Choice Based Lettings

 
 

How and when can I bid?

you choose letting sign

When can I bid?

You can bid for a property from the Wednesday it appears on the website and in the property booklet until midnight the following Sunday.

How do I bid? 

Bidding via website

Step one:
Login to Home Connections

Step two:
Type www.westminster.gov.uk/housing in the Internet address box and then click on the links to 'Home Connections'. This will open the Home Connections home page. Click 'I'm already registered' at the bottom of the page.

Step three:
This will open the 'Private Zone' and will ask you to enter your six figure User ID and PIN. Then click 'Login'. You will be asked if you wish to continue as you are entering a secure site - click 'Yes' to continue.

Step four:
A page will open showing your points total, bedrooms required and whether your application is 'registered for bidding' or 'suspended'. Your recent bid history is displayed on the right.

Step five:
Click on the 'Search properties' button. You can search for properties in two ways:

1. Enter your search criteria into the boxes and click 'Search for properties matching above criteria'. You will get a list of properties. Click on 'Full property info' for more details of each property.

2. If you want to bid for a property you have seen in the weekly flyer, enter its advert number in the 'Search by property advert number' and click 'Find'.

Step six:
If the property is the right size for you and your case is active you will get a 'Click here to bid for this property' button in the top left corner - if you click on it your bid will be registered and you will get a message to confirm it.

Bidding by phone using IVR

To bid by phone using IVR (Interactive Voice Recognition) you will need a touch tone phone with a hash button (the # sign on the keypad).

1. Ring 020 7974 5823
2. Choose the language you want to use
3. Enter your User ID number
4. Enter your PIN (personal identification number)
5. Press 1 to bid for a new property
6. Enter the advert number for the property
7. The system confirms the property you have selected. If it is the one you want, press 1 and the bid is confirmed. If it is the wrong one press 2 and you will be asked to enter the property number again.

If you try to bid for a property that you are not eligible for your bid will not be processed and the system will tell you this.

Bidding by mobile phone

Have your User ID, PIN and the property advert number ready.

Step one:
Open a new text message on your phone.

Step two:
Leaving no spaces, enter: 'bid', '#', your User ID number, '#', your PIN, then for each property you want to bid for, '#' followed by the advert reference number.  

For example, if your User ID is 987654, your PIN is 010164 and you want to bid for two properties, with references 123456 and 555444, your text message would read:

bid#987654#010164#123456#555444

Step three:
Check the numbers are correct, press 'send' on your key pad and key in 0780 014 0739.

If you have followed steps 1-3 correctly, you should get a text from us within an hour telling you whether your bid is valid or not. However, if your reception is poor you you will not get our message until you are in an area with a better signal.

Download the Choice Based Lettings Guide (PDF)