To live in our almshouses, you must:
- usually be aged 65 or over
- have lived in Southwark for 3 years before you apply
- have a low income and limited capital
- be able to live independently with help from carers if necessary
We will ask for evidence that all applicants meet our eligibility criteria and will also carry out home visits before offering an almshouse to any applicant. As we only have a small number of vacancies each year, we strongly advise applicants to explore alternative housing options alongside their almshouse application, and we only select new residents based on their housing need at the time of appointment and not necessarily in time order.
We encourage applicants to consider accepting properties in either one of our almshouses and to visit the almshouses before taking up an appointment. All successful applicants will receive a letter of appointment and become beneficiaries of the charity. We would like to make clear that almshouse residents are not tenants and pay weekly maintenance charges, not rent. The weekly maintenance charges may be paid by Housing Benefit if the resident is eligible to receive it.
If you are not sure if you meet our eligibility criteria or to find out more, contact the Head of Housing, Jude Leighton on 0207 089 9014 or jleighton@ustsc.org.uk for advice and an informal discussion.
If you are interested in becoming a resident:
- click here for the resident’s application form for St Saviour’s Court (Purley) and Hopton’s (Bankside) and either apply online or download a resident’s application form.
- Please note we are not currently accepting applications or expressions of interest for Appleby Blue almshouse.
