Click the green 'Register' button at the top right of the screen, that will take you to our online pre-assessment and housing application form. If you are eligible to apply, don't forget to send us any supporting information we ask for so that your application can be properly assessed.

The houses we advertise are mainly from the council and housing associations so, by law, we have to check that you are eligible to apply for social housing. We also have to make sure we allocate tenancies fairly. By registering, it provides us with the information we need to assess your housing situation in line with our Allocation Policy and make sure that those who have the greatest need are given priority for housing.

Once you have submitted your application, it can take between up to 6 weeks for it to be assessed. You will be asked for supporting information before a decision can be made on your eligibility to the register. When a decision has been made, you will be sent an email which will explain your banding, bedroom need. Only contact us if you haven’t heard from us within 8 weeks.

You will be unable to start bidding on properties until your application has been assessed. When you receive the decision letter from us stating that your application has been made live, you will then be able to login to your application and start bidding for properties.

Please include details of your medical condition/s in your application. If we need any further information, we will get in touch with you to discuss this

Read the Allocations Policy and see what we take into account when we assess your banding as detailed in your email confirming that you have been accepted onto the Homesearch register. If you still think your band is incorrect, then email us to discuss your application further with the reasons why you think the assessment is incorrect.

If you login to your account, you'll see a 'Have your circumstances changed?' button. If you click that, you can complete a new application form, updating any information which may have changed and submitting it at the end. After submitting this to us you will be unable to bid until your application has been re-assessed, since your changes may make a difference to your banding or bedroom need. Please upload any documents to verify the changes you have informed us about as this will speed up the process of the re-assessment. E.g had a baby upload the baby's birth certificate, a new job, upload a copy of your contract.

You need to sign in first (if you are logging in for the first time you use the email and password you used when applying for housing). Once you have logged in, you should click 'View Homes' to see what properties you are eligible for. Click on the advert of any properties you want to bid on, check the details on the advert and make sure it's a property you're interested in, and click the 'Place Bid' button.

That depends upon the type of property you need and where you would like to live. See the feedback section opposite for more information on previous properties. Properties in New Forest are in very short supply and many applicants will face an indefinite wait.

If you do not have an email address you can create one using one of the following links:

• Hotmail
• Gmail
• Yahoo

You can contact your Local Authority using the details on the Contact Page to discuss this further