If you are successful in your bid to rent a home from us, there a few steps to take before you can move in. This page tells you what will happen when you have been matched to a property.

If you are the first tenant to live in a property, read living in a newly built council home as well.

Receiving an offer

If your bid for a property is successful, we will contact you by phone or email to offer to show it to you. You must accept this offer within 24 hours, or we will offer it to the next person on the shortlist.

We will only offer you one property viewing at a time. If you are offered a viewing, you must decide whether the property is suitable for you.

If you have applied for sheltered accommodation, we will assess the suitability of both the property and the scheme for you before making a firm offer.

We will send you a tenancy offer and useful information to help you settle in, such as details of organisations that can assist with furniture and household items. We will also send you a ‘viewing pack’ with details about the property, including:

• the rent amount and any service charges
• which Council Tax band the property is in and how much that will cost each year
• what type of heating the property has
• whether any adaptations have been installed

If the property is ready to move into when you view it, and if you accept the tenancy offer, we will sign you up within 24 hours. Your tenancy can start as early as the following Monday.

Sometimes, we will not have a move-in date at your viewing appointment. We will tell you it and arrange to finalise your tenancy agreement as soon as possible.

The property will be unfurnished and ready to decorate if you wish to do so. The kitchen and bathroom will have flooring, and if flooring is left in other rooms in good condition, that will be gifted to you.

Viewing the property

At the property, we will show you how to use the heating system and where to find:

• the electric, gas and water meters
• the stopcock for mains water
• the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
• the communal bins, if you are viewing a flat

The gas supply to the property will be capped off for safety before you move in. We will show you how to uncap it at the viewing.

The previous tenant may have left some items in the property, such as flooring, built-in units or garden structures. If these are in good condition we will gift them to you and explain their on-going upkeep at the viewing.

If the property qualifies for decoration vouchers, we will explain how to claim and use them at the viewing.

It’s a good idea to bring a tape measure to take measurements for carpets and window dressings.

If you have an advocate who is supporting you with your application, they are welcome to attend the viewing.

We can arrange for an occupational therapist to attend the viewing with you, if you have been assessed as having limited mobility. The property might be more suitable following some adaptations – our Lettings Policy [PDF, 0.3MB], Reasonable Adjustments Policy [PDF, 96Kb] and policy on adaptations for tenants with a disability explain the measures we have in place to support tenants with extra needs.

Signing the tenancy agreement

When you accept your offer, we will arrange a meeting at which to sign your tenancy agreement and send you a copy of the agreement to review. The meeting will usually take place at the property, although in some cases we can meet you at your current home or elsewhere.

We will ask you to electronically sign the agreement in advance of the meeting. If you cannot do this, we will print a copy and ask you to sign it at the meeting. The agreement is a legally binding document, so please read it carefully before you sign it.

At the meeting, we will ask you to confirm that you have understood the terms and conditions set out in the agreement. You can ask us any questions you have about the property or your tenancy.

We will also ask whether you or any member of your household member has any extra needs, and about any care and support services you receive. We can provide advice and support or help to refer you to an external support agency if you need.

We will ask how you will pay your rent and explain how to set up your payment.

We will give you a tenancy declaration form to complete, which asks for:

• your contact details
• details of your next of kin
• your employment status
• consent to contact you

We will also ask you to complete a continuous recording (‘core’) form, which is a government requirement for all new tenancies. Read the government’s social housing lettings guidance for information about continuous recording.

We will give you the keys to the property and check they all work, and make sure you have the correct number of bins.

We will review our Relet Standard [PDF, 81Kb] with you and ask you to confirm that the property meets the standard.

If the property qualifies for decoration vouchers, we will issue and explain how to redeem them. The vouchers expire after three months.

Because we give you a lot of information at this meeting, we will give you a ‘things to do’ leaflet listing what you need to do after you receive the keys. We will send it to you by email, along with:

• your rent account number (tenancy reference number)
• a copy of the tenant’s handbook
• Right to Buy information
• the property’s Energy Performance Certificate
• information about our housing portal, which you can use to check your balance and request repair work