FAQ's

Choice Based Letting Scheme is a method that can be used for the allocation of a council property and offers more choice and involvement for approved housing and transfer applicants in selecting a new home. Kildare County Council will operate a pilot CBL Scheme initially which will allow approved applicants to express an interest in a suitable council property in any area. A ‘suitable’ council property is one that matches the applicant‘s approved housing needs.

Please note that for those applicants that express an interest in a CBL council property, only those whose household composition suits the property type will be considered i.e. the number of bedrooms that applicants are approved for.

Also note that you will need to log in every week to check whether you wish to express an interest in the properties advertised in that week. The properties will appear on our website from 9 a.m. on Fridays to 5 p.m. on Thursdays. If there are no properties for the week, the website will state this.

Initially for the pilot phase the Council will advertise a handful of council properties. However, there will be a wide range of residential properties available going forward from various locations in the County. The properties will be advertised on the Council’s website under the heading Choice Based Lettings. We will keep the list of available properties up-to-date but you will need to check it every week. New properties will be advertised on a Friday (9am) and will remain open for expressions of interest until the following Thursday (12pm).

Please note that not all council properties will be advertised on CBL pilot scheme initially. The Council will decide which properties to advertise. Properties that are wheelchair accessible or properties required for particular circumstances, such as elderly units, will never be advertised on CBL.

Yes. The properties may be advertised before works on the property, to bring it up to normal standards for letting, are completed. However, all properties are brought up to standard prior to formal hand over of keys.

Choice Based Letting is being introduced as part of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 and is included in the Government’s Action Plan for Housing & Homelessness (2016). The scheme is being successfully used by other Local Authorities at present. Kildare County Council are introducing a pilot CBL Scheme initially.

If there is more than one household interested in letting the property that you are interested in, we will decide which household is allocated the property. When deciding this, we will take account of factors such as:

• your waiting time on the housing list
• your family size
• the type of property needed
• your category under the Allocation Scheme
• good Estate Management & Garda vetting

You must express an interest on the property online via the Council’s website. Please note that the Council will make contact with the successful applicant only.

Please note that contact made by Kildare County Council with the applicant household which it is considering for allocation under choice based letting, does not constitute an official offer of housing, until such time as that applicant household has passed the Garda vetting procedure of Kildare County Council. This procedure comprises of a Garda check and Estate Management clearance and a possible interview, as well as the provision of up-to-date information for your housing file.

If you don’t have access to the internet, you are welcome to call into any of the public libraries to use their public computers to access the website. To do this you will need to be a Library Member. Membership to the library service is currently FREE and to become a member you will need photo identification and proof of your current address. You can also use a Smart phone or a tablet to access the CBL website.

You will not be able to view the property before formal allocation. This is in line with the Council’s current policy. By expressing an interest in the council property you are committing to taking the property.

Please note that contact made by Kildare County Council with the applicant which it is considering for allocation under choice based letting does not constitute an official offer of housing until such time as that applicant & their household have passed the Garda vetting procedure of Kildare County Council. This procedure comprises of a Garda check and Estate Management clearance and possible interview as well as the provision of up-to-date information for your housing file.

Yes as you will be adequately housed.

If you are housed through CBL, you are removed from the social housing support waiting list. Should you refuse an offer of a property that you expressed an interest in, you will not be entitled to make further expressions of interest on further CBL properties for a period of one year.

Yes. Provided that you are eligible for a transfer under the current transfer policy and that up-to-date rent returns have been made on your file and rent is paid up-to-date.

Applicants on the housing waiting list can express interest online in CBL properties advertised. If applicants do not express an interest in a property or the properties advertised, they will not be considered for them.

Yes, you can submit an expression of interest in a property outside of your chosen 3 areas of choice.

No. Allocations are made in accordance with the Allocations Scheme. If there is more than one household interested in letting the property that you are interested in, we will decide which household, if any, is allocated the property. When deciding this, we will take account of factors such as:

• your waiting time on Kildare County Council’s housing list
• your family size
• the type of property needed
• your category under the Allocation Scheme
• good Estate Management & Garda vetting

No. You will have to express interest online again. Please note that Kildare County Council reserves the right not to allocate a property under Choice Based Letting to applicants and reserves the right to re-advertise the property again in another time period.

Late submissions will not be taken into consideration and you will not be considered for the allocation of that property if you have not expressed an interest in it. Please note that Kildare County Council does not accept responsibility for applicants who miss the deadline to express their interest in a property under Choice Based Letting.

Your time will remain the same. However if you do not express interest in a property or in properties online, you will not be considered for them.

You can place one expression of interest per property advertised. You can place an expression of interest for more than one property.

HAP – Yes you can submit an expression of interest. RAS & Long Term Leasing – No you cannot submit an expression of interest as you are adequately housed. However, if you are approved for a transfer you will be able to submit an expression of interest.