If you live in a property with one or more spare bedroom you are classed as under occupying the property. If this is the case our lettings team can help you move to a smaller property more suitable to your needs, we maybe able to help with your removal costs.

However, we also understand that sometimes personal circumstances change and your current home may no longer meet your needs as it used to:

• Your home may have more bedrooms than you need
• You may be suffering financial hardship due to the 'bedroom tax'
• You may be concerned about heating bills, cleaning a large home or about looking after a large garden
• You may have a disability or other special requirements which could be better met by a move to an adapted or purpose-built property.
• You may wish to be closer to family, or friends

We want to help you find the most appropriate home for your needs and we understand that moving is a costly business.  In addition, there is a growing demand for family-sized accommodation in Shropshire and we want to help as many families as possible who have applied to us for housing.

Incentives to assist you with your move we can offer you up to:

• £750 if you are giving up one-bedroom (for example moving from a three-bedroom property to a two-bedroom, or a two-bedroom to a one-bedroom)
• £1000 if you are giving up two or more rooms (for example, moving from a four-bedroom property to a two-bedroom, or a three-bedroom to a one-bedroom)

The cash incentive includes help towards removal costs and you may use it to purchase any item required in your new home, such as carpets and curtains. The amount payable is at our discretion and we would take into account:

1. The size of the property you are moving out of
2. our specific circumstances
3. The condition of the property you move from, including unreasonable costs incurred by Shropshire Council for clearing the property.

Normally we would only pay a downsizing cash incentive once. However, further incentives may be available at our discretion depending on your circumstances.

You will not be entitled to the downsizers’ incentive if you are moving into a new build property, or if you are a flexible tenant being rehoused due to under occupation.

How it all works

To be eligible for the incentive scheme you have to be a secure tenant of Shropshire Council and living in a property with two or more bedrooms. If you are interested, please contact our Lettings Team. We will talk to you to discuss options and how best to proceed.

If you need help we have dedicated staff who can support you through the entire process of moving, from expressing an interest to finally settling into your new home. You should be registered with Shropshire Home Point, which is Shropshire's scheme for letting Council and housing association properties. If you are not already registered with Home Point we can help you do this and will show you how to ‘bid’ for accommodation you might be interested in moving to. We also have discretion to move a tenant who is under occupying to another property without having to go through Home Point; this is known as a direct let. Any tenant applying for a move to a smaller property will be given gold banding on the Home Point list which means that your chances of a quick move to the property of your choice will be very good.

Once you are offered a property you will be able to view it and decide finally whether you wish to go ahead with the move.

For more information on how you would qualify for additional support, or if you are interested in downsizing please contact our Lettings Team