What is Bedfordshire Homefinder?

The Bedfordshire Homefinder service was launched in June 2009, with the aim of improving services by offering more choice and a more open way of letting social housing in Bedfordshire. The service is provided by a Partnership, including:

• Aragon Housing Association
• Bedford Borough Council
• bpha
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• Luton Borough Council.

Between them, the Partners own and manage approximately 27,000 properties across Bedfordshire.

Why was Bedfordshire Homefinder created?

The previous government told housing providers that they must offer more choice to people looking for council and housing association homes. Also, our customers found it difficult to understand why each landlord had a different way of assessing housing applications. Customers also told us that because they did not know how housing was allocated, they could not be sure that the system was fair. This resulted in two key changes to our housing services which were introduced in June 2009, with the launch of Bedfordshire Homefinder:

• a single way of assessing housing applications across the county for all applicants
• a simpler way of letting properties so customers could actually see how these were being allocated.

This is known as a Choice Based Lettings (CBL) service.

The future of social housing

The demand for social housing far outweighs supply and the reality is that many applicants who apply for social housing will not be housed, especially those in less need. For this reason the Partnership introduced a new and improved Bedfordshire Homefinder service in 2012, with the aim of bringing together a range of housing options.