BHC USER GUIDE :Layout 1
Contents
1. Pre CHOICE Transforming Housing USER GUIDE CONTENTS Welcome How do find a home Getting started Check you are registered Check that you have got your user ID and pin Decide how you want to look at adverts and select properties Using the internet To start To view and search for properties To place a bid To change your bid online Useful features of the Birmingham Home Choice website Using the property advert newsletter to view properties To download a copy of the property advert newsletter To read the property advert newsletter Using the Interactive Voice Recognition IVR telephone service to place a bid Using interactive digital television to view properties and place a bid oh Noo o 0 11 14 15 16 16 T 18 19 Using SMS text messaging to place a bid What happens after you have made a bid Shortlisting Inviting you to view the property Viewing the property Turning down a property Getting feedback More useful information about your application How we choose who gets the property Larger properties Adapted housing Property symbols Change of circumstances Change of contact details Access points Using the internet in Birmingham s libraries Contact details Birmingham Zones A E Birmingham Home Choice terms 20 22 22 23 24 25 25 27 27 28 28 28 l 31 32 32 33 34 35 WELCOME This user guide will help you to use Birmingham Home C2. VIEW PROPERTIES to continue browsing and bidding on properties Remember you can place up to three bids each cycle 11 Once you have placed your bid check your contact details are correct so we can phone you You can do this by clicking on the CONTACT INFO button 12 If you have finished bidding click on Log out at the top of the screen to end your session Yi we oa ee Ea ESET dl AA A ea ma DAA bine koe A Baar ee ime Torey ru A e AA re ee pe e oer eg E ls pr el dy F PA A A nn ee herra A ee ey 13 You can review your bids before the end of the cycle see page 14 If you have been shortlisted to view the property a housing officer will contact you to invite you to attend the viewing You can also check the invitation on the My Details screen This will give you the date and time for your viewing If you have not heard from us by the viewing date then you have been unsuccessful Please do not attend the viewing You will not be able to view the property If you want some feedback on why you were not successful see page 25 To change your bid online You can only change your bid during the bidding cycle online You can do this at any time and there is no penalty for this However you can only place bids on three properties in each cycle If you have placed three bids and wish to bid on another property you will have to withdraw one of your other bids To check your bid and change it if yo
3. AE a ee eS tofu pigsty PMs fhe cae gee po far a X Panra PE i ae ea ee gs E So mete A coe pare n A E t Be TE as gt RSet ee a Gay iey 7 Bod eda We ye Uo Beg pakar pagadia Sede Rand Nal aie ga pra H RA Bebo a dh ogb abuela a al fo Qe ant in ara saa AP eee ee E Can rra KOYEL daria 35537 DC ol Kumi Mica sain ad ular ida Werle lu Ear E Ba T a o e ea 2 3 Pe z ea ey ee te et a ee ele ae y F 7 ey E o o ie reo es co re ig oa y Eaa E R HED Lea A a re a A Tita SS ie r If you would like this leaflet in large print Braille audio CD please call 0121 675 5779 Hous 85 HouCom 09 973 02 10 23K
4. For example some properties are for people aged 55 and over only The symbols are also designed to help customers with language and learning difficulties What the symbol means Zone A Sutton Erdington and Perry Barr districts Zone B Ladywood district Zone Hodge Hill and Yardley districts Zone D Hall Green and Selly Oak districts gt Zone E Northfield and Edgbaston districts NN CO E Age restriction A A Suitable for wheelchair B Suitable for people who cannot use stairs or bath What the symbol means C Suitable for people who can climb stairs D Suitable for people who can use a bath but not climb stairs Energy efficiency Ais the most energy efficient G is the least energy efficient Symbol for C energy efficiency shown Double glazing Parking Council tax band A B C D E F G H Symbol for Council tax band D shown No garden Shared garden Number of bedrooms Studio 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 Sheltered Warm air heating Central heating District heating Symbol C D EF po PS B ES MOM What the symbol means Symbol Underfloor heating Electric heating NN 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Floor level G 1 2 3 Er e 3 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 19 20 21 22 23 Gas heating No pets allowed Change of circumstances If your circumstances change please tell us For example please tell us if you are pregnant or if you have moved to another home You can do this by completi
5. full details for a property click on the button on the right side of your screen avion Oe ee HS ee e e 22 PQ o un O ee a 5 To help you make your selection information about the area is available on the up my street website There is a link to this on the left of the screen There is also a map to give you an idea of where the property is To place a bid 1 Log in using the instructions 1 to 4 on page 8 2 Click on the VIEWPROPERTES button 3 If you know the advert reference number of the property you are looking for enter it in the box labelled Search By Advert and click on the SEARCH BY ADVERT button 4 Alternatively you can browse the available properties using the previous instructions on pages 9 and 10 5 Once you have found a property you would like to bid on click on the FULL PROPERTY INFO button on the right hand side of your screen 6 Further information about properties and the area they are in is available from the up my street website There is a link for this on the Full Property Details page 7 Look at all the information about the property to make sure it is Suitable for you 8 Click on the button CLICK HERE To BID You will be taken to the My Details screen where you can see all of the bids you have placed in the current bidding cycle 9 Above your bid is a green have placed your bid LA bar telling you that you EE 10 Click on
6. selection this will be confirmed with you before the call is ended Remember if you want to change your bid you need to use the Birmingham Home Choice website page 14 USING INTERACTIVE DIGITAL TELEVISION TO VIEW PROPERTIES AND PLACE A BID If you are a Sky Virgin or Freeview customer you can place a bid using your remote control and interactive digital television known as Looking Local For details on how to access Looking Local please contact your digital television provider Sky 0844 2411 411 Virgin 0845 454 1111 Freeview 08701111 270 Remember you change your bid using the Birmingham Home Choice website page 14 USING SMS TEXT MESSAGING TO PLACE A BID You can place a bid using a mobile phone You will need your user ID PIN number and the property advert reference number to do this 1 Open a new text message on your phone 2 Enter bid at the start of the message then followed by your user ID number then and your PIN number then again then the property advert reference number you want to bid for 3 If you want to bid for any other properties add another then repeat the process by adding the property advert reference number you want to bid for Repeat up to the text limit on your mobile telephone You can place up to three bids in each bidding cycle For example if your user ID is 987654 your PIN number is 010164 and you bid on property 123456 your message will be bid 987654 010164
7. 123456 If the key is not on your telephone s keypad scroll through your mobile s symbols options or check your mobile phone instruction booklet e Check the numbers are correct and press send on your keypad to 07800 002 429 When your bid is received we will send a text to confirm we have received it If you have not put the word bid at the start of your text it will not be processed and you will not get a reply If your bids are valid you will get a message listing the property advert reference number or numbers If you have used an invalid user ID or PIN number the message will tell you We will also list any invalid advert numbers you have used When we process the bid if we find any bids you were not eligible for we will send another text listing them Do not try to send your message again You will receive a text to say we have received your bid within one hour of sending it assuming your mobile phone reception is working OK Only send your message again if you do not receive this text after an hour The system is fully automated so if you have any queries about your bidding please call 0121 675 5779 Most mobile telephone texts cost around 10p to send and have a limit of 165 characters per message You can save a sample bid in your templates or archive section of your mobile phone and just change the property advert numbers each time you want to bid again You cannot change your bid using SMS text
8. My Details page 5 You can check that we have the right contact details for you by clicking on the CONTACT INFO box If you need to change the details please enter the change in the Notes Query text box and click on the suemir button Please do not use this box for submitting enquiries about your application we will not be able to answer any queries submitted in this box To view and search for properties 1 Click on VIEW PROPERTIES to see the properties that are available to choose from OO eee oe ee a 2 If you know the advert reference number of the property enter it in the box labelled Search By Advert and click on button 3 You can reduce the list to show only properties that you are interested in by setting a number of preferences These are displayed in the grey Select the Filter Criteria section at the top of the page You can search based on criteria such as a Area of the city see page 34 b Bedroom size Remember you will not usually be able to bid on properties that are larger than you are eligible for You can however bid on properties that are one bedroom short as long as it won t result in you by law being overcrowded c Sheltered accommodation If you are looking for studio accommodation a property where the sleeping and living space is combined please search using O bedrooms Once you have chosen your criteria press APPLY FILTERS 4 To see
9. Organisations TMOs TMOs are independent organisations formed and run by residents who are elected by their neighbours They represent tenants and manage a number of services on behalf of the council although Birmingham City Council continues to be the overall landlord of the properties This le Iroponiant yea do res ro shad Mog chee p Aata ask a ierg Ge re alo ebro Spares E tgh Econ ai Pod Oia oF Pol 10 loat eo wow Sead We wi Ihan arange tor aa alergene ts menl wedh pa miia ming A EY pa AY y dal da a i yap pep a E ag dr da E H oahi dpkg hea dy bhi m ier i REA dgl l ala A w ary _ at IS age eT lee ep ete ee Tage O ee ee a BES To 5 Toa ee a a et tg s o E ors Bla Th em wet etme rere tat wens ee E O A nae Tae re En BELE oe Olney etapa de we al nm i In ght JA de ips tes pla Loi Bat Yar lee i ot mae Le A er oe oo E o A Dd ge pd do ko e Le te Hi Esa g atis Mes g niaan Di yega te epee gas CE ck men bee Bou d ar aeren de yi Re Ge argia s EP reg Lr wone GO YEU Ba oS eee m West ine da eter hoss ceenge ong digs bee dopo ores RCO eS BOW guun repna sol RARO o Ae an AA ae pune 1 y oor il lr Ja A PA AED jo A rl il ier pa a ap ha tae pee y Re S Jn FAA o ra y A a E bm pii dp oe A Wine Jabo ne MAT A ee E cT PC lub li e Y Mer PAM MEy Rae ug v Tear m eny elogio fram Broca ym bless diain acpi Le DAA o pc g Tami ata my lody ch Cedr Ibarra E A T apl Bd at
10. erty you are eligible for under our allocations scheme If you are unsure please contact your local neighbourhood office For more detailed information on how we make this decision please see our allocations summary available from your local neighbourhood office or on our website www birminghamhomechoice org uk The shortlist of applicants will be based on people s housing needs points The number of points you have is on your registration certificate If you have any questions about your points please contact your local neighbourhood office The applicants with the most points who are eligible for the property will be selected to view the property Larger properties There is a big demand for larger properties in Birmingham Rooms in larger properties vary in size This means that a three bedroom property may be too small for you and your family while another three bedroom property will be large enough So a property may be too small for you even if it has the right number of bedrooms In this case we won t invite you to view it Adapted housing If you have a disability or health problem and think you need adapted housing please contact your neighbourhood office Property symbols These symbols tell you about the property including the location type of house number of bedrooms type of heating and so on The symbols give customers an easy way of seeing what s available and which properties they are eligible for
11. hoice and get the home of your choice Birmingham Home Choice is the way for customers to find and rent a home from Birmingham City Council Midland Heart Family Housing Association and some other housing associations in the city The scheme is open to applicants for social housing and existing tenants who want to move HOW DO I FIND A HOME We advertise all of our available homes on the Birmingham Home Choice website or if you don t have access to a website in a property newsletter You can look at the newsletter in libraries neighbourhood offices Citizens Advice Bureaux and other places in Birmingham you can find a list of these in your neighbourhood office or at www birminghamhomechoice org uk e Your local library can help get you started using Birmingham Home Choice and provide internet access e Your local neighbourhood office can give you support and advice about Birmingham Home Choice and your other housing options You can make an appointment with your neighbourhood office by calling 0121 303 1111 You can tell us that you are interested in a property we Call this making a bid or bidding We normally advertise properties from Thursday to Tuesday each week we Call this the bidding cycle You must be registered with See page Birmingham Home Choice 6 You can do this on the LOOK THROUGH Birmingham Home Choice Saer ADVERTS website or property newsletter Make sure you bid See pages otherwise we wo
12. how you want to view properties and bid on them You can look through property adverts on the website property newsletter and interactive television Properties are advertised for one week from one minute past midnight on Thursday to one minute past midnight on Tuesday You can bid on our properties using the website interactive telephone interactive television and text messaging You can change your bid on the website This chart shows you your options at a glance Look through property adverts Change bid Birmingham Home Choice website Birmingham Home Choice property newsletter Interactive Voice Recognition IVR telephone Interactive Digital television SMS text messaging USING THE INTERNET You can go online to see what properties are available each week to bid and change your bid You can use the internet free at any of Birmingham s libraries see page 32 Go to www birminghamhomechoice org uk or search for Birmingham Home Choice To start 1 Click on the link to EA page 2 Click on to go to the log in page apan a sole 3 In the box for registered users A ge enter your user ID and PIN number iam and click the oc button If you have any problems logging on please refresh the site and try logging on again 4 You are now on the page that tells you the number of housing points you have and the details of any bids that you have made
13. list a housing officer will telephone you to check the details of your housing application are correct and to ask if you want to view the property This means that it is important that we have up to date contact details for you We will give you the date and time of the viewing and ask you to bring proof of identity for you and anyone else in your household who is going to move with you We will tell you which proofs of identity you need to bring along Please remember to bring these documents with you If you are successful at the viewing the landlord will need proof of identity and if you do not have this information the property may be let to the next customer on the shortlist We will also confirm your position on the shortlist If the property you have been shortlisted for is owned by a housing association also known as a registered social landlord they may invite you to an interview before the viewing If we can t reach you by telephone we will write to you on the same day to tell you the date and time of viewing Viewing the property Normally you will view the property along with other customers on the shortlist The viewing may take place while the property is being repaired It will be made safe so that you can shown round the rooms Please make sure that you arrive in good time for your viewing We can t rearrange viewings so if you are late you may lose your opportunity to view the property and we may offer it t
14. me Choice website www birminghamhomechoice org uk and click on Latest Advert Welga ya Hinmingiar Mere Choice 2 You need to have an Adobe Reader you can download one here 3 This week s property advert newsletter will on the list You can either save or print a copy To read the property advert newsletter You can look at the property advert newsletter at any library or neighbourhood office This lists all the available properties each week Your local library or neighbourhood office has a list of other places across Birmingham where you can view a copy of the property advert newsletter To make a bid you can use the Birmingham Home Choice website page 8 the interactive voice recognition telephone service page 18 interactive digital television page19 and SMS text messaging page 20 USING THE INTERACTIVE VOICE RECOGNITION IVR TELEPHONE SERVICE TO PLACE A BID The IVR telephone service allows you to use your touch tone telephone to place a bid It is available in English and nine other languages The IVR telephone number is 0845 330 3183 local rates You will need your user ID PIN number and the property advert reference number to select a property All you have to do is call the number and follow some very easy steps In less than two minutes you can register your property selection over the telephone You can place up to three bids in each cycle When you have completed recording your property
15. messaging If you need to change your text bid you can withdraw your bid online see page 14 WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU HAVE MADE A BID You can place your bid for properties at any time within each bidding cycle You can make three bids within each bidding cycle but you will only be able to view one property in each bidding cycle Shortlisting Once the bidding cycle has closed we will look at all the bids and rank them in order People who have the most housing points and are eligible will be at the top of the list and people with the fewest housing points or who are not eligible will be at the bottom We will then draw up a shortlist of up to six people for the property When you are on the shortlist you won t be able to bid for another property until we know whether anyone is going to accept the property you are viewing Sometimes you will be among the top applicants for more than one property e If this happens we will invite you to view the property where you are highest on the shortlist e f you are at the top of more than one shortlist we will telephone you to ask you which property you would like to view e If we can t phone you we will write to invite you to view the property which has the earliest viewing date e You will not be able to view more than one property You can find out more about how to choose who gets the property on page 27 Inviting you to view the property If you are on a short
16. n BIRMINGHAM HOME CHOICE TERMS Access points There are many public places in Birmingham where customers can access the Birmingham Home Choice property newsletter and in some cases use a computer to access the website www birminghamhomechoice org uk See User Guide page 32 Assisted bidding If someone is not able to place a bid themselves a friend family member or support worker can bid for them This is called assisted bidding Bidding or making a bid This is the term used when customers express an interest in a particular property No money is involved O See User Guide page 5 Bidding cycle The council advertises all its available properties This is known as the bidding cycle D See User Guide page 22 Birmingham Home Choice This is the name of Birmingham s choice based lettings scheme Choice based lettings scheme This is the general name for schemes such as Birmingham Home Choice run by councils and registered social landlords The schemes allow customers to see all the available properties each week and put in a bid for the ones they would like to move to Housing association This is another name for a registered social landlord a not for profit organisation that provides rented accommodation Housing points We give some people on the Housing Register housing points to recognise their housing needs We follow our allocations scheme when we award points so tha
17. n t know 11 18 19 that you are interested and 20 We base this on your See page oe A T housing points and your 2 eligibility If you are shortlisted you wee VIEW THE will be invited to view the 23 property with other applicants The person with the highest DECIDE IF YOU points who wants to live there WANT TO MOVE will be offered the property See page 24 GETTING STARTED Check you are registered To use Birmingham Home Choice you need to be registered with Birmingham City Council Family Housing Association or Midland Heart and have a user ID and PIN number The properties you can see will depend on which organisation you are registered with Your registration letter gives you details of which properties you are eligible for You will need to be registered with one of the organisations listed above You can contact Midland Heart and Family Housing Association directly to join their waiting list Alternatively you can complete a Birmingham City Council application form available from your nearest neighbourhood office or from www birminghamhomechoice org uk Check you have got your ID and PIN number Before you start check you have your User ID and personal identification number PIN number handy If you wish you can write them down here User ID PIN number If you have lost your user ID and PIN number please phone the organisation you are registered with see page 33 for the phone numbers Decide
18. ng a Change of Circumstances form available from your Neighbourhood Office or at www birmingham gov uk finding a home Change of contact details If your contact details change it is important that you tell us so that we can telephone you and invite you to view a property You can change your details by clicking on the button on the Birmingham Home Choice website page 9 or contact your local neighbourhood office Access points There are many access points in Birmingham where you can use a computer free of charge or look at the most recent property newsletter These access points include The Property Shop at the Central Library Chamberlain Square Birmingham B3 3HQ Your local library Neighbourhood offices Community and voluntary groups Wardlow Road Centre Northfield Town Centre Partnership Shop Ask at your local neighbourhood office for details of your nearest access point or you can visit www birminghamhomechoice org uk Using the internet in Birmingham s libraries To use the internet at one of Birmingham s libraries you need to become a member You can do this at any library in Birmingham Simply take one proof of your name and address for example a gas or electricity bill and a member of the library staff will register you there and then Ladywood Hodge Hill Districts and A Yardley D Districts ana Hall Green Northfield aad Districts Selly Oak Districts 4 El Edgbasto
19. o someone else It is important that you do not bring family and friends along with you when you view the property If you do they may be asked to wait outside A housing officer will show you around the property The person who is top of the shortlist will be asked if they want to become the tenant If they do not the housing officer will offer it to the person who is number two on the shortlist and so on If more than one customer with the same number of housing points wants to move into the property we will offer it to the person who has been on the Housing Register the longest If the property is being repaired and you want to accept it we will ask you to sign an acceptance form that day When the repairs are complete we will ask you to come and sign for the tenancy and we will give you the keys to the property Turning down a property Most customers who do not want to accept a property after they have viewed it will not be penalised However this does not apply to some customers who are owed a legal duty to be rehoused by Birmingham City Council If we penalise you for refusing a property we will tell you beforehand that this will apply to you If you don t turn up for your viewing without telling us or consistently refuse suitable properties we will review your application and we may reduce your housing points Getting feedback Feedback about your bids is located on the My Details page of the Birmingham H
20. ome Choice website My Current Bids lists the properties you have bid on and what your final position is on the list The feedback tells you e about your current and previous bids e where you are in the shortlist for any current bids e if you were unsuccessful where you were in the shortlist and if there was a particular reason that you were unsuccessful The feedback also tells you how many points the successful applicant had and when they joined the housing register We also provide information on all our lettings each week on our website To see this you can visit www birminghamhomechoice org uk and click on Lettings Feedback Welga te Binminghom Home Choice This information will tell you what kinds of customers are successful at bidding on which properties in which areas It will not give any customer details You can use this information to make the best use of your bids by placing bids on properties where people with similar points to you are being successful MORE USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION How we choose who gets the property You can only bid for properties that you are eligible for Birmingham City Council uses its allocations scheme to decide the number of bedrooms a person is eligible for This way we can be fair about who gets which property For example larger households will be eligible for larger properties Your registration certificate will tell you what size and type of prop
21. t the process is fair and open Housing Register The name of our housing waiting list If you are on our waiting list you will need to take part in Birmingham Home Choice Neighbourhood office Birmingham City Council has a number of neighbourhood offices around the city where you can speak to staff about Birmingham Home Choice as well as other housing and council related queries You can find your nearest office by calling 0121 303 1111 Registered social landlord This is another name for a housing association a not for profit organisation that provides rented accommodation Registration certificate When you join the Housing Register we write to you with a registration certificate This tells you how many housing points you have and what type of properties you can bid for Shortlist After a property has been advertised for around a week the bidding cycle we draw up a shortlist of up to six applicants We invite these applicants to view the property This is based on your housing needs points O See User Guide page 22 Social housing Viewing The name given to homes Customers on the shortlist let by local councils and for a property are invited to registered social landlords visit or view the property See User Guide page 23 Studio accommodation Self contained flat with one main room and kitchen and bathroom The main room is the living room and bedroom in one Tenant Management
22. u want to 1 2 Follow steps 1 to 4 on pages 8 and 9 You are now in the My Details page Here you will see a list of the properties that you are currently bidding on Find the property on the list that you wish to change your bid on and click on withdraw bid You will be taken back to the full property details screen In place of the CLICK HERE To BID button you will see a button labelled eu HERETO WITHDRAW Click on this button to withdraw your bid You will be returned to the My Details page 6 The INFO bar confirms that your bid has been withdrawn Useful features of the Birmingham Home Choice website To listen to our website Click on the Say It icon Translation Click on languages and pick the language you require Large font Click on Text size at the top of the screen Our website is designed to be easy to use for people with hearing and sight difficulties It is compatible with most plug in devices Text only option Click on Text only at the top of the screen This allows you to view the website with no graphics and to change the colours of the text and background You won t be able to view symbols with the text only option USING THE PROPERTY ADVERT NEWSLETTER TO VIEW PROPERTIES You can download or read a property newsletter which will contain details of all the properties available that week To download a copy of the property advert newsletter 1 Go to the Birmingham Ho
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