Welcome to Bedfordshire Homefinder
Our website is changing!
We have made some exciting improvements to Bedfordshire Homefinder which you will see from Tuesday 28 February 2012. We want to make it as easy as possible for people in Bedfordshire to find their perfect home. The new website will show you a range of housing options to help you do this, whether you want to rent from a social or a private landlord, or if you are looking to get onto the property ladder. Log into your account for more information.
Some changes are coming to social housing. To see details click on this link: Changes to Social Housing.
Thinking of bidding on a brand new property? Click here for things to think about. New Build Properties.
To see an overview of lettings in Bedfordshire during 2010 follow these links or click on This Weeks Adverts and Results tab on the left hand side of the Home page: Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton.
Important Information for People with Disabilities
From early 2011 our vacant properties which are suitable for people with a disability will be given an Accessibility Category. People on the housing registers who have been assessed as needing these types of property will be given priority for properties which match their needs. For more detail about how this will work and what you need to do if you think you would be suitable for one of these properties please follow this link. Accessibility Information Leaflet
Choice Based Lettings in Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire Homefinder is the choice based lettings scheme for council and housing association properties in Bedfordshire. You can use this site to:
* Look for properties that are available to rent from councils and housing associations within the county.
* Look for a Mutual Exchange if you are a council or housing association tenant
* Get information about other housing options that might be available to you and where to get further advice if you are in difficulty with your current housing situation.
What you need to do
You will need to be registered on the scheme to bid on the council and housing association rented properties. Bidding is how you tell us you are interested in the property, it does not involve any monetary payment. Contact your local housing office or download an application form to apply to the housing register. Once you have registered you will be given your login details and told which types of property you are eligible to bid on. We advertise properties every 2 weeks ( 2011 calendar / 2012 calendar ). You can look through details of all of these properties and decide which you want to bid on. We use symbols as well as text to describe the property and make it easy for you to search for properties you want. For a description of these symbols see our Guide To Symbols leaflet. You can bid on 3 properties each fortnight. If you don’t bid you won’t be considered for any properties. For more information about bidding see our Guide To Bidding or our Top Tips guide.
After the bidding has closed you do not need to contact us. Answering lots of phone calls from people trying to find out if they have been successful stops us from contacting people who are going to be offered a property. If you are the successful bidder and are going to be offered the property we will contact you.
You must keep your contact details up to date. If we are unable to get hold of you we may not be able to offer you a property. Please contact your local housing office if you think we do not have the right contact details for you.
A few days after bidding has closed you can use this website to login and check the progress of your bids. You can see if you have been shortlisted for the property or if your bid was unsuccessful this time.
You can also see details of all the properties that have been advertised and let to new tenants each month and the level of priority that the successful bidder had (see Adverts and Results). This should give you an idea of what types of property and which areas you might be successful on in future.
Other Housing Choices
There are lots of people registered on this scheme and bidding on properties so not everyone will be successful. There are other options open to most people who want to move or who need help to stay in their current home. You can find more details by following this link (Housing Options).
If you are a council or housing association tenant you may be able to find another tenant to exchange properties with by registering for a Mutual Exchange. You do not have to live in Bedfordshire to register for a mutual exchange. To put your details on the site you will need to follow the instructions on the mutual exchange pages.
Income Limits when Applying to the Housing Register
When you apply for housing through the housing register you will be asked to supply evidence of your total household income and savings. Here you can see what the limits are that are used to decide if you have high income or savings. If you have high income or savings you can still be on the housing register but you will be awarded low priority, Band 4, and should consider other housing options such as privately renting or shared ownership. Current Income and Savings Levels.