DHC USER GUIDE 16pp A4_v2.indd
Contents
1. oj Mloci Bidding for homes on the phone O Bidding on digital interactive TV web enabled mobile phones and Nintendo Wii Step 3 How the successful applicant is selected Feedback 13 How to contact us 14 Devon Home Choice Partners 15 How to use Devon Home Choice Step 1 Register How to register The easiest way to join the Devon Home Choice register is to visit www devonhomechoice com and click on the online application form If you are not able to apply online please contact the local housing team in the area of Devon you would like to live For your application to be processed and accepted you need to Complete the application form Provide any extra information reguested on the application form or by the local housing team in the area of Devon where you would like to live once they have received your application What size of homes will you be able to bid for You are only able to bid for homes that match your household needs For example if you only need 2 bedrooms you will not usually be able to bid for 3 or 4 bedroom homes The following will usually be assessed as requiring a bedroom People living together as a couple Other adults aged 16 years old or over 2 children under 16 years old of the same gender A boy amp girl who are both under 8 years old Any exceptions to these rules will be clearly set out in the advert for a home How are applications prioriti2. Mis E S B ez Devon Home Choice an si a o O O EN O v Oo AV EE 92 000D S IS 35 m gt c VO O O A gt C 0 am V 50 gt O C Z gt or OY O C are O 2 C V D 5 6 O c N O 5 CoO OO OO d 290002 iE In Amet du Petts P A ig isd Z de Welcome to Devon Home Choice About Devon Home Choice Devon Home Choice is a way of looking for council and housing association homes Under Devon Home Choice vou can Choose which homes interest you Move within Devon This guide explains how To join the Devon Home Choice register To find information on available homes To express interest In homes bidding The successful applicant is selected Please Note There are far more people seeking council and housing association homes in Devon than there are homes available Even if you are assessed as having a high priority for housing it may take you a long time to find a council or housing association home Need more help If you need more help or would like information on your housing options please contact the local housing team in the area of Devon where you would like to live The contact details are listed on page 14 Contents Welcome to Devon Home Choice N How to use Devon Home Choice How are applications prioritised Step 2 Choose How are homes advertised What do the symbols mean Bidding for homes on the website I Oo Oo amp
3. are advertised each week On the internet at www devonhomechoice com In a newsletter that is available in a variety of locations On digital interactive TV On web enabled mobile phones On the Nintendo Wii Homes will be advertised from 12 00am on Wednesday to 12 00pm the following Monday You can bid for up to 3 homes during this time No homes are advertised and no bids can be placed on a Tuesday The adverts The adverts tell you the landlord location size rent and other features of the home The advert also tells you if there are any special requirements that the applicant must meet For example any minimum age if it is older persons accommodation or whether a local connection to a particular area in Devon is required Where homes have been adapted adverts will make clear that priority will be given to applicants who have a mobility need or disability What do the symbols mean The symbols that appear on the adverts tell you about a home and about any restrictions on who is able to bid for it The number of bedrooms in this home for example 4 bedrooms This home is only available to people above a certain age for example 16 years old This home is only available to people below a certain age for example 75 years old This home has off street parking This home has a garden or communal garden This home Is sheltered accommodation A local connection is reguired for this home
4. lack 2 or more bedrooms You are a tenant of a Devon Home Choice partner landlord and are seeking to move to a home that is at least 2 bedrooms smaller You have been assessed as having a high health wellbeing need Your home has been assessed as being in a state of high disrepair You have been assessed as ready to move on from supported housing You are an agricultural worker who needs to move on from tied accommodation For full details of the Devon Home Choice policy please see www devonhomechoice com visit www devonhomechoice com Medium Medium Housing Need C You are overcrowded and lack 1 bedroom You are a tenant of a Devon Home Choice partner landlord and are seeking to move to a home that is 1 bedroom smaller You have been assessed as having a medium health wellbeing need Your home has been assessed as being in a state of medium disrepair You live above the 3rd floor with children aged under 8 You need to move for work in Devon where you would otherwise need to travel more than 30 miles each way from home to your place of work Low Housing Need D e You have been assessed Low No No Housing Need E From your application it has been assessed that you are adeguately housed as non priority and or intentionally homeless by a Devon local authority You have been assessed as having a low health wellbeing need Your home has been assessed as being in a state of l
5. number and your date of birth This needs to be entered as follows dd mm yyyy For example if your date of birth is 9 May 1970 you would enter 09 05 1970 Click the Property Search option to look for current available homes A list of homes matching your search request will be displayed If you are eligible to bid for a home the Apply Now button will be displayed If you are eligible and want to bid for the home click the Apply Now button Before you confirm your bid you can find out what position you would be in the queue for a home Your position could change as other people bid If you are not eligible to bid for a home then the reason for this will be displayed If you decide you want to remove a bid select the button called My Bids You can withdraw a bid by following the on screen instructions You can re use that bid for another home Bidding for homes on the phone Bidding on the phone The number to call to place a bid is 0300 011 0125 The cost of calling this number is the same as calling standard landlines even from a mobile phone If you are calling from a mobile phone the number will be included in any inclusive call minutes that you have Through the telephone system you can e Find out if you are eligible to bid for a home e Place a bid or withdraw a bid e Find out what your current queue position is This may change as other people bid In order to bid using the telephon
6. Homes e Plymouth City Council Torridge District Council e Plymouth Community Homes Westcountry Housing Association e Raglan Housing e West Devon Borough Council e Red Devon Housing West Devon Homes visit www devonhomechoice com The map shows the county of Devon You will now have the choice and ability to move within Devon visit www devonhomechoice com
7. This home is fully wheelchair accessible This home is partly wheelchair accessible This is a lifetime home It is accessible and adaptable This home is step free This home has no more than 3 steps On the website if you place the cursor over a symbol it will tell you what it means visit www devonhomechoice com Bidding for homes on the website www devonhomechoice com Expressing your interest in a home bidding You can tell us which homes you would like to be considered for This is called bidding Bidding does not mean that you will part with any money You can only bid for homes if your application has been accepted onto the Devon Home Choice register You can bid for up to 3 homes each week You can bid On the website www devonhomechoice com By telephone 0300 011 0125 On digital interactive TV Sky Virgin and broadband enabled Freeview Via web enabled mobile phone or Nintendo Wii In person at Council offices In order to bid for homes you will need Your personal reference number Your date of birth You can only bid for homes where you match what the advert asks for For example if the advert states the home has 1 bedroom you will not be able to bid for it if you need more than 1 bedroom Bidding on the website www devonhomechoice com 1 Type www devonhomechoice com in the address bar of your internet browser 2 Click the Login My Account button Enter your personal reference
8. e system you will need the reference numbers of the home s you want to bid for as well as your personal reference number and date of birth Once you have dialled the number you will hear an automated voice This will give you instructions on how to bid Follow these instructions exactly and your bid s will be registered with us You will need to use the numbers on the telephone keypad and the hash key For example you will be asked to Please enter your personal reference number followed by the hash key If your personal reference number is 1245 you would enter k ABC GHI JKL Before you confirm your bid you can find out what position you would be in the gueue for a home visit www devonhomechoice com Bidding on Digital Interactive TV Web enabled mobile phones and Nintendo Wii If you have Sky TV Virgin Media or Freeview which is connected to broadband it is easy to find Devon Home Choice on the Looking Local service using your TV remote control On Looking Local you can find a range of useful local government services Looking Local is free to use and available 24 hours a day Please note that to use the Looking Local service If you are a Sky subscriber your box must be connected to a phone line If you use Freeview your box must be connected to broadband Devon Home Choice Main Menu 1 Find a home 2 Job Search 3 Transport Information 4 GP Services 8 Swine Flu 9 Legal Ad
9. echoicetorbay sanctuary housing co uk Torbay for housing advice Torbay Council T 01803 208723 E housing torbay gov uk Torridge District Council T 01237 428700 E devonhomechoice torridge gov uk West Devon Borough Council T 01822 813600 E devonhomechoice wesidevon gov uk Is it clear Please contact the local housing team in the area of Devon where you would like to live if you Have any guestions about Devon Home Choice Would like help to take part in Devon Home Choice Need this document in another language in large print on audio tape or in other formats Devon Home Choice is a partnership between e Affinity Sutton Riviera Housing Trust e Cornerstone e Sanctuary Housing Association e Devon 8 Cornwall Housing Association e Sarsen Housing Association e East Devon District Council e Signpost Housing Association e Exeter City Council e South Devon Rural Housing Association e Falcon Rural Housing e South Hams District Council e Guinness Trust e South Western Housing Society e Hanover Housing Society e Sovereign South 8 West e Hastoe Housing Association e Stonham Housing Association Housing 21 e Tamar Housing Society e Jephson Housing Association e Tarka Housing Magna Housing Group e Teachers Housing Association e Methodist Homes e Teign Housing Mid Devon District Council Teignbridge District Council North Devon Council Torbay Council North Devon Homes Tor
10. he list will order applicants by e The band that their application has been placed in e How long they have been waiting The landlord of the home will then carry out a number of checks on the top applicant This may include checking e Your circumstances have not changed from the information we hold for you Your rent payments are up to date Any anti social behaviour Medical history If you are at the top of the list you will normally be invited to view the home unless the landlord discovers reasons why you shouldn t be offered the home For example if you have rent arrears or have been guilty of anti social behaviour If the landlord is unable to offer the home to you they will move to the next applicant on the list and so on Advice will be provided on the steps you would need to take to be considered for another home visit www devonhomechoice com If you decide to refuse the home it will be offered to the next applicant on the list You will not normally be penalised for refusing a home and will continue to be able to bid for homes If you have been accepted as homeless by a Devon local authority you should always seek advice before refusing a home as this could end any duty to provide you with a home When the home is ready you will be contacted to arrange to sign the tenancy agreement and collect the keys Feedback We publish information in the newsletter and on the website about homes that ha
11. ow disrepair You share facilities such as a toilet bath shower or kitchen You have parental responsibility for a child children who stay with you regularly where the child children normally lives in another area You have received a valid notice to quit from your landlord You have a housing need but have no local connection to Devon You have been assessed as having deliberately worsened your circumstances visit www devonhomechoice com How to use Devon Home Choice Moving between bands If your circumstances change and your application moves to a higher band because your housing need has increased your band start date will change to the date you advised us of the change in your circumstances If you move down to a lower band because your need for housing has reduced you will keep the same band start date What happens once you have registered When your application to the Devon Home Choice is accepted we will write to you to confirm What band your application has been placed in and the reason for this Your band start date The size of home that you are eligible to bid for You must tell us if there are any changes in your circumstances Any change may affect your housing need and the priority your application should be awarded We will then reassess your application If necessary we will change your band and band start date Step 2 Choose How are homes advertised Homes
12. sed All applications to join the Devon Home Choice register will be assessed and placed in 1 of 5 priority bands Within each band applications will be placed in date order The date used is your band start date This shows how long you have had that housing need More than 1 need for housing If you have more than 1 need this will be recognised as follows e f you have 2 or more needs from different bands your application will be placed in the highest band f you have 2 needs from the same band you will receive a 6 month advance on your band start date to recognise the additional need e f you have 3 or more needs from the same band your application will be placed in the next higher band Emergency Emergency Housing Need A Your application will only be placed in this band if your need for housing is assessed as so exceptional that you must take priority over all other applicants For example You have an urgent health wellbeing need Your home is in a state of emergency disrepair You need to move to escape violence or threat of violence harassment or a traumatic event Substantial evidence must exist to award this priority High High Housing Need B A Devon council has accepted that you are statutorily homeless You are threatened with homelessness and have been placed in the Prevention of homelessness category by a Devon council You are overcrowded and
13. ve been advertised through Devon Home Choice We tell you the number of applicants that bid for each home the band and date of the top bidder This information will give you a better idea of How popular a particular home or area is Whether you are likely to be successful in bidding for a council or housing association home How long you may have to wait You can then decide whether to look for other Types of home or areas where you may not have to wait as long Housing options such as private renting Example of feedback The example shows that the top bidder for a 3 bed house in B Road Exeter was in the High housing need band B and had a band start date of 21 10 2005 95 bids were received for the house How to Contact Us East Devon District Council T 01395 517469 E devonhomechoice eastdevon gov uk Exeter City Council T 01392 265889 E devonhomechoice exeter gov uk Mid Devon District Council T 01884 255255 E devonhomechoice middevon gov uk North Devon Council T 01271 388870 E customerservices northdevon gov uk Plymouth City Council T 01752 305496 E devonhomechoice plymouth gov uk South Hams District Council T 01803 861234 E devonhomechoice southhams gov uk Teignbridge District Council T 01626 361101 E devonhomechoice teignbridge gov uk Torbay about Devon Home Choice Riviera Housing Trust T 01803 696123 E devonhom
14. vice 6 Contact us 7 Your views O Main menu Quick Links OD Devon Home Choice Find local services and information for Devon Search for affordable housing jobs local travel news advice and much more Press OK or 1 to select this menu item If you are Virgin subscriber you will be able to access the Looking Local service as your box is connected to cable You can also find Devon Home Choice on Looking Local using a web enabled mobile phone or a Nintendo Wii Access to mobile Internet will be charged at your standard rate You can only bid for homes where you match what the advert asks for Pathways to the Devon Home Choice service on Looking Local lookinglocal Sky Press the Interactive button Select Directgov 8 Press Selec on the Welcome Page Select Local Services 1 Southern England 3 South West 4 Devon Home Choice Virgin ug Press the Interactive button Select News amp Info Select Looking Local Southern England 3 South West 4 Devon Home Choice Wii Insert the following url into your browser www lookinglocal gov uk DevonHomeChoice Mobile Via any web enabled phone www lookinglocal gov uk DevonHomeChoice b 3 I Mobile How to use Devon Home Choice Step 3 How the successful applicant is selected At the end of each weekly advertising cycle a list of eligible bids for each advertised home will be produced T
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