The frequently asked questions will provide a useful guide to help you understand how a choice-based letting system in City Of London works.

• Are you inputting your Date of Birth as 6 digits? i.e.: 6th December 1970 will be: 061270.  No spaces or punctuation should be used.

• If you have a joint application, the main applicant’s D.O.B is the pin number.

• Your User ID is your 5 digit registration number e.g.: 25999.

• If you have just received your registration letter, you may need to allow up to 2 weeks before you can log in.

If this still does not work call the Housing Needs Team for assistance:

0207 332 1237 / 3452.

• If there are no properties listed and the words “No Active Records Found” are seen, we have no properties that fit your allocated size this particular week.  The City of London is a very small authority and there will be weeks where we have no suitable vacancies.

• If you log in on a Tuesday or a Wednesday “No Active Records Found” will always be seen as we do not advertise vacancies on those days.

Single people who qualify for a BEDSIT/STUDIO property are shown as 0 (zero). This is the bedroom size for a single person. i.e.: 0 is studio, 1 is 1 bed, 2 is 2 bed etc.

You are NOT permitted to view a property BEFORE you are made an offer.

We do not want to exclude those of you who do not know how to use a computer or do not have use of the internet at home.

However: if you do not bid you will not be made an offer of housing.

Therefore:

If you do not have access to the internet and live on or near a City of London estate, you can visit any estate office during usual opening hours (check with individual estate offices). There is a City of London computer available for you to use and staff can assist if you are unsure. 

All City of London estates show the weekly advert in their notice boards so you can check these each week without having to go near a computer. If you see a property you wish to bid on, call the Housing Needs Team or go in to the estate office during opening hours.

For City workers: the Barbican Estate Office has a computer in the reception area which you are welcome to use any time between 9.15am and 4.30pm Monday-Friday. 

Libraries and internet cafes also provide cheap or free services all over London.

If you would like some training on how to use the online service, please make an appointment with a member of staff as you may feel more confident after a quick training session.

If you would like to see a member of staff for help, please remember to make an appointment.

If you are completely unable to use a computer, you may call a member of the Housing Needs Team between 9.15 and 4.45pm on a Thursday, Friday or Monday of each week.  (You only need to call once within a weekly cycle.)

We can talk you through the available vacancies and provide details over the phone.

You can then make a decision whether to place a bid or not and we will place it for you.

Please remember that by agreeing to place a bid, you are agreeing to potentially view a property if you win the bid.

If your bid is successful, this will be counted and considered as a reasonable offer of housing.  You only have 3 refusals after which time your application will be suspended for one year.