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The EDDC housing team says:

“You may have thought it is very hard to get a Council House, but in reality we are housing people faster than ever before.    Not long ago a housing applicant in East Devon would have had to wait 3-4 years to be housed by the Council or another Social Housing Provider.  Many of the households on our waiting list who are considered in greatest housing need are now housed within 6-12 months.

WHY?

Well, it is mainly down to having more new housing being built by Developers in East Devon.  As you know a proportion of all large developments must be affordable housing – shared ownership or rent.  Last year we had an additional 300 properties available and we expect around the same number of new affordable homes each year for the next 3-4 years.

Our work over the last few years with homeless households means there is less demand from those in greatest housing need.  We still need to let our homes, so we are looking more at offering homes to applicants in the lower priority bands. This means that many applicants registered for housing with Devon Home Choice in Bands C and D who thought they had no chance of being housed, now have a better chance.

Large housing developments in East Devon are providing more opportunities for households registered on Devon Home Choice who have an East Devon connection to get a new home.  We also have around 260 of our own homes available for letting each year – family homes, homes for single people and sheltered housing for those with a support need.

Many people may think we cannot help them and they won’t contact the Council.  But for now and the coming years we may be able to help more people who need housing in East Devon.   Your help is vital to us to get the message to our communities that there is more affordable housing available in East Devon and we would like to encourage more people to register for housing with the Council.  We cannot help everyone but some people who thought they had no chance of finding a rented home, may find that their chances have improved a little.”