Accommodation guide
Various accommodation schemes available to workers in Oxfordshire are outlined in Oxfordshire County Council's online accommodation guide called Finding a home in Oxfordshire: A guide for workers in the county.
Housing register
If you need to move to Cherwell district in order to take up or continue with employment as a key worker in Oxfordshire you may be eligible for an allocation of social housing through our housing register.
Those needing to move to take up or continue in a permanent key worker role will usually be awarded a ‘Band 2’ which is a ‘significant priority’ for housing. In order to apply you must complete an online Homechoice application form.
Key workers can include (but are not limited to):
- NHS staff (all clinical staff)
- Support workers in health roles (including care assistants, maternity support workers, nursing assistants, occupational therapy assistants, physiotherapy assistants)
- Adult social care roles (including day care assistants, domiciliary care workers, nursing assistants in nursing homes or hospices, residential care workers)
- Local authority and Government agency workers (including social workers, occupational therapists, rehabilitation officers)
- Fire and rescue staff (including uniformed fire and rescue staff below principal level)
- Teachers and lecturers (including qualified teachers, nursery nurses, lecturers at further education colleges and some support staff at universities)
- Police and probation officers (including police officers, community support officers, probation service officers, prison officers)
- Ministry of Defence staff (including service personnel in the Navy, Army or Air Force, clinical staff)
Securing housing through our housing register will take time and some people may not qualify based on their total household income, immigration status or previous tenancy issues such as anti-social behaviour or large rent arrears. If your key worker role is in Oxfordshire but is not within Cherwell, you must have another local connection to Cherwell district. Our Allocation Scheme gives full details about who will qualify to join.
Key worker specific housing
A2Dominion is a social housing provider that offers some housing specifically for key workers, including shared housing. Rents are typically lower than the price you would pay on the open market through a letting agent.
Visit the A2Dominion website for more information and to view advertised properties. There are other key worker specific housing schemes available in the county that are outlined in Oxfordshire County Council's accommodation guide.
Home ownership
If you have a small deposit, you may wish to explore options to buy using the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme or through Shared Ownership. See the Help to Buy South website for more information about the Equity Loan and Shared Ownership options in Cherwell as well as other options such as Rent to Buy.
Our housing options pages also have more information about buying your own home including self-build and custom build options.
Private renting and Key Worker Bond Scheme
We operate a Key Worker Bond Scheme to help key workers with the cost of paying the deposit for private rented accommodation. Our housing options pages also have more information about finding private rented accommodation in the district.