Brighton and Hove City Council have introduced a new “Private Rented Sector Offer Policy”. This allows the Council to bring its statutory housing duty under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 to an end by making an offer of a private rented sector tenancy rather than a social housing tenancy. So if you are owed a full housing duty by the Council, they may fulfil their duty to you by a one-time offer of a Private Rented Sector tenancy. The tenancy must be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy of at least 12 months.
Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and the Council must complete an assessment to confirm that Private Rented accommodation is suitable and affordable for the household. If a household accommodated through the Private Rented Sector Offer become homeless again within 2 years, the Council will provide suitable interim accommodation (so long as the household is eligible and not intentionally homeless) and will have a duty to provide secure accommodation – which can be another private rented sector tenancy.
One of the groups that the Council will be prioritising for Private Rented Sector Offers is households who aren’t actively bidding on Homemove. If you would prefer a social housing tenancy, rather than a private rented sector tenancy, the advice is to ensure you are bidding consistently on Homemove to increase your chances of securing a social housing tenancy as soon as possible.
Homemove have sent us these helpful guides about how to use the online portal to bid on properties:
- Homemove user guide
- Customer Portal and Bidding
- Uploading documents to your account
- How to complete a change of address
- Homemove FAQ
You can also contact the Homemove team with any questions about bidding:
- email at homemove@brighton-hove.gov.uk
- call on 01273 294 400
