Affordable Homes

This section focuses on:

• What is an affordable home?
• Applying for an affordable home in Boston
• Boston Homechoice
• Current developments

What is an affordable home?

You may have heard this sort of housing being referred to as council houses or social housing. Boston Borough Council does not own any housing, this was transferred across to a registered provider in 1999.

Affordable homes include:

• rented (the majority of our affordable homes in the Boston area);
• shared ownership options;
• Right to Acquire i.e. buying your existing social housing property.

Applying for affordable housing in Boston

The Council does not have any housing stock but does manage the Housing Register. The Council works in partnership with Registered Providers in the provision of affordable housing in the borough through Boston Homechoice.

1. Complete an application

The application (registration) form is available directly from the Council or can be found in Related documents below.

Our Boston Homechoice partners who have housing stock in the Borough are:

• Lincolnshire Housing Partnership (formerly Boston Mayflower Ltd)
• Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association
• Longhurst Group
• Accent Group
• Platform Housing Group (formerly Waterloo Housing)

There are few restrictions on joining the housing register – details can be found in the Choice Based Lettings policy framework below.  The banding system used gives varying degrees of priority depending on your housing circumstances.

Please note that all references in the documents below to Boston Mayflower should be read as referring to Lincolnshire Housing Partnership (LHP) and all references to Waterloo Housing should be read as Platform Housing Group.

2. Place your bids

Applicants may choose to place bids on as many properties as they are eligible for in each cycle direct to the Council or LHP in the following ways:

• By phone – call 01205 318628
• By email to bid@homechoice.co.uk
• By Coupon – provided with the membership card and available upon request.
• Via the Internet – logon to Boston Homechoice
• In person – at any of our partners Customer Services areas

Please note bidding opens at 10am on Friday and closes at 10am the following Friday.

3. Changes of circumstances

Following acceptance on to the housing register, applicants (known as members) will be issued with a card which details your membership number. It is important that members notify the Council of any change in circumstances as this may affect your application. A Change of Circumstances form can be found in Related documents below. Please complete the form and sign it before sending it to the Housing Needs team at the Council. You may need to provide proof of the changes.

4. The Choice Based Lettings scheme

The Boston Homechoice partnership operates the Choice Based Lettings Scheme. Available properties are advertised on a weekly basis on the Boston Homechoice website and a paper version of the property magazine available from the Council and LHP offices. You can also view the magazine online below.

Boston Homechoice

Properties available this week are featured in the Boston Homechoice magazine.

If you are not already a member of Boston Homechoice, you can find more details on how to apply by visiting: http://www.bostonhomechoice.co.uk/.

Current developments

For details of current developments which include affordable housing see Current developments

More information

For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions in Related documents

If you require any assistance in placing bids or with the Boston Homechoice process please telephone Housing Options on 01205 314512.

Alternatively, for a range of options that make home-ownership more affordable, see the Help to Buy website in Useful links.

Useful Links

• Boston Homechoice
• Lincolnshire Housing Partnership
• Longhurst Group
• Platform Housing group
• Accent Housing
• Housing 21
• Lincs Rural Housing Association
• Places for People
• Help to Buy