Council housing Homechoice system and bidding position 1

Chuffy2018

Hi All

I just wondered if anyone can advise me please.

I’m on my local council waiting list and we are in an urgent band 2.

Two weeks ago I bid on a brand new property and came in at position 1 when bidding closed last week on Monday.

I’m still waiting to hear from them.

Can anyone advise me please that’s been in the same position, with a new property, how long was it before they contacted you. And did you definitely get the property.

Apologies, but this is all new to me.

Thank you in advance.

theartfullodger

Different councils have different rules and different bidding processes.

Suggest you ( - YOU! ) read your council's documentation which should answer, to some degree, your questions.

Norman_Castle

Try contacting them for a timescale.

Chuffy2018

Hi. Thank you for both of your responses.

I should have added that I have read my local councils guidelines over and over again, their process says they usually allocate to the first person on the list, and that new properties can take considerably longer before they get around to processing the shortlist.

Just would like to ask opinions of those that have been in the same/similar situation as myself, Im very worried and stressed, and unfortunately the council can;t advise me any further for at least another week

Not having a go at anyone, but Please can I also add that Im a working parent, and have applied for affordable housing, not free housing. I dont want people getting on the band wagon of, oh why cant you just buy your own house, or private rent. As I have already explored ALL options and no other options are available to me.

[Deleted User]

I think you are jumping the gun a little bit there.

But I am afraid Councils do do things their way. It doesn't always make sense or help with any urgency. The phrase 'living in a world of their own' comes to mind lol. You said the council won't be able to answer any of your questions for a week. I wonder if it would be worth getting as close as you can to where the new build house is and seeing how ready it is, asking people who already live in the area (they usually have a very good idea what's going on - I lived near a new build social housing development where people moved in to different phases - they knew exactly what was going on and when)

Perhaps, if new houses take longer to be move in ready, you might be better off going for an older house?

t0rt0ise

You've done all you can do. You just have to wait for the council to go to the next step. In the days before bidding for accommodation I was allocated a new build. The house wasn't ready and finished when allocated, it was still a fenced off building site. The council will not rush.

agrinnall

If the council are taking longer than you would hope and officials are unable to answer you, you might want to consider speaking to your local councillor in case they are able to get an unoffical answer for you more quickly.