About HomeFinder

Bassetlaw HomeFinder is the social housing register for the Bassetlaw district. Socially rented properties, including properties owned by Bassetlaw District Council and owned by housing associations, are advertised on a weekly basis in ‘bid cycles’.

Applicants can bid (register their interest) for properties through the HomeFinder website and bids are prioritised based on which Band (A, B, C, D or E) the applicant has been placed into.

Each Band corresponds to a different level of housing need:

Band A – Applicants with severe / urgent housing needs
Band B – Applicants with high housing needs
Band C – Applicants with some housing needs
Band D – Applicants with no housing need
Band E – Applicants who do not have a Local Connection

The Bassetlaw HomeFinder Choice Based Lettings Policy which outlines how HomeFinder works can be found here:

Choice Based Lettings Policy (opens in a new tab)

Making an application

To join Bassetlaw HomeFinder, you can make an application by going to Register. A guide for how to register can be found on the How to register page.

Once you have completed your HomeFinder application, your details will be reviewed by our Housing Registrations Team.

If you have not fully completed your application, we will set your application back to incomplete and will contact you to advise you which parts you need to fill in.

We will contact you to request documents from you. This will include proof of your identity, National Insurance Number, current address, Local Connection to Bassetlaw and evidence of your current circumstances. Please see our Acceptable documents page for a full list of documents we can accept.

We will carry out checks on your application to make sure that you are eligible and are not a non-qualifying person. This might include obtaining a reference for your current tenancy and any former tenancies, requesting information from Probation or the Police about offending history or checks that you don’t have a financial interest in a property.

Owner occupiers will be required to complete a financial assessment and will only be accepted onto HomeFinder if they cannot afford to resolve their own housing needs. More information on this assessment can be found on the Owner occupiers page.

Once your application has been processed, you will receive a letter or email from Housing.Registrations@bassetlaw.gov.uk notifying you of your Band, Band Start Date and what types of property you are eligible to bid for.

Bidding

We advertise properties each week. Bid cycles start at 00:00 Thursday morning and end on 23:59 Tuesday night each week. All applicants can place up to 3 bids each bid cycle for properties they are eligible for. You can find a guide to placing bids on the How to bid page.

Bids are arranged in order of Band and then Band Start Date. Band A bidders will always have a higher queue position than Band B bidders and so-on. Where applicants have the same Band, their bids are organised based on waiting time (Band Start Date).

You can view your queue positions on properties you have bid for in your Account.

Bidders in Bands A & B

Applicants who are in Bands A and B are expected to bid for all available properties in the areas that are set out in your acceptance letter. For example, if we state that you must bid for all properties in Worksop and the surrounding areas, we will expect you to bid for every available property that you are eligible for in Worksop, Rhodesia, Shireoaks and Carlton in Lindrick.

We carry out checks every 2 months to make sure all Band A & B bidders are bidding on all available properties. If you do not bid for all available properties, your Banding will be removed.

Bidders in Bands C, D & E

Applicants who are in Bands C, D & E do not have to place bids. You can pick and choose which properties you wish to bid for.

However, you must only bid for properties you are interested in. If you are contacted about a property you have bid for but are not interested in, turning the property down will count as a refusal on your application. If you refuse 3 properties without good reason, your application will be suspended for 6 months.

Property offers

If you are in 1st position for a property, you will be contacted by the Housing Allocations Team to confirm your interest.

There is no timeframe for when we will contact you. We have a high amount of properties which are currently vacant so cannot contact all applicants in 1st position straight away.

We may need to complete further checks on your HomeFinder application including evidence of your current circumstances or obtaining a landlord reference.

If you are offered a property and decide to turn it down, this will be counted as a refusal on your HomeFinder application. Band A & B bidders will lose their Banding if they refuse 1 property without good reason. Bidders in Bands C, D & E will have their applications suspended for 6 months if they refuse 3 properties without good reason.

If you are contacted about an offer of a property, you will have 48 hours to respond. If you do not contact the Housing Allocations Team within 48 hours, you will be bypassed and the property will be offered to the next suitable bidder.

We cannot contact every applicant about every bid. If you have not finished in 1st position, you will only be contacted if the bidder(s) ahead of you refuse the property or if the property is not suitable for them.

You can find more information about how Bassetlaw HomeFinder works by following the below links:

The Bassetlaw HomeFinder Choice Based Lettings Policy can be found here:

Choice Based Lettings Policy (opens in a new tab)

Back to top