Home Connections – choosing your home

Choice-based lettings guide

Changes to Home Connections bidding rules and adverts

Previously anyone who was registered and active on Haringey Council’s Home Connections could bid for properties that we had advertised. However, in October 2016 we changed the bidding rules to improve the service.

Maximum three bids per week

Previously you could bid for as many properties as you like, but since October 2016 you can only bid for a maximum of three in any one week. If you have already placed three bids you are unable to make a fourth. You now have to remove at least one of your previous bids to make way for the new property you are interested in. This small change enables you and other customers to make much more informed choices when selecting properties and make it possible for lower priority clients to be shortlisted.

Auto-bidding

If you were previously on automated bidding you had the right to bid for a property with one bedroom less than your need. This remains unchanged. However, if Home Connections has already placed three bids on your behalf you need to contact the Lettings Team in order to place a bid for a smaller property.

Properties will be added throughout the week

Previously we published a new advert on the Wednesday of each week. That advert remained unchanged until the deadline. Since October 2016 the advert is opened every Monday and properties are being added as they become available over the course of the week up until midday every Friday, although the advert still closes at midnight every Sunday. You need to regularly check the advert during the week to see if more properties have been added that you would like to bid for.

If these changes affect you and you have any concerns please contact the Lettings Team by email at lettings@haringey.gov.uk or by phone (020 8489 4339).

Who can apply?

You can apply if you are registered and active on the Housing Register. You will need a User ID and PIN to bid for a property - we should have already sent you these if you are already registered. These will be 6-digit numbers.

If you are not registered, visit the Housing Register page to find out how to get on the Housing Register. The demand for social housing outweighs the supply of homes, therefore we strongly urge people to consider other housing options.

Where to view properties

Properties are advertised on our Home Connections website (external link), which will be updated every week.

You can also view the properties at our Customer Services Centres around the borough.

How it works

Bidding using banding and effective date

When you bid for properties, your level of priority will be determined by your Housing Needs Band (A, B or C) and the date you joined the Register - your effective date.

A list of properties available to you will be shown online when you log in to the Home Connections website (external link).

Due to the very high demand for social rented housing in Haringey, almost all of it will be offered to applicants in Housing Needs Bands A and B.

Therefore, we strongly urge applicants in other bands to visit our housing options page or call 020 8489 1000 to book an appointment with a housing adviser.

Calls can be made during these times:

  • Monday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Tuesday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Wednesday - 10am to 5pm 
  • Thursday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Friday - 9am to 5pm 

If you see a property you like

If you see a property that you like, you can put in a bid for it from Monday to midnight on the following Sunday.

You can bid for three properties in any week and if you are shortlisted, we will call the top bidders on the following Monday and then invite them to view as many as three properties as soon as Wednesday - so please make sure we have your most recent phone number.

Then we will make an offer to the most successful bidder on Wednesday, following an interview to validate your application and check all your documents - so please get your documents ready.

And you could be moving into your new home as soon as the following Monday. That is just one week from spotting the property you like, bidding for it and accepting our offer.

How to bid for a home

There are four different ways you can make your bid: by web, phone, smartphone (see limitations below) and text - make sure you have the property advert number, your User ID and PIN ready.

On the web

To view properties and bid for them online, you need to go to the Home Connections website (external link), click on 'I am already registered' and then enter your 6-digit user ID and PIN.

By smartphone (Android or iPhones only)

You can download the Home Connect app for Android from Google Play and for iPhones from App Store. You can then view and bid for properties directly from your smartphone. Please visit the Home Connections website (external link) for further information.

By text

To bid by text, enter your pin number and user ID followed by the property number you are bidding for, with the hash sign # in between each number.

For example, if your user ID is 023456 and your PIN is 020961 and you want to bid for 2 properties with references 123456 and 555444, you would enter Bid#023456#020961#123456#555444 and send the text to 07781 482 894.

Ending your tenancy

Leaving your property - information for council tenants

You must give us 4 weeks' notice in writing if you want to end your tenancy and leave the property. Notice from one joint tenant ends the tenancy for both. The notice you give must end on a Monday. We will charge the rent for this period of notice.

If you leave and do not tell us, you will have to pay the rent for the property until the date when you tell us you have left or we repossess the property.

We can help

Call us on 020 8489 1000 if you need help or pop into one of our Customer Services Centres or libraries - where a member of staff can give you advice or help you use a computer.

Calls can be made during these times:

  • Monday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Tuesday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Wednesday - 10am to 5pm 
  • Thursday - 9am to 5pm 
  • Friday - 9am to 5pm

Letting of social housing (Home Connections bids and direct lets)

Outcomes of the bids the council has received in respect of the social housing advertised through the choice-based lettings scheme (Home Connections) in 2023/24 up to 31 December 2023.

The file contains the following information:

  • the size, type and location of the home
  • the number of applicants who bid for the property and advert number
  • the band and effective date of the successful bidder

The file also includes any homes that were let as ‘direct lets’ and were not advertised on the Home Connections site.

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    Page last updated:

    February 5, 2024