Home Choice Scheme

What is the Home Choice Scheme?

The Home Choice scheme provides people who may be homeless with the opportunity to move into a home of their choice and to avoid homelessness and a lengthy stay in temporary accommodation.

By providing the advice, support and financial help required, Oxford City Council has increased the housing options available to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Managed by Oxford City Council's Options Service, the Home Choice scheme is very flexible. It can be used, for example, to prevent private tenants from becoming homeless by enabling them to remain in their current accommodation or by helping them find alternative accommodation when their current tenancy comes to an end.

Qualifying for the Scheme

We realise that not everyone is able to manage in private rented accommodation. The Home Choice scheme is therefore only offered to people we consider suitable.

To qualify for the scheme, families must:

• have a local connection with the Oxford City area
• have become homeless through no fault of their own
• satisfy Oxford City Council that they can manage in private rented accommodation

What We Can Offer

Under the Home Choice scheme, Oxford City Council will provide the tenancy deposit that a tenant needs in order to obtain private rented accommodation.

As well as offering financial assistance, Oxford City Council can offer a free tenancy agreement, comprehensive advice on all aspects of the lettings process and prompt Housing Benefit payments.

We will help arrange the tenancy, and will continue to provide the landlord and tenant with advice, support and practical help throughout the tenancy where this is appropriate.

More Details

For full details, please read the leaflet below or contact a member of our team using the details on the right of this page:

Page last reviewed 7 Nov 2008