Bid

How to bid

Once your application has been accepted and is "active" you can start bidding for properties.

Bidding allows you and other people on the housing register to express an interest in properties advertised by Birmingham City Council and some Housing Associations.

Your band award, award and registration date will determine how successful you are.

You need to log in to your account to bid for properties

Each property advert contains a set of symbols which will tell you more about the property.

Clicking on each property listing will tell you more about it, including the landlord, location, size, rent and other features.

Please see this guide for more information on this - Bidding Guidance

Available properties

Properties that are available to bid on are advertised on a weekly cycle starting from midnight on Thursdays mornings and ending the following Monday at 11:59pm. (Bidding cycles may vary during bank holidays.)

You can place 2 bids during each bidding cycle. Bids can be reviewed and changed before the bidding cycle closes at midnight every Monday. This means that if you place a bid early in the bidding cycle, at which point you are in bid position 1 but when you check again a few days later you find that there are a lot of people ahead of you, then you can remove the bid and use it on a different property. As a rough guide, only up to the top three bids are invited to a viewing although occasionally people below this may be invited the following week if no-one accepts the property.

Mobility awards and adapted properties

Applicants accepted onto the housing register who have/or household member has a physical disability and requires a property with adaptations are assessed by an Occupational Therapist.

To ensure the best match to available adapted properties applicants level of adaptations are identified and a mobility category of “Mobility” 1, 2 or 3 will be given based upon the level of need. This category of need will be confirmed by the Occupational Therapist.

For example, a mobility 2 category may be awarded to a person who needs a level access shower and level access to a property.

In order to make best use of the housing stock and ensure people can be easily matched; when adapted properties become available for re-letting the properties are advertised by categorising the mobility level and matching the characteristics of any adaptations. Adapted properties are not necessarily wheelchair accessible – levels of adaptations vary considerably from property to property.

The categories of the adaptations will include at least one of the following:

Stair lift
Through floor lift
Level access shower or accessible bathing facilities
Ceiling track hoist
Wheelchair access
Wider doorways
Ramped or level access to an external door
Level internal layout

Each property advert contains a description of “adapted” and a set of symbols which will tell you more about the property. For example this icon identifies an adapted mobility 3 property.

This supports applicants in making an informed decision about whether a property is suitable and to place a bid. Applicants who bid for a property with an adaptation that they require will usually be prioritised over an applicant with the same priority banding who does not.

If an applicant requires adaptations and bids for a standard unadapted property, it should be suitable for their needs or suitable to be adapted. The usual shortlisting rules will apply.

If a standard unadapted property is accepted, tenants may then apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant to help towards the costs of making changes to the home. An assessment and permission from the landlord will also be required. For Birmingham City Council tenants, telephone 0121 303 1234, option 1 for an Occupational Therapist assessment, or email csadultsocialcare@birmingham.gov.uk. More information is available here - Help to use or move around your home.

What happens to my bid?

All bids on a property are automatically put in priority order (based on band, award, and/or registration date) on the property shortlist. Once the advertising cycle has closed, the shortlist will be reviewed.

It is important to remember that your final bid position will not necessarily be your final position on the shortlist. Usually, one, two or three customers will be shortlisted and those at the top of the shortlist will normally be invited to view the property. Sometimes the shortlisting position will be different from the bid position; we will let you know if this is the case when we contact you.

If the property has been adapted for people with disabilities, the landlord will try to allocate it to the person who it will benefit the most.

If you have been overlooked (skipped) for a property, there will be a reason recorded for this, which you will be able to see when you log into your account.

What is a direct offer?

You may notice that some of the properties listed on the site are under direct offer. A direct offer is where the landlord has offered the property directly to the applicant without having to go through the bidding process. Properties under direct offer are not available to applicants.