Bidding Finishes Monday 06/09/10
Telephone bids 5:00pm
Text and Web Bids 1:00pm |  Private Landlords
Rental properties from LASS acredited landlords
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Your Questions How do I become a member of Leeds Homes? Simply fill out a registration form. - You can pick up a form from your local Housing Office/One Stop Centre or by telephoning (0113) 222 4413.
Who can apply?
Anyone who is over 16 years of age. If you've had rent arrears, committed anti-social behaviour or are subject to immigration control, we may not be able to rehouse you. Where can I find out which homes are available?
All our available homes are advertised on this website. They are also advertised each Wednesday in the Leeds Homes property flyer which is included in the Wednesday edition of the Yorkshire Adtrader publication, available from most local news agents. You can pick up a free copy of the Leeds Homes property flyer at 2a Great George Street, all Council Housing Offices, One Stop Centres and participating Housing Association Offices. Each week you can bid for up to three properties that are suitable for you. How do I bid for a property? - By telephoning us on (0113) 222 4413 (between 8.30am - 5pm Wed-Mon)
- By calling into any Council Housing Office or participating Housing Association Office.
What should I do if I need help bidding? If you would like to give your permission to a relative or support worker or agency to be able to bid for homes on your behalf, you will need to download the Advocate consent form. Once you have completed the form please return it to any One-stop centre or housing office.
How long will I have available to make my bids?
Six days. Every Wednesday morning (except some bank holiday periods) we update this website with new vacancies. We also publish the Leeds Homes property flyer each week on Wednesday which advertises the same homes as this website. Each new advertising week we publish a new deadline date. This means that you are able to bid for properties from the Wednesday when they are first advertised until 5.00pm the following Monday. Note:All properties are removed from this website after 1pm each Monday. Property searches will not produce any results on Monday evenings and Tuesday, as the website is not updated until the Wednesday morning. What is a Priority Band?
When you register with us we will assess your housing needs and your application will be put in one of the following categories:
1. General Needs
- All customers who are not in a Priority Band fall into our “General Needs” category.
2. Priority If you: - Are homeless but the council does not have a legal duty to make you an offer of permanent accommodation.
- Need to move on medical grounds.
- Are living in housing with poor conditions, severe overcrowding or a lack of facilities.
- Are in Urgent Need. This is where we have, for example, established that you are vulnerable or that you need to move to give support to a member of your family.
3A. Priority Extra
If you: - Are homeless and in priority need according to the law.
- Have an urgent medical need, for example, if you are confined to one room in your home and your home is unsuitable for adaptations.
- Your home is unfit to live in, for example, if your home has been assessed as being uninhabitable or you are a council tenant living in a clearance area.
- Have an “Additional Need” more serious than priority. This applies to customers who are not legally Homeless but have a very serious reason to move home.
3B. Priority Extra Plus
Some customers in the Priority Extra band will be awarded Priority Extra Plus.
This is when a customer has two (or more) different types of urgent priority extra housing needs. For example, if you have an urgent medical need and you are statutory homeless. You can also be awarded Priority Extra Plus if you and another member of your household are both in urgent housing need. For example, if you are homeless and another member of your household has a severe disability. When we have processed your registration we will write to tell you which category your application is in.
How long will my Priority last?
Your priority will last for 120 days.
How will I know when my 120 day Priority starts and ends?
We write to all customers telling them when their Priority will start and end.
Can my Priority be extended?
Extension requests should be made to the local housing office where your registration form is held. All extension requests are considered on an individual basis.
Who do we decide to make an offer to?
The customer in the highest priority band will, except on rare occasions, be offered the home. If two or more customers have the same housing need, generally the person who was awarded their housing need first will be made the offer. We offer homes to customers in the general needs category based on the longest date of registration. All of the homes we advertise feature a suitable for section. This tells you what kind of customer would be suitable for the home. For example, a two bedroom house could be suitable for a customer with one child. We generally won't offer you a home if your requirements are different from the suitable for criteria, except in exceptional circumstances. If you’re successfully shortlisted for a home the landlord, such as an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) or Housing Association will contact you directly. Leeds Homes don’t let the properties. The landlord will then arrange for you to view the home. However, the home may not be offered to you if you have rent arrears or if you have caused nuisance to neighbours through Anti-Social Behaviour. Examples of cases where we would find a customer unsuitable to be re-housed include having: - A high level of rent arrears where possession action could be taken
- An existing injunction for Anti-Social Behaviour or a current Anti-Social Behaviour Order
This can be applied to people who have had these issues as a tenant of Leeds City Council or other landlords. Customers who are found to be unsuitable have the right of appeal. The decision to find someone unsuitable is not permanent. It is the responsibility of the person found unsuitable to demonstrate that they would now be suitable to be re-housed by us, for example, by regularly paying off rent arrears.
What are first come first served properties?
Some of our homes are advertised as first come first served.
These are homes that have been advertised before and are now available to be let to the first Leeds Homes member to bid for the home, providing they meet the advertised property criteria. Text or internet bids can be delayed so it is advisable to telephone the Leeds Homes Contact Centre with your bids for first come first served properties.
What is the Leeds Landlord Accreditation Scheme?
If you are looking to rent from a private landlord why not choose an LLAS member in order to be assured of quality accommodation that is healthy, safe and where the landlord will be professional and respectful. The Council monitors the LLAS- bad landlords are not allowed to join. If you would like further information about the LLAS check the councils’ website at www.leeds.gov.uk/llas What will happen if I’m offered a home but decide not to accept it?
If you are in a Priority band and we offer you a home that you have bid for, and you then decide to refuse the offer, you may lose your Priority status and your application will be moved to the ‘General Needs’ category. If we offer you a home because we have a legal duty to re-house you (because you are Statutory Homeless) and you decide not to accept the offer, we may no longer have a legal duty to rehouse you.
What if I don’t hear anything about a home that I have bid for?
If the Landlord does not contact you after the deadline, assume you have not been successful and try again the following week. Details of previous lettings are published in the Yorkshire Adtrader Leeds Homes section, in our free weekly flyer and on the "Lettings results" page of this website.
What if I am homeless?
Leeds Housing Options aims to prevent homelessness by offering advice and assistance on housing and accommodation to those in housing and/or homelessness related need. Leeds Housing Options offers a face to face service and also responds to queries via the telephone. Leeds Housing Options, Leeds City Council,1st Floor, 2 Great George Street, LS2 8BA Tel: (0113) 222 4412 email: housing.options@leeds.gov.uk What are Direct Lets?
We advertise most of our available homes except for 'Direct Lets'. These are used to rehouse customers we generally have a legal/contractual duty to rehouse. More information about who is eligible for a direct let can be found in our lettings policy. We publish feedback about homes we have let as direct lets on this website and in our property flyer.
Why do we publish results on the homes that we have let?
On the 'Lettings results' page of this website we publish details of how many bids we have recieved for each home we have advertised. We also publish the priority band and date of registration of each Leeds Homes member who has been offered one of our homes, except where a direct let has been made. This will help you to decide which homes you would like to bid for. It also helps us to make things as fair and transparent as possible to our members.
What should I do if I feel that a wrong decision has been made?
You have the right to a review if you are unhappy about a decision that we have made, or if you have bid for one of our homes that you feel you should have been offered. To obtain a Right to Review Form please contact the Leeds Homes Team on 0113 222 4413 or write to us at:
Leeds Homes Team,
Environment and Neighbourhoods,
Leeds City Council,
5th Floor West,
Merrion House,
Merrion Centre,
Leeds LS2 8BB Or email us at leeds.homes@leeds.gov.uk For statistics on the Leeds Homes website see SiteImprove
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