that you must sign an acceptance slip with:

your name;
the address of your new accommodation;
the date your tenancy starts.

The Housing Executive should give you a copy of the acceptance slip after your sign it. You will need the acceptance slip when dealing with Northern Ireland Electricity. You should also be given:

a tenant's handbook
a housing benefit application form if you want to apply for housing benefit

What is an introductory tenancy?

Every new Housing Executive and housing association tenant becomes an introductory tenant for the first year of the tenancy. Introductory tenants have similar rights to normal tenants. However, it is easier for the Housing Executive or housing association to evict you if:

you are an introductory tenant;
the Housing Executive or housing association decides you are guilty of antisocial behaviour or you have rent arrears.

You can ask the Housing Executive to review the decision to start court proceedings. If the Housing Executive review decides that you should be evicted the court can't stop it.

You will become a regular Housing Executive tenant if the Housing Executive doesn't start court proceedings to evict you within a year of starting your tenancy. The Housing Executive can still evict you after you become a regular tenant. However, it is more difficult.