Rural initiative
Under the rural initiative, you will be given priority if you have a local connection to the village where the home is. If no one with a local connection is interested, we will consider anyone who is registered with North Yorkshire Home Choice.
This does not apply to properties in Selby Town and Tadcaster.
We decide that someone has a local connection and they qualify for local lettings if:
- they currently live in the village and have lived there for six of the last 12 months
- they have lived in the village for at least three out of the last five years
- they are employed in the village - employment is defined as permanent full or part-time; not casual or seasonal
- they have an essential need to live close to another person, to provide or receive care or support, and that person has lived in the village for the last five years
- they have a close family member who has lived in the village for the last five years: mother, father, adult son, adult daughter, adult brother, adult sister
- they need to move to the village, when not doing so would cause hardship
Local lettings criteria
In line with the North Yorkshire Home Choice allocations policy, local lettings initiatives may be introduced to respond to local housing need and demand within a specific build or area.
They are used to ensure best management of housing stock supporting rural and city areas regarding demand and affordability and ensuring balanced sustainable communities. Where there is a specific planning agreement, advertised properties will refer to a section 106 planning agreement. This will provide the criteria that must be met to enable a bid for housing advertised.
Qualifying criteria
You will be given priority if you have a local connection to the local parish.
We decide someone has a local connection if:
- they currently live in the parish and have lived there for six out of the last 12 months
- they have lived within the parish for at least three years out of the last five years
- they are employed in the parish - employment is defined as permanent full or part-time, not casual or seasonal
- they have an essential need to live close to another person, to provide or receive care or support, and that person has lived in the parish for the last five years
- they have a close family member who has lived in the parish for the last 5 years: mother, father, adult son, adult daughter, adult brother, adult sister
- they need to move to the parish, when not doing so would cause hardship
If no one with a local connection is interested, we will consider people with a connection to the wider Selby area before the whole North Yorkshire Home Choice partnership.
