Homechoice

Advertising Properties

Properties are advertised each week. They are advertised in the following ways:

• Via Property Search on this website.
• If you have an active application on the housing register, you will see properties available for bidding when you log in to HomeChoice during advert cycles.

The adverts tell you the landlord, location, size, rent and other features of the property to help you decide which properties are right for you.

The advert also tells you if there are any special requirements that the applicant must meet, such as age requirements, adaptation requirements, which band will be given priority for the property, etc. If you are not in the band stated you may still be able to apply for the property providing it is suitable for your family size.

A range of symbols are used to tell you about the property.

 

			The number of bedrooms in the property
			The property advertised is in Sheltered Housing
			The minimum or maximum age that an applicant must be to apply for the property (age restriction will be displayed within the icon when viewed on the website, posters or the Newsletter)
			The property has a garden
			Off road parking is available at the property
			The property is wheelchair accessible, has been adapted or meets a mobility standard requirement and priority will be given to households assessed with these needs. (Please note, the icon will often contain one of five letterings; A, B, C, D, or E. This relates to the type of mobility requirement the property meets).

Expressing Your Interest in a Property

To apply for a property you must tell us that you wish to be considered for it. You may only apply for a property that is suitable for your family size. Click Step One-Registration for the maximum number of bedrooms that you are entitled to.
You can express your interest or "bid", as it is also known, in one of the following ways:

• Online through our website.
• By telephoning our housing support team on 01268 882330.
• Or see your HomeChoice Guide sent with your Banding letter for more options on how to bid using our automated telephone service or text messaging service.

Properties are advertised for four days, from Thursday to midnight on Sunday every week and this is known as the "advert cycle". Please note it is not "first come first served" and you can place a bid at any time during this period. For each property you bid on, the system automatically places you in a queue position based on your Band and your Effective Date. Queue positions are subject to change and it is only once the advert cycle ends that your queue position finally settles.

You can place a maximum of 3 bids per advert cycle. Bids cannot be placed after midnight on a Sunday. You will only be able to bid for a property that is suitable for your family size and meets your household needs.

If you place a bid on a property, and are high on the short-list, you SHOULD expect to be available to potentially take a call from us on the Monday or Tuesday following the advert cycle, in order to arrange an accompanied viewing.  Should you be one of the first three eligible applicants to be considered for a viewing, and you are not available to take our call, you could be skipped, and therefore miss the opportunity to both view and be offered the property. 

Properties Currently Available

To find out the properties currently available click Property Search.

If the HomeChoice site is showing that you are not eligible for any properties, this just means that there are no properties available that particular week that meet your housing or bedroom need. As Castle Point is a small borough with limited social housing stock, it is quite common for this to be the case. The properties available each week differ and due to the lack of housing, we cannot guarantee a variety of properties each week. We can only advise that you login every week to check for properties and bid on all that you can when they are available.

Helping You to Use the Service

If you would like help to use our service please contact our housing support team on 01268 882330 for more information. However please be advised, although our housing support team can assist with general enquiries, they are not available to assist in completing online forms. If you need help to fill in the online form you can contact Peabody outreach support service, who can provide assistance. Please contact them on Tel: 0800 28 888 83 or Email: efsco-ordinator@peabody.org.uk