Lettings Policy

Tower Hamlets Lettings Policy88. If an offer is refused it will be offered tothe next applicant on the shortlist andso on until the home is accepted.89. You should not bid for homes that youwould not be willing to accept if theywere offered to you.Direct Offer Policy90. The Council and its Common HousingRegister partners will as far as possiblelet the majority of property through thechoice based lettings scheme. However,the Council and its partners can offer ahome directly to some applicants inexceptional circumstances withoutadvertising the home through thescheme. Reasons for this can be: tomeet the need of a high priorityapplicant; or to meet a legal obligation;or for effective management of theCouncil’s or partners housing stock; inrelation to public protection cases; aspart of overcrowding reductioninitiatives; or for split households.91. Direct Offers can also be made onSheltered Housing vacancies where theproperty has been advertised once andhas not been let.How will I know if I will be offered ahome that I have applied for?92. We receive a lot of bids for advertisedhomes every week. We will only contactthe applicant who has been successfulwith the details of when they can viewthe property. To make sure thatproperties are let as soon as possible,you may be asked to view a homewhere the repairs are not yetcompleted.93. When you view the property you will betold what repairs are to be done to it,whether any allowances are payable tohelp you move or decorate, and whenyou would be expected to move in. Ifyou view a property on Monday,Tuesday or Wednesday your tenancy willusually start on the following Monday. Ifyou view the property on Thursday orFriday, your tenancy will usually start onthe second Monday after the viewing.What happens if I don’t accept an offerof a home or not turn up to view it?94. If you are an applicant where theCouncil has accepted a homeless dutyto then different rules apply. It is veryimportant that you speak to someone inthe Homeless Team before you refusean offer made to you.95. If you refuse a home that is offered toyou your application will usually remainactive and you will still be able to applyfor available homes.96. If you do not attend a viewing, we willassume that you have refused theproperty unless there are very goodreasons why you could not turn up andyou could not tell us beforehand.97. If you are offered a home as anemergency case on medical groundsand refuse the offer unreasonably yourpriority will be withdrawn and you willbe placed in Band 1 Group B as apriority medical case.98. If your application is in priority socialcategory Group A or B, or a prioritytarget group in Band 1 Group B and yourefuse an offer unreasonably yourpriority will be withdrawn. If you are inBand 1 Group B as a priority medicalcase and you refuse an offer, your casemay be reviewed and considerationgiven to withdrawing your priority.99. You can ask us to review the decisionsto withdraw any priority award. We willconsider every review on its merits.However, for the review to succeedthere should be justifiable and genuinereasons why the property was notsuitable for you or why it was notreasonable for us to make you the offer.16