The Gateway to Homechoice scheme has been fully operational since April 2009 and is the way council and housing association properties for rent are allocated across the following local authority areas:  Babergh, Braintree, Colchester, Ipswich, Maldon, Mid Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal. 

The scheme has been designed to make the allocation of social housing more transparent and offer greater choice. 

If you are looking for social housing in one of the areas stated above there is now only one application form to complete.  To register for the new scheme please use the link below:
Gateway to Homechoice 

From here your application will be assessed and you will receive a banding letter along with a Scheme Guide which has further information.

Your needs will be assessed against the same clear set of criteria regardless of where you currently live and you will be able to bid for properties that you would like to live in.  Offers are made in line with the new policy, first looking at priority bands, followed by effective dates.

If your circumstances have changed and your housing situation has become worse you should contact the CBL Assessment Team on 01376 552525. If you are threatened with homelessness or are homeless you need to contact the Housing Advisory Team on 01376 552525.

What is Choice Based Lettings?

Choice Based lettings (CBL) is a new way of allocating social housing - both council and housing association properties.  The government expects all housing authorities to have introduced a choice based lettings system by 2010.

Braintree District Council, along with 7 other local authorities who form the Greater Haven Gateway sub region have worked together to establish a common CBL system.
The local authorities that form the partnership are:
- Babergh District Council
- Braintree District Council
- Colchester Borough Council
- Ipswich Borough Council
- Maldon District Council
- Mid Suffolk District Council
- Suffolk Coastal District Council
- Tendring District Council - deferred to a later date.

This partnership has many advantages. It allows us to standardize the way in which people apply for housing. We are also able to use a common method for assessing housing need and it allows people to apply for homes that become empty outside the traditional district and county boundaries. Previously, people without a connection to a particular area were accepted onto the Housing Register but had little or no priority for housing.

It may be helpful to explain why the change was needed and how the new CBL scheme actually works.

Why change the current system?

Previously, Braintree District Council had a banding scheme but decisions as to who were offered homes was made by Housing Officers. When a home became available to let, they would look at those in highest housing need and arrange for the home to be offered to them.

And so whilst this system of letting homes had served us well over the years, we were aware that it was not always seen as being fair, open and transparent.

The new scheme allows the applicants to see what homes are available in the areas of their choice, helping them to make informed  decisions about their housing options.

Since the implementation of the scheme in April 2009 a number of enquiries regarding the surrounding policies and the general method of allocating properties have been received. 
We have compiled the following information that we feel may help:
-Number of new applications;
-Number of applicants within each band;
-Number of applicants housed within each band; and
-Number of each property size let

In addition to the above information, choice based lettings also takes into account other factors which contribute to the length of time an applicant may wait to be successfully housed:

-Length of time an applicant has been registered for: is a factor that is considered and can impact on waiting time as much as banding position.  The "Recent Lets" table (available by following the link) will provide more information about the waiting time of those housed each week.

-Areas an applicant will consider living in: the areas an applicant will consider living in can play a role in how long they may wait to be housed.  Some parts of the Braintree District have more homes for social rent than others as well as some areas in the district being more popular.  By considering a number of areas to live in, an applicant may have more opportunities available to them. 

For further information please contact our Customer Services on 01376 552525 or email us on homechoice@braintree.gov.uk

Local Connection

Some affordable homes in rural areas are built on rural exception sites to specifically help meet the housing needs of local people and are therefore let differently than other affordable homes.

When applying for these homes, the strength of applicants' local connection takes priority over banding.  The computer system recognises applicants in order of highest band but staff need to examine the details of each applicants local connection and assess it against the local connection cascade developed by the parish council and local authority.  Homes are let first to households with the strongest proven local connection to the parish, followed by banding.

When bidding for these properties, queue positions can often change as some applicants may have mistakenly indicated a local connection on their application form, or the system has recognised an applicant as having the highest banding but the assessment of the local connection, which will take priority over the banding, is still being carried out by staff.

The formal shortlist of applicants is only produced once staff have assessed applicants against the local connection cascade.

Homes in Bures (August 2010)
The homes advertised in Bures Hamlet will be allocated in accordance with a local lettings policy.  Offers will be made to applicants with the strongest local connection as stated by the local connection cascade below and then by housing band. 

Applicants must be able to prove their local connection to Bures Hamlet.

Local Connection Cascade (Bures Hamlet):
1) Applicant lives in the Parish of Bures Hamlet and/or;
2) Applicant is a member of a family (as defined in Housing Act 1985) and/or;
3) Applicant is employed in the Parish of Bures Hamlet;
4) If there are no eligible candidates with proven local connection to Bures Hamlet that fall into the above categories, then applications from the parishes of Bures St Mary, Alphamstone, Lamarsh, Mount Bures or Twinstead will be considered against the criteria above.