Frequently Asked Questions

The housing register is a list of households who meet the eligibility and local connection rules to apply for social housing within Blaby District.

Choice Based Lettings is the system that we use to advertise social housing properties.

Applicants who have active applications on the register can see the advertised properties that they are eligible for and can bid for up to two properties each bidding cycle. This makes Choice Based Lettings different from other social housing systems you may have experienced.

Properties listed are owned and managed by the housing associations within the area. Please note that we do not own any social housing.

If you live in a housing association property and have any rent or repairs queries, please contact your housing association.

They will be the organisation you pay your rent to.

You can apply to join the Blaby District Council Housing Register through the online form. You will be expected to upload copies of evidence documents as you complete the application.

Please note, that to be accepted onto the register, you will need to meet our eligibility and local connection criteria.

Please visit our Applying for the Housing Register webpage for further information and to apply.

The local connection criteria will need to be met before you can be  accepted onto the housing register.

You can find the full list of local connection criteria in Blaby District Council’s Allocation Policy available at the bottom of this page.

The evidence you will be expected to supply will vary depending on your circumstances. The basic evidence requested from all applicants is as below:

• Proof of Identity for all household members who intend to move with you
• Proof of Income - 2 latest months worth of bank statements for all accounts
• Proof of Savings - 2 latest months worth of bank statements for any savings accounts, proof of bonds or investments

If you are currently privately renting you will need to provide:

• The latest tenancy agreements
• The latest rent statement

If you own or part-own your property you will need to provide:

• Proof of ownership
• Copies of latest mortgage statements

Depending on your circumstances, you may wish to provide additional evidence such as:

• Copies of Notices served
• Medical Supporting Evidence

Please note that this is not a complete list, and when assessing your application officers may request further evidence to support your application.

There are limits on the amount of income, equity and savings households can have to be able to join the housing register.

The current equity limit is £32,000.00, and the savings limit is £17,000.

Applications for households over the limit but with specialist housing or support needs that cannot be met within the local housing market - such as the need for extra care accommodation - will be taken into consideration.

Full details of the thresholds and affordability calculations can be found in Blaby District Council’s Allocation Policy (section 13).

Having rent arrears will not immediately discount you from the register.

You are expected to have a payment plan in place and be actively paying off your arrears.

If the arrears have accumulated recently due to a change in your financial situation, you will be expected to make an appointment with a financial advisor such as Citizens Advice or Step Change.

Please note that even if you are accepted onto the register with rent arrears, housing associations reserve the right to refuse you an offer of a property.

Bidding is the term used to register your interest in an advertised property. It is not bidding with money.

You are able to place bids on up to two properties per bidding cycle.

Placing a bid on a property can be done by logging into your housing register account, selecting ‘More Details’ on the property you are interested in, and selecting the ‘Place a Bid’ button.

You will only be able to place a bid on properties you are eligible for. For example, if you are eligible for two bedroom properties, you will only be able to bid on properties with two bedrooms.

A Bidding cycle runs for six days. The bidding cycle will start on a Thursday morning at 12 midnight and will end on a Tuesday night at 11.59pm. 

No properties will be advertised on a Wednesday.

Please note there are exceptions where a property may be advertised for a period longer than the six days.

No. The Choice Based Letting system is not a first-bid system. Applicants are ranked based on their banding and then length of time they have spent in that band.

It does not matter if you place a bid on a Thursday or the following Tuesday, your final bid position is calculated when the bidding cycle ends.

The Choice Based Lettings system is set up in a way that will give you a ranking based on the list of applicants who have already placed a bid.

You may have been the top applicant or only applicant who had placed a bid when you were number one, but as more applicants place bids the ranking is recalculated.

Your final bid position will be calculated when the bidding cycle ends.

Some properties advertised have special terms and conditions attached to them. They may be specially adapted for wheelchair users, or may be part of a Rural Exception Site and need a strong connection to a village.

In these cases, the final list of bids will be looked at to see who matches the conditions and those applicants will be put forward regardless of final bid position.

For example, for the wheelchair adapted property those who have a wheelchair need will be put ahead of those without a wheelchair need.

The Choice Based Lettings system keeps you updated on the status of properties you have bid for.

Under the My Current Bids tab, you may see any of the following updates:

• Properties Still Open for Bidding - these properties can still be bid on by applicants, and you may remove your bid to place a bid on another advertised property
• Bids Under Consideration - these properties have not been shortlisted yet. They will be shortlisted soon
• Applicant Shortlisted Bids - these properties have been shortlisted and your name has been sent as part of the shortlisting. The Housing Associations will contact you directly
• Offered to Others Bids - these properties have been shortlisted and you did not make the shortlist this time

When a bidding cycle ends, the list of applicants who have bid is produced. In most cases, the top five applicants are shortlisted, however in some cases (such as specialist wheelchair housing or Rural Exception Sites) the ranking criteria may be different. The list of applicants will be shortlisted based on the specific criteria for that property, and may involve more than five applicants.

The shortlist is then sent to the housing association who manages the property and it is up to the housing association to contact you. You will not be contacted if you are unsuccessful.

Please ensure your email address, phone numbers and contact address are up-to-date as the housing associations will skip your bid if they cannot contact you.

The housing associations may send you paperwork such as a pre-tenancy form, and request copies of your ID and bank statements. Please complete these forms and send any evidence as soon as you can.