Here's an idea

At Tameside Council, near Manchester, we have launched a website for homehunters looking for affordable places to live in the area. We got together with eight of the biggest housing organisations in the borough to do this, including Aston Pioneer Homes, Bradford and Northern, Housing Aid Centre and New Charter Housing South.

We did this because we have a number of new social housing landlords since the council transferred ownership of its housing and we wanted a more accessible way of helping local people to find properties, as wellas helping social landlords manage their waiting lists.

Using a website seemed logical because they are becoming more popular with people and they are a cost-effective way of sharing information. The site got 200 hits on its first weekend.

Housing associations using the site can check the database for empty properties.

For example, it can tell people how often four-bedroom houses in Droylsden, which is on the western edge of Tameside, become available. That will then help them make a decision on whether to wait or extend their search to other types of home or other areas of the borough.

As well as keeping track of properties that become available, landlords can search the waiting lists on their confidential part of the site to find people wanting that type of home. Before this site was set up people would have to trail round each of the landlords' headquarters. Now they can search in comfort, at home, work or at their local "touch centre" at Tameside libraries.

The council IT staff set up the system, because the council is still responsible for housing provision after transfer.

The main thing is that landlords keep the information on the system up-to-date.

We carry out reviews of the site and there are regular meetings with landlords, so it helps councils, housing associations and tenants because it means that properties can be advertised and taken up quickly.