Compass Choice Based Lettings
Don’t Miss Out - You Have To Be In It To Bid For It.
What is it?
Quite simply, Compass Choice Based Lettings (CBL) is a system used by Councils and Registered Social Landlords to let their vacant properties.
The Tees Valley CBL partnership is presently made up of Darlington Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, Stockton Borough Council, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, and Hartlepool Borough Council. Their partner landlords include Erimus Housing, Tristar Homes, Coast & Country Housing and Housing Hartlepool. We are hoping to bring on board more registered social landlords as the scheme develops further in the future.
The Compass is designed to offer more choice and involves applicants in selecting a new home. The process for assessing and prioritising applications is easier to understand as it uses a system for banding applicants to reflect their housing need (applicants with more pressing needs than others are placed in a higher band, whilst those with less urgent need are placed in a lower band). Vacant properties are advertised and applicants are invited to place a bid (express an interest); this ensures openness, transparency and a customer led approach in choosing where they wish to live, which in turn it is hoped will lead to more sustainable communities.
Compass is web based and applicants can participate in the scheme by accessing the internet as well as contacting one of the partners offices . Support and advice is available for applicants who are vulnerable and have difficulties in using the scheme.
In brief the system works like this
Applications are placed into Bands depending on an applicants current circumstances and housing need. There are five bands, Band 1+ and then Bands 1-4.
Band 1 +
People losing their home due to a recognised regeneration scheme within one of the local authorities in the sub region
Band 1
- People assessed as statutorily homeless and in priority need
- People threatened with homelessness within 90 days
- People at risk of domestic abuse
- People leaving HM forces or prison assessed as being institutionalised
- People who need to move on urgent medical grounds
- People who need to move on welfare grounds
- People living in unsafe or unsanitary housing conditions
- People who are under-occupying a house by 2 or more bedrooms (only applies to social housing tenants of the partner landlords)
Band 2
- People assessed as intentionally homeless or non priority homeless or no longer owed the main homeless duty
- People who need to move due to a high medical need
- People living in overcrowded conditions and are 3 or more bed spaces short of requirements
- People who are under-occupying a house by 1 bedroom (only applies to social housing tenants of the partner landlords)
- People with a child/children under the age of 10 or women who are 28+ weeks pregnant, occupying accommodation above ground floor level
- People who need to move on hardship grounds
- Young people at risk
- People sharing facilities with persons not of the same household (houses in multiple occupation or a bed and breakfast)
Band 3
- People leaving ‘tied’ accommodation within the sub region
- People eligible to succeed/assign to a partner organisation’s tenancy and have a need or expressed wish to move
- People who have had a relationship breakdown or divorced partners with shared child care
- People who are 1 or 2 bed spaces short of requirements
Band 4
People who have no or a low level housing need
Express your Interest
All properties are advertised and applicants are able to note their interest for the area they want.
Applicants from Band 1+ will be considered first, then Band 1 and so on down to Band 4. Where more than one person from the same band is interested in the same property, the offer will be made to the person who was placed in that band first.
Choosing another area to live in
Another innovation is that the CBL scheme will be delivered across the whole of the Tees Valley, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland are all involved. This should ensure that when people need to move for work, social or other reasons, it will be much easier for them to do so. However a local connection rule will apply so local people will generally have priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Applicants will have to complete an application form after the scheme goes live. This can be done online by accessing the website or by requesting an application form from one of the partner landlords. When your application is registered, you will be sent a letter informing you of the band in which you have been placed, your applicable date and your user name and password to enable you to access your details on the website.
Your application form will be assessed and placed in the band that reflects your housing need.
You can bid for up to 3 properties for each weekly bidding cycle.
This means that you can express your interest in the vacant properties advertised. It does not mean that you have to use your own money to participate in the scheme. You will be able to bid on vacant properties yourself by accessing the website from home, at work or by visiting locations which provide internet facilities (such as libraries and internet cafes) Alternatively you can telephone, email, post a bidding coupon or call into one of the partner’s housing offices where members of staff will place bids on your behalf.
The partnership will advertise the majority of their vacant properties on the new scheme. You can access the website to browse and bid against the properties you see advertised across the sub region or you can telephone or call into one of the partner landlords’ housing offices where staff will be on hand to help support you in choosing a home that best suits your housing need. Some of the housing offices will advertise the properties in their shop front window displays and all of them will produce newsletters detailing all the vacant properties advertised that week. A copy of the newsletter will be sent to all registered social landlords operating in the sub region and to all relevant statutory and voluntary organisations. We will also look at new ways of advertising available properties as technology develops further in the future.
On a weekly advertising cycle. The 6 day cycle will open on a Thursday and close on a Tuesday. There will be no properties advertised on a Wednesday
Yes. In order to help you make informed choices and to maximise your housing options, we will advertise properties owned by other registered social landlords and private landlords. We will also advertise low cost home ownership products, mutual exchanges and we will provide advice and information about staying put schemes.
The majority of properties will be advertised. Some properties will be held back in the event of an emergency situation (for example: for victims of fire/flood or when a particularly sensitive allocation is required). Direct offers will be made in these circumstances. Vacant properties that are part of an extra care scheme for older people with particular needs will not be advertised on the scheme.
No. These vacancies will be advertised according to the nomination agreements that exist between the registered social landlords and the local authorities that are participating in the scheme. This means we will advertise approximately 50% of vacancies on behalf of other registered social landlords. We will provide contact details and links on the website to other registered social landlords for people that wish to make a direct application for housing to them.
A shortlist of qualifying applicants will be produced from the IT system when the advertising cycle closes. The shortlist will prioritise applicants in order of their band and applicable date. Applicants in Band 1+ will be ranked first, followed by those in Bands 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The computer system will highlight people with more than one urgent or high housing need within the priority bands to ensure they are considered first.
You simply contact your local housing office and a member of staff will tell you what properties are available and will place bids on your behalf. If you are particularly vulnerable, the system will automatically place bids on your behalf or we will accept bids from a person or agency acting as your advocate.
Yes. Vacant properties with adaptations will be advertised on the scheme and people with disabilities will be given preference for this type of accommodation.
Your application will be assessed against set criteria. If you have more than one housing need within the priority band in which you have been placed, you will be highlighted and given preference for an offer of accommodation before people with only one housing need.
You must notify us of any change in circumstances that could affect your priority within the scheme. Your application will be reassessed and placed in the band that reflects your level of housing need at that time.
The scheme goes live on Thursday 9th July 2009.
The Government has set a target for all local authorities to introduce CBL by 2010 and the best way of doing this is to work together as sub regional or regional partnership. The Tees Valley CBL partnership is made up of a number of local authorities and registered social landlords who are working together to develop a customer focused choice based letting scheme, which will cover the whole of the sub region. A sub regional CBL scheme will bring together a larger pool of vacant properties, offering more choice for applicants. The resources and costs for developing and implementing the scheme will be shared between the partners and so it will be more efficient and cost effective to deliver.
Yes. However a local connection rule will apply in most circumstances. A detailed explanation of this rule is included in the full draft policy document (please see below).
No. This is because certain properties will be set aside for particular descriptions of people (as an example, sheltered schemes designed for older people will be labelled to say that only people over a particular age can apply). The property adverts will state the descriptions of people who will be considered.
This depends upon the circumstances, how long ago it occurred and what you have done to improve things. If for example you owe rent arrears to your existing or former landlord, you will not be offered a property until the arrears are paid in full or you have entered into and stuck to a repayment plan. You will be suspended from the scheme if there is evidence to prove that you have been involved in a serious criminal activity (such as drug dealing). A new application can be made when you think your behaviour should no longer be held against you because you have made changes to improve your lifestyle. We will ask you to provide evidence of this.
Yes, including those properties advertised on the scheme and those let as a result of a direct offer. This will help you see how fair, open and transparent the system is. We will publish the letting results on the website and the information will be made available at the participating landlords housing offices. The information published will help you see who got what property and you will be able to evaluate your position on the scheme against the successful applicant's. Please note we will not publish any personal data such as the successful applicant's name, date of birth or address.