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Register for housing

Sign in to your account

If you already have a housing portal account, you can go straight to our log in page.
We are consulting on the Dorset Council Housing Allocation Policy for 2026 to 2031, find out more about the updated housing allocation scheme and have your say. The consultation closes on 24 August 2025.

1. Check if you are eligible to be on the housing register

Finding your own home, such as renting privately, is often the fastest solution for most. This is because:

  • there are more than 6000 people on our register, waiting for housing
  • we have to follow a legal system to prioritise them by housing need
  • there are more people with the highest housing needs added every month
  • even those in the highest need often have to wait a long time to be offered housing

Use our pre-application check to find out if you qualify for and are eligible to get accepted on to the register.

You can read more about how our bands are assigned and our eligibility criteria in our policy.

2. Completing the application and gathering evidence

You may need to provide certain documents to support your application.

We will not process your application until it is complete, and all evidence is supplied.

Read more about the evidence you may need to supply and your next steps.

3. Log in to your account or update your details

You will need an account to log in. To get an account, you will need to gather evidence and apply.

Already have an account?

If you already have an account for our housing register, you can go straight to our log in page.

When you are logged in, you can update any information about yourself.

It is very important that you tell us of any changes in your circumstances so that we can reassess your banding.

New applications

There is currently a 9 week wait for new applications to be assessed.

If you are accepted, we will tell you which housing need band you are in.

Once you know which band you are in, you can bid on properties.

You can read more about how our bands are assigned in our policy.

4. See and bid for properties

When you have received notification that your application has been accepted you can begin to bid for properties.

You can check the status of your application by logging in to your account.

Request a review

You can ask us to look again at some decisions made on your housing register application. This is called asking for a ‘review’.

You must ask for a review within 21 days of being notified of the decision. This usually means 21 days from when you receive the formal decision letter or email.

Find out more about how to get a decision reviewed.

Make a comment, compliment or complaint

We believe in continuously improving our services please tell us if you have a comment, compliment or complaint.