Your Choice Your Home

Bidding For Properties

There are 2 ways to bid for properties, click on the links below to explain the bidding procedures.

Properties are advertised on any day of the week. Properties which are available to let will be advertised on Your Choice Your Home for a minimum period. The minimum bid period for North Norfolk District Council will be five days. There is no maximum period for which a property will be open for bids; however, the default bid period will be five days.

We may extend this period on a case by case basis. Each advert will clearly state when bids for that property must be received by. Bids should be received by 23:59 on the day that bids close. Bids cannot be accepted after this time. Properties that would close on a Friday or Saturday night will be extended to close on the Sunday night so that applicants have the entire weekend to place bids.

North Norfolk District Council and Partner landlords have discretion to make direct offers outside Your Choice Your Home to certain applicants, for example people who have an emergency housing need.

The Housing Options Team at the Council can help you place bids on your behalf. This service will only be available to you if you are vulnerable and are unable to bid for yourself and you do not have someone who can help. You will need to give us your permission in writing and we will only place bids for properties which you have said you want to be considered for in the areas you have said you want to live.

If you bid for a property you must ensure that you are contactable preferably by phone but otherwise by letter in case your bid is successful. If your contact details change please let the Council know as soon as possible. To do this login into your account and go to 'My Details'.

Things to consider before bidding

When choosing a property you are interested in, you need to consider a number of things:

Which properties can I bid for?

The Housing Allocation scheme sets out which properties you can bid for. This is normally determined by your banding, your household size, whether you need sheltered accommodation/housing with care, are looking for shared ownership and your local connection to certain areas.

Additionally, some properties have a minimum age requirement, for example, in some cases only people over 55 can apply.

Further information regarding restrictions with bidding is provided below. When you sign in to your account, you will be able to see the properties you are eligible to bid for.

Age restrictions
Some properties may have a minimum age requirement; any age restrictions will be clearly stated in the advert.

Sheltered housing
Sheltered housing will be offered to applicants who will benefit from the level of support offered in this type of accommodation. Sheltered housing is usually only available for applicants aged 55 or over.

Mobility sign
Some properties advertised will have mobility sign, this is intended to provide a guide to people who have a mobility need to help them identify which properties will be suitable for them. This does not restrict anyone else from bidding for these properties, but preference will be given to applicants who need this level of mobility or the adaptations provided.

Local Connection sign
Some properties will be advertised with the Local Connection sign. Only schemes which have been provided to meet local housing need (called Exception Housing Schemes) will be advertised with the Local Connection sign. For all properties on these schemes applicants who have a local connection to the parish in which the scheme is located or the immediately adjoining civil parishes will be prioritised for the properties. A local connection is living in, working in, having a family member who lives in, previously living in or having a family member who previously lived in the parish. After the bidding deadline has closed the shortlist will place all bidders in order of their local connection with those bidders with the strongest local connection being placed at the top of the shortlist irrespective of which band they are in.You can still bid for a property which is subject to the Local Connection sign if you do not have a local connection but you will be placed below those that have a local connection on the shortlist. The advert will clearly show which parishes you need to have a connection to in order to qualify as having a local connection.

Pets
The property advert will say if pets are allowed.

Shared Ownership Properties
All households will be able to bid for any size or type of shared ownership property advertised, although when the property is shortlisted any bidder who cannot afford to purchase the share being sold will not be considered for the property.

Check out the location of the property

Look for the location of the property on a map or visit the local area to make sure it really is a place you would want to move to. North Norfolk is a very rural area so think about the services you might need access to including:
• Schools
• Shops
• Public transport
• Child Care Facilities
• Employment Opportunities
• Leisure Opportunities
• GP/Dentist
• Bank/Post Office

How many properties can I bid for?

You can bid for as many properties as you want in each bidding cycle, but you can only bid for properties that you are eligible for. For example, if you are eligible for a 2 bedroom property you cannot bid for one with 3 bedrooms.