Moving home

Moving home is a stressful experience at any time. The Foundation will try to make it as straightforward as possible. Here is a guide to what will happen if you bid for a BCHF property.

BCHF advertises vacant properties on HomeChoice Bristol.  If you bid for one of our properties and you come top of our shortlist of people bidding and the property is suitable, we will contact you and arrange to visit you in your present home. We will give you more information about the property and the area, and carry out a questionnaire about you and your household. We may request further information.

When you receive a letter with an offer of the property, we will ask you to send the confirmation slip back to us so we know that you want it. If the property is one that is being re-let, we should be able to give you a date when it will be ready for you to move in. If it is a new build property we will only be able to give you an approximate date which we can firm up 4-5 weeks before it is ready.

Moving into a new build BCHF home

Four to five weeks before your new home is ready, we will contact you with a definite date when you will be given the keys to your new home. You are then able to give notice to your present landlord if this is required. We will also arrange a time for you to come to the Foundation office in Filton Avenue to go through your Tenancy Agreement and other paperwork. We will take you on site to look at your property; you can measure up for curtains and carpets during this visit. We will also fill out a housing benefit form with you if this is appropriate and give you information about any help that may be available to help you furnish your new home.

Handover: the Friday before you move

All tenancies start on a Monday. However, we will try to provide you with keys to your new home on the preceding Friday when you will formally sign your Tenancy Agreement. With a re-let property, this may not be possible. Our Neighbourhood Caretaker will accompany you to your new home and explain how everything works, including the central heating and hot water system.

Moving day and afterwards

Once you’ve moved in there may still be odd jobs to complete. Keep a record of these and let BCHF know.