How choice based lettings works
River Clyde Homes uses a choice-based approach to letting homes as we believe it offers greater choice for applicants and can help support tenancy sustainability as applicants do not just have a home picked by our staff.
When awarding housing priority, we still have to consider the reasonable preference groups set out in law and decide what provision to make for different types and levels of need within each category.
With a choice based approach the applicant is able to take the initiative in securing a house that meets their needs by searching the list of vacant homes available weekly and choosing to place a ‘bid’ against up to three homes each week.
We advertise vacant homes each Friday and applicants have until midnight the following Thursday (bid closing date) to place a bid for those that they consider meet their preferences and needs.
Once you have placed a bid, you will be shown an 'estimated' bidding position. This position is estimated as it may change throughout the bidding period according to other applicants placing a bid or withdrawing bids. Even if your position is shown as 1st, this is no guarantee that you will be made the offer. There are various reasons for this such as: as we need to check details on your application are correct, will confirm that you have been paying regularly towards any debts that you owe us, seek a tenancy reference form your current or former landlords or the home many be subject to one our our quotas or targets.
On the closing date, at the end of each bidding period, a list of all bids received for each advertised property is drawn up and an offer is made to the applicant with the highest level of priority for that particular home.
If more than one applicant has the same priority, the applicant who has had the priority need for the longest time would be offered the property. The longest time is counted from the date when the applicant is approved for the priority need and not the date when they originally applied for housing.
Support for applicants
To maximise an applicant’s chances of housing using Choice Based Letting, applicants should keep their housing circumstances up-to-date, check what’s available each week and place bids. As this is done online, some applicants will find this difficult and we have a range of support to help. This includes:
Hard copy of each week's lists available at local venues and with our partners such as Inverclyde Council.
Our Customer Experience Team are available by telephone: 01475 788887 or email: [email protected].
They can tell applicants what’s available and place bids on request.