When choosing a property to bid for, you need to consider a number of things. You can ask your council or your landlord if any of these circumstances apply to you.
Can I bid for properties in an area I'm not registered in?
Yes, sometimes. If a council opens up a property to bids from people registered in other areas, they will advertise it as a ‘cross boundary property’. When available these will appear at the bottom of the list of properties you can see when you log into the website or on your printed property list, if you receive one. You can bid on these
properties in the normal way if they match your
assessed need.
Is the property available to homeseekers, transfers, or both?
Most properties will be available for both homeseekers and transfer applicants, and the adverts will display the ‘H/T’ icon. But if you do see an advert with a ‘H’ or a ‘T’ icon, this means only homeseekers (‘H’) or transfer applicants (‘T’) can bid. Your bid will not count, for example, if you
are a Homeseeker and you bid on a property advertised only for transfer applicants.
Is there an age restriction on some properties?
Yes. Some properties have a minimum age requirement, for example in some schemes for older people. In the magazine, if an age restriction icon appears on the advert you can only bid on these properties if you are in that age range.
Some properties have a mobility group symbol
This is intended to provide a guide to people who have various levels of mobility need. Priority will usually be given to those who have a need for this type of property.
Pets
Some landlords will not allow you to keep a cat or a dog unless the property has its own garden. If you have a pet, please check with the landlord.
Before you bid for a property:
Check out the location of the property on a map to make sure it's really a place you would consider moving to, and make sure you meet the criteria stated in the advert.
Circumstances where you may not be invited to view a property:
- you are in rent arrears
- you have been involved in anti-social behaviour
- in exceptional circumstances, eg: where the offer would conflict with the council’s objectives to ensure offers are sensitively made and that properties are let quickly
You can ask at your housing office or your landlord if any of these circumstances apply to you. You can also ask your council to review the decision to exclude you from the scheme at any time.
What sort of tenancy will I be granted?
If you are a homeseeker being offered a council property, your council may offer you a Secure Tenancy straight away, or they may offer you an Introductory Tenancy to start with.
An introductory tenancy is a 12-month trial period during which your council or housing association will make sure that new tenants act responsibly and follow the conditions of the tenancyu agreement. If there are no problems during the trial period, the introductory tenancy automatically becomes a secure tenancy. Introductory tenants who transfer within the introductory period will remain introductory tenants for the remainder of the 12 months. (Contact your council to find out what sort of tenancy you would be offered).
Everyone being offered a housing association property, whether a homeseeker or transfer applicant will normally be offered an Assured Tenancy with the association, or a Starter Tenancy, which lasts for 12 months: if the Starter Tenancy is conducted satisfactorily over during this time it will be converted into a permanent Assured Tenancy.
Affordable Rented properties
The Government has introduced a new and more flexible form of social housing, known as Affordable Rent, which will be offered by housing associations on some of the properties advertised through Homemove. These properties will be advertised with rents set at no more than 80% of the local market rent. Tenants who bid and are successful on these types of properties will be offered a flexible tenancy which will last for a minimum of five years. Please make sure you look carefully at the advert
before you bid to see what type of tenancy is being
offered. In the banner in each advert it will say Affordable Rent or Social Rent. If you have
any questions about a property you can contact the
landlord of the property.