How to bid for a property, and what will happen once you’ve bid
What you can bid for
You need to be on our housing register to be able to bid for available properties. You'll only be able to bid on properties that match your requirements. For example, some housing is only available to those over 60. You won't be able to bid for a bungalow if you're aged under 60, and have no proven medical need for ground floor accommodation.
Our bidding cycle runs every Wednesday, until the following Monday at midday. You'll need to register your bids when the cycle is open.
Advice on how to bid
All available properties will appear on our online system. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be given the option to ‘continue’, please select this.
On the application overview screen, you’ll see basic information about your application including your last login date. Here, please select ‘See all properties’.
The property search area will appear, and will default to your minimum bedroom need. You can amend these filters to match your needs. Please note; you won’t be able to bid for a property that doesn’t match your assessed need.
To find out more or to bid on a property select the ‘more details’ button.
Within the property record, you can view:
- photos
- where the property is on a map
To bid on the property, select the ‘place a bid’ button in the top right hand corner. You can bid for more than one property per bidding cycle. Your bids will appear in a table; you can adjust your preferences by moving your preferred property to the top. You can also delete any bids you've made.
Bid for a property
To bid for a property you’ll need your:
- user registration ID number (this will always start with a 1)
- password
- to have read our privacy policy
What happens next?
Once the bidding cycle closes, we allocate the property to the person with the highest band, and the earliest 'relevant date'. The' relevant date' is normally the date you first registered, or the date when your priority band changed.
If you're successful, you'll see this by logging into your account using your user ID and pin (password). You'll see 'short listed' appear against the property. Any other bids you've made will show as 'under consideration'. This means that someone else has been nominated, and the words 'under consideration' will remain until the property has been let.
Following a successful bid, you must respond to the landlord when they contact you. If you don't, we may think that you're no longer interested in housing, and cancel your application. So you can be contacted, please ensure you update your Homechoice application form with any change in your email address or contact numbers.
Your application may be cancelled if you don't login to your account at least every six months.