New Housing Allocations Policy
East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) has introduced a new Housing Allocations Policy and will be bringing management of the Housing Register and Lettings Service back in-house from 1 December 2026. Trent & Dove currently manages the service on the Council's behalf.
Most people who would like to be considered for housing under the new system will need to submit a new application.
There's nothing you need to do right now.
If you're currently registered on the Housing Register, ESBC will contact you directly to explain what these changes mean for you and whether you need to take any action.
Key dates
- 1 September 2026 - Applications open for the new ESBC Housing Register.
- 1 September to 30 November 2026 - The current Housing Register will continue to operate as normal, and homes will continue to be advertised and allocated.
- 1 December 2026 - ESBC takes over management of the Housing Register and Lettings Service, and the new Housing Register goes live.
New allocations policy requirements
The Council's new Housing Allocations Policy introduces a managed Housing Register. This means that applicants will need to:
- Have an identified housing need
- Meet local connection requirements
- Meet the Council's eligibility and qualification criteria
Priority will be given to households with the greatest housing need.
Please note that current priority bands will not automatically transfer to the new Housing Register, and some applicants may not qualify under the new policy.
Current Housing Register
You can continue to use the current Housing Register until 1 December 2026.
Links to the existing Housing Register will be updated and further information will be provided closer to the transition date.
For more information about the forthcoming changes, including frequently asked questions, visit ESBC's Housing Allocations webpage.
Homes outside East Staffordshire
We also have homes in South Derbyshire, Lichfield District Council and North West Leicestershire. If you'd like a home in one of these areas, please register directly with the relevant local authority. They'll pass your details to us and, if you're successfully matched to a Trent & Dove property, you'll be nominated by the local authority.
How to bid on homes
Homes available through Trent & Dove are advertised on our Find a Home page. If you're registered and have a bidding number, you can express your interest in available properties there.
Find out how bidding works and view available homes.
If you disagree with a decision (until 1 December 2026)
If you're unhappy with a decision about your housing application, you have the right to request a review. This could include decisions about your eligibility, priority band or how your application has been assessed.
You should request a review in writing within 21 days of receiving your decision. A senior officer who was not involved in the original decision will review your case and let you know the outcome.
For full details of the review process, please read our Lettings Policy.
Already living in a social housing home?
If you're already a social housing tenant and would like to move, you can use HomeSwapper to swap homes with another social housing customer. It's often a quicker way to move than joining a housing register.
Living in a Trent & Dove home
If you are successful in securing a property, our lettings team will walk you through our tenancy agreement which outlines the roles and responsibilities of Trent & Dove as your landlord, and you as our tenant. A simplified version of a Tenancy Agreement can be found here.
Current developments
Our development team are always busy building new homes to help meet demand.
