The lettings process
If you are offered a property, here is what you can expect to happen.
Property Offer
When a property advert ends, we receive a list of everyone who has bid for the property, sorted in order of their housing priority and suitability for the property. We will offer the property to the first suitable applicant on the list. As the property is still occupied by the outgoing tenant when the advert ends, it may be a few weeks before the first applicant is contacted.
If you are being offered a property we will contact you to let you know. We may contact you by phone or by email (if you have an email address) but we will always follow this up with an offer letter which gives you lots of information about the property being offered, including confirmation of the rent charge. You can then let us know whether you want to view the property or whether you would like to refuse the offer. If you don’t respond, this will be considered as a refusal of the offer.
We will look to verify some of the information you provided on your application at this stage. You may be asked to provide evidence of your identity (like a passport or driving licence) and proof of your current address (like a utility bill) if you have not already provided this. We will verify that you are still entitled to the priority band that you were awarded previously. We will also discuss with you how you plan to pay the rent for the property so that we can provide any assistance you need.
You do not need to accept a property that you are offered, however your priority band may be downgraded if you refuse offers of housing that meets your needs. Please read the property advert details carefully and only bid for properties that you are likely to accept if offered.
Viewing
When the property is ready to view, we will arrange a viewing appointment with you. At this appointment we will show you around and we will give you more information about the property, the neighbourhood and the tenancy agreement.
If you like the property you can let us know straight away, or you can take 24 hours to think about it if you like.
The standard of our properties
We are committed to providing excellent quality housing, which is safe, secure and meets the expectations of our tenants.
Our properties are unfurnished and do not come with floor or window coverings, however we may be able to help you to access these if you would struggle to obtain them yourself.
Sign-up appointment
If you decide to accept our offer, we will invite you to a sign-up appointment. At this appointment your Housing Officer will:
- Explain your Tenancy Agreement. They will explain your rights and responsibilities and check you understand these before you sign the agreement.
- Take your first rent payment. They will also agree with you the arrangements for future payments and will assist you to claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit if you are entitled to this.
- Collect information from you. They will run through a short form so that we can gather information to help you in your tenancy.
- Give you your keys. You can move into the property straight away.
Settling in visit
We will visit you a few weeks after your sign-up appointment to check how you are getting on. We will check that you have settled into your property and will answer any questions you have about your home, your neighbourhood or your tenancy. You don’t need to wait until this appointment to ask us questions though, you can contact us at any time.