Homefinder is a partnership between the council and housing providers in the county. You can use this to search and apply for a home.
The Homefinder website contains useful information about how to use the service. You can also have a look at our guide to Homefinder, as well as frequently asked questions.
Homefinder is delivered in partnership with Northumberland County Council, Bernicia and Karbon Homes.
To be considered for a property, you must apply to join the housing register.
You can apply online here.
We no longer issue paper application forms. If you need help registeringg for Homefinder online, visit your local Customer Information Centre.
Upon submission, we may ask you to provide extra information so we can verify your eligibility and assess your application.
This could include:
We inform you what documents to provide and when. All documents provided must be originals, up to date and valid. If the required documents aren’t provided but the form has been properly completed, we can accept your application. However, we may not be able to assess it properly. This could result in you not being awarded the correct priority.
Applications are renewed annually, usually on the date your application was accepted. You will be sent a review form, which you must complete and return within 28 days. If you fail to return the form, your application will be cancelled.
There are some people who are not eligible to be included on the housing register. These are:
Further information is available from Northumberland’s common allocation policy.
As soon as we are given formal notice regarding a property becoming vacant, we will advertise it.
Properties available to rent are advertised weekly. We advertise all the properties we have available.
Available properties are advertised from 12:01am Thursday, until 11:59pm the following Monday.
If you have any queries regarding your application, or the service, contact us on 0345 600 6400.
To bid for a property, you need to be registered with our service.
Bids can be placed from 12:01am Thursday until 11:59pm Monday
You can also find out about the properties available in the following ways:
If you see a property you would like to be considered for, you will need to bid via the Homefinder website, or any of the above locations. Bids can only be placed from 12:01am Thursday until 11:59pm the following Monday. You can also place a bid by calling 0345 270 1997.
You can bid for any properties you are eligible for, regardless of their location in Northumberland. Some properties may be subject to certain conditions, but if this is the case, we will clearly state the conditions in the advertisement.
Bids can only be placed during the advertising cycle. This is between 12:01am Thursday and 11:59pm the following Monday.
Yes, when you bid for a property, you will be able to see your position in the queue. This is likely to change frequently, due to others bidding for the same property.
You can withdraw your bid at any time.
Once the closing date for bids has passed, a shortlist is drawn up. This is in order of eligibility according to the criteria advertised and the priority band and housing register registration date of the applicant. The applicant at the top of the list, will normally be offered the property.
You may not be invited to view the property for the following reasons:
Yes, you will be given an opportunity to view the property before deciding whether you would like to accept.
If you refuse three or more reasonable offers, your application will be reviewed. The landlord will tell you at the time whether they consider the offer to be reasonable and why.
The council and its partners have agreed a common allocation policy meaning the way that houses are allocated, will be the same throughout Northumberland.
The policy was updated in 2021, all applications are assessed using issue 7 of the Common Allocation Policy.
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