Increasing Housing Choice for Residents
Local authorities across North Yorkshire are keen to bring more customer choice to the letting of affordable homes in their area. One tool which we use to achieve this is a sub regional Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme.
Seven councils and their partners in North Yorkshire have developed a lettings scheme that offers the public a greater say over the properties they can be considered for. This scheme is Sub Regional and with its introduction the existing lettings schemes the participating local authorities were closed and replaced with one single Sub Regional Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme called North Yorkshire Home Choice.
CBL is based on the public advertising of available properties on the website and other media. Registered applicants express an interest (bid) for properties for which they quality. At the end of the advertising period, all bids/expressions of interest are put in order, based on the rules of the allocations policy and laws that cover housing need, to produce a short list. The successful bidder will then be contacted by the relevant local authority or landlord.
What this means for customers
Customers can make informed choices and bid for properties that specifically interest them and which best suit their long term needs across the wider partnership area. It also has other advantages:
- The public can clearly see the affordable housing available each week
- Applicants (and anyone helping or supporting them) can be actively involved in choosing their new home
- Housing Associations will advertise their properties to let alongside the council properties
- A whole range of other housing services can be included in the scheme including 'mortgage rescue', accredited private landlords, part buy/part rent options, work and training advice etc
- As CBL matures, customers can make informed choices as more 'supply and demand' information will be made available than ever before
- It will end to the culture of indefinite waiting for affordable housing as the process if more open and transparent
- More services and information will be available from a single information source
Support for customers
CBL is customer driven. We appreciate that some people may be supporting clients who need re-housing. If this applies to you, please consider the following:
- With informed consent - friends, relatives or support workers are able to bid on behalf the applicant
- Available properties are always accessible on the internet for consideration
- The full offer for vulnerable applicants is contained in the Equalities Impact Assessment
Church Gardens York
Participating councils
- Craven District Council with Yorkshire Housing
- Hambleton District Council with Broadacres Housing
- Richmondshire District Council
- Ryedale District Council with Yorkshire Housing
- Scarborough Borough Council with Yorkshire Coast Homes
- Selby District Council
