Gloucestershire Homeseeker

Gloucestershire Homeseeker is the choice based lettings (CBL) system run by the six Gloucestershire councils in partnership with most of the housing associations in the county.

There is a very high demand for affordable housing in Gloucestershire. Only those in the highest housing need, who have a local connection to the area are likely to be housed through the scheme.

How Homeseeker works

To apply for social housing anywhere in Gloucestershire, you need to complete an online application form to register. You can then check the weekly adverts of available homes and bid for any that interest you.

There are five easy steps to using Gloucestershire Homeseeker:

Step 1 – Register

Try to have the following information handy when completing your application:

national Insurance numbers
dates of birth
previous addresses for the last 5 years
name(s) and contact details of any support workers you may have.

If you need to, you can save an unfinished application and return to the website within 7 days to complete it.

What if I don’t have internet access at home?

do you have friends or family who have access?
do you visit agencies or organisations with public access computers?
you could use the computer in our Railway House reception from Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. We’ll be happy to help you.

For a list of other places with public access computers, please contact Gloucester City Council on 01452 396504.

Step 2 – Banding

Once you have registered, the Council will check and verify your application.

They may contact you if they need more information. They will put you in a band according to your housing need.

Providing us with an e-mail address will speed up our communication with you.

There are 4 different priority bands.

These are:

bronze (lowest priority)
silver
gold
emergency (highest priority)

Most applicants will be in the lower bands. Only a very small percentage will be in the gold and emergency bands.

When you get your band, you can ask for a review of the decision. You must send your review application in writing to the Council within 28 days of the date on the notification. You must tell them why you think the decision is wrong and give them any extra information. They will forward the review to the Gloucestershire Homeseeker Assessment Panel.

Step 3 – View adverts

To find your new home, look at the weekly adverts of available homes. You can view these every Wednesday:

on the Gloucestershire Homeseeker website - www.gloshomeseeker.co.uk
in a printed newsletter which is available in our office and other places.

These include council offices, some housing association offices, community centres and libraries.

There is a full list of places on the website and at council offices.

Remember to make a note of the property reference numbers of homes that interest you. You will need these to bid.

Step 4 – Bidding

To register an interest in moving to one of the advertised homes, you have to bid for it. You can make up to 3 bids per week. To bid, you will need:

your unique reference number
your PIN
the property reference number of each home you are bidding for.

Each home has a list of requirements that you must meet to be considered for it.

Examples include:

local connection to the area
age restriction
minimum or maximum bedroom requirement
property adaptations.

Bidding means expressing an interest in moving to a home – it doesn’t involve money! The deadline for bidding is 11.59 pm on Tuesdays. Bids made after this don’t count.

You can bid:

On the internet This is the easiest method. You can view available homes and bid by following the online instructions at www.gloshomeseeker.co.uk|

By phone
Call the bid line on 0845 230 1892 and follow the instructions to make your bid.
By text message

Start a new text message on your phone
Type your unique reference number followed by a space
Type your PIN using date format dd/mm/yyyy including the forward slashes (/) followed by a space
Type the first property reference number followed by a space. If this is the only bid, go to step 6
Type the second and third property reference numbers followed by a space
Send the text message to 07786 202513.The Council puts bids they get by the deadline in priority order and contacts the household at the top of the shortlist.

Step 5 - Offer

The Council puts bids they get by the deadline in priority order and contacts the household at the top of the shortlist.

They usually offer homes to the applicant in the highest band who waited the longest in that band and who meets the stated criteria.

If your bid is chosen, we will contact you and arrange a suitable appointment for you to view the home. If you want to accept it we will ask you to sign your new tenancy agreement.Please see our Moving In| web pages.

Please make sure that any home you bid for meets your needs. If you refuse too many homes the Council may review your application and may put you in a lower band.