Downsize and find a new home

If you live in a council home and have 1 or more spare bedrooms, you may consider moving to a smaller cheaper home. 

You might downsize your home because:

• you’ve had your Housing Benefit reduced
• your children have left home and you no longer need the extra bedrooms
• your heating bills have gone up and it’s harder to heat your home
• you’re finding the stairs difficult
• you’d like to move nearer to family or friends

You can downsize through our Smart Move scheme. 

Incentives for downsizing

Once registered with Smart Move you’ll be placed in the highest priority band to choose your new home. 

This means you’ll have a good chance of getting the home you want.

If you’re a council tenant you’ll also get:

• an incentive payment of £1,000 for each bedroom that you give up
• a moving allowance to help with relocation costs

If you're above Pension Credit age

If you're above Pension Credit age you're allowed to apply for an extra bedroom if you need it. 

For example, if you’re moving from a 3-bed home, but only need 1 bedroom, you can still apply for a 2-bed home. 

If you’re below Pension Credit age you can only apply for the appropriate number of bedrooms for you and any family members.

Ask about downsizing

Get in touch with us about downsizing.