Residential landlords in Kent will have their properties included on a listings service as part of a new way of allocating social housing.
It is being introduced by Swale Borough Council to make letting arrangements clearer and easier for people to apply in all of Kent's district council areas.
Under the new Choice-Based Lettings scheme, applicants in Swale have more choice and a greater say in the process of selecting their home. Applicants can see how many properties there are in Swale that meet their requirements and are available, and can also see who is successful in bidding for similar types of properties.
Alaine Bunce, Swale Borough Council's Homeless and Housing Development Manager, said: “Choice-Based Lettings is a more accountable, transparent way of offering social housing. It mirrors the way that people look for homes to buy or rent privately, and ensures that people make more educated decisions about where they want to live because they can clearly see what types of properties are available in each area of Swale.”
Applicants who are already on the housing register will have their existing application automatically transferred on to the new scheme and will not need to reapply.
From November 2008 onwards, residents will be able to view all the properties available online at www.kenthomechoice.org.uk or in the Kent Homechoicemagazine, which is published every two weeks and can be picked up from Swale Borough Council's district offices, Swale Housing, Citizens' Advice Bureau or one of the seven libraries in Swale.
The full details of every property in Swale available for letting that fortnight will be listed, along with information on how many bedrooms each property has, what the rent is, who the landlord is, and if there are any restrictions on the property (for example, no pets). Kent Homechoice also includes details of the size of the family that it would suit, whether it is reserved for people who need ground floor accommodation or wheelchair access, or if it is accommodation for people over 55 years old.
Applicants can express an interest by 'bidding' for properties that they are eligible for and that they would like to be considered for. This can be done online at www.kenthomechoice.org.uk, by phone, by text message, or by post, using the coupon that is available in Kent Homechoice and on the website.
Every bid made is registered, along with the applicant's details from the housing register. The information is used to create a shortlist of applications for the property and the applicant with the highest priority need is then offered the property. In any two-weekly bidding cycle, applicants can bid for up to three properties. A bidding cycle begins when the free Kent Homechoice list is published. The latest that applicants can make a bid in any cycle is one week after the publication date on the front page.
It is possible to check how many bids each property received and from which band the successful bidder was placed on www.kenthomechoice.org.uk. This information will also be published every fortnight in the Kent Homechoice magazine.
