Kirklees

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some commonly asked questions about choose ‘n’ move. If you don’t see the answer to your question here then you can click here to contact us for more information.

• Why do I need to be a member before I can bid?
• What if I have difficulty filling in the membership form?
• What are housing bands?
• What if I am not happy with the band I am in?
• Will I have to renew my membership?
• Can I bid on any of the properties that are advertised?
• What is a bidding cycle?
• How do I decide which property I am interested in?
• Are all council properties advertised?

Why do I need to be a member before I can bid?

The scheme is only open to members. We need to take some details about you to find out what band you should be in, based on your housing need, and what size property you can apply for.

What if I have difficulty filling in the membership form?

We can provide help to fill in the form – come and visit us at one of our self-service areas, or call us on 01484 416900. We may be able to arrange a home visit if you have a disability or severe medical condition.

What are housing bands?

Housing bands are the way that we place customers into bands according to their level of housing need. This means we can make sure we prioritise customers with more urgent housing situations before customers who have low housing needs.

What if I am not happy with the band I am in?

If you are not happy with our assessment of your current situation or the band you have been given, you have the right to appeal. You must put your appeal in writing within 21 days. We can give you help to do this. Your appeal will be looked at by a senior officer. If the decision can be changed, we will send you a new decision. If the decision cannot be changed, we will write to tell you why. Before putting in an appeal it might help to talk to us about the decision we have made so please contact the office dealing with your membership application.

Will I have to renew my membership?

You must keep us up to date with any change of address or contact details. If you do not make a bid within 6 months we may write to you and ask if you still want to be a member. If you do not reply to the letter we will cancel your membership, and will write to you to tell you.

Can I bid on any of the properties that are advertised?

The advert will tell you who can bid on each property. You can only bid on properties where you meet the criteria. This is usually that your household needs the bedroom size requirements.

What is a bidding cycle?

This is the period of time that you can bid for a property when it is advertised. All our new property adverts come out every Wednesday mornings, and you have one week to make your bid before the bidding cycle closes on a Tuesday night.

How do I decide which property I am interested in?

You should only bid on properties that you would actually be interested in – so make sure you look at all the information on the advert before placing your bid.

You might want to think about:

• Is the property in the right location for you - do you need to be close to certain areas for schools, family or work?
• Is it the right size for your household?
• Can you afford the rent and any other charges?
• Who will your landlord be?
• Does it have any special facilities that you need?

Are all council properties advertised? 

We advertise all our available properties so that you can see what happens to them. However, very occasionally we might have an empty home that we cannot advertise and need to let quickly in exceptional circumstances. For example, to house a customer in an emergency such as flood or fire. This is called a ‘management letting’ and we will publish how many of these we make a year.