If you want to find out whether you're eligible for council housing, need advice on your housing options, or want to apply for a school place, we can help.
Schools
If you've recently been discharged from the Armed Forces and are moving to Hertfordshire, please visit our schools admissions pages for advice on how to apply for a school place for your child.
Children's Services
Children's Services can guide you through the process of applying for a school place and explain the application processes to you.
If an application for an in year place is accompanied by an official MOD, FCO or GCHQ1 letter declaring a relocation date, a school place can be arranged in advance of the relocation.
Addresses of UK service personnel and crown servants
We understand that families of UK service personnel and other crown servants can move more frequently.
When you apply, please include an official letter from either:
- Ministry of Defence (MOD)
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
- Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
The letter must give your relocation date and a unit postal or quartering address in Hertfordshire which will be used for the application.
If the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares the relocation date but does not provide a quartering or unit address (because the family will be residing in private accommodation) the application will still be considered. In these cases, if the family doesn't already have a permanent private address in Hertfordshire, the military base or alternative "work" address in Hertfordshire will be used for allocation purposes.
Service Children in Schools
State schools, academies and free schools in England, which have children of service families in school years reception to year 11, can receive the Service Pupil Premium funding. It is designed to assist the school in providing the additional support that these children may need. Service personnel with children (reception to year 11) in state schools in England should notify schools of their children’s service status to ensure they are recorded prior to the next autumn census (first Thursday in October) in order to qualify for Service pupil premium. More information available on the Government’s website.
Advice for schools on Service Pupil Premium from Service Children’s Progression (SCiP) Alliance
The Thriving Lives Toolkit is a free evidence-based framework of seven principles to assess, develop and implement a support structure to best allow Service children to thrive. Underpinned by rigorous research and thoroughly tested in school, the Thriving Lives Toolkit interactive platform provides schools with a framework of 7 principles through which to reflect on their practice in supporting Service children and a 3-tier set of CPD resources.
Housing contacts
Depending on the district you're in, the rules are slightly different, so please search to find your nearest housing contact.
Paying for housing costs
If you are in receipt of:
- any war disablement pension
- any guaranteed income payment under the AFCS (Armed Forces Compensation Scheme)
- and any war widows/widowers/civil partner payments
This income will be disregarded in full when assessing entitlement to housing and council tax benefit. Contact your local council for more information.
Local Connection
Housing law means that local authorities in England can't disqualify a member of the Armed Forces, Reserve Forces, Regular Forces from the housing register if they don't have a local connection. This applies to:
- People who are serving in the regular forces or have done so in the five years preceding their application
- Bereaved spouses or civil partners of those serving in the regular forces where their spouse or partner’s dead is attributable (wholly or partly) to their service and the spouse or partner can no longer live in service accommodation
- Seriously injured, ill or disabled reservists (or former reservists) whose injury, illness or disability is attributable (wholly or partly) to their service.
Local Connection (The Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Armed Forces) (England) Regulations 2012)
A member of the armed forces can have a local connection to the area they have been posted to.
Additional advice is available Shelter Legal England - Local authority help for homeless veterans - Shelter England.
Additional Preference
Some veterans must be given additional preference on the housing register. This does not mean that these veterans will always be placed in the highest band.
Additional Preference (The Housing Act 1996 (Additional Preference for Armed Forces) (England) Regulations 2012)