Homelessness

Homeless? Our duties

This is a guide to the assistance that can be provided under the 1996 Housing Act (as amended by the 2002 Homelessness Act). It sets out the legal duties that all local authorities have, where they are satisfied that a household is:

• homeless
• eligible
• has priority need
• is not intentionally homeless
• has a local connection

Homeless

By law, you are homeless if you do not have a home here or abroad in which you have a legal right to live. You are also homeless if you have a home but it is not reasonable for you to continue living in it.


Eligibility

Being eligible for assistance means you are entitled to help with housing from a local authority, if you need it. Although most UK residents are entitled to such help, some people from abroad are not.

• You are a visitor to this country.
• You are a student from another country or a sponsored immigrant.
• You are an illegal immigrant.
• You are seeking asylum.
• You claimed asylum but the Home Office refused to give you asylum.
• You are not habitually resident in the UK or Ireland.
• The Home Secretary has said you no longer have a right to stay in the UK.

Priority need

You may have a priority need for housing if any of the following apply to you or to a member of your household:

• You are pregnant.
• You are 16 or 17 years old.
• Someone in your household is under 18 years of age (or under 19 if they are in full-time secondary education).
• You are 18 to 21 years of age and as a child you were placed in social services' care.
• You are homeless because of fire, flood, or a similar disaster.
• You are aged 60 or older.
• You have a mental illness or disability which makes you vulnerable.
• You have a physical disability which makes you vulnerable.
• When you were a child you were placed in the care of a local authority, a health authority, foster parents, a children's home, or a care home and this has made you vulnerable.
• You have been in this country's armed forces and this has made you vulnerable.
• You have been in prison or remanded in custody and this has made you vulnerable.
• You have left your home because of violence or threats of violence and this has made you vulnerable.
• You are vulnerable for another special reason.

If you are unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need for housing, you are entitled to housing from a local authority. In which case, we must either offer you a home or, if you are not connected to St Edmundsbury Borough, refer you to a council you are connected to for it to find you a home. We may offer you a home if any of the following apply:

• You have a connection with St Edmundsbury Borough  because you have lived here in settled accommodation for at least six out of the last twelve months, or three out of the last five years.
• You have a connection with St Edmundsbury Borough because you have a close relative (parent, child, brother or sister) who has lived in St Edmundsbury Borough  for the past five years.
• You have a permanent job in St Edmundsbury Borough . 
• You are connected to St Edmundsbury Borough  for some other special reason.
• You have a local connection with another area, but someone in your application might experience domestic violence if they return there.
• You are not connected to any council in this country. For example, if you have recently come here from abroad.

If none of these apply to you we will refer you to a council to which you are connected. We will not force you to return to an area where you have experienced, or are likely to experience, violence.

If you have no connection with any area, we may still have a duty to house you or help you to obtain accommodation.


How to apply

If you think you might become homeless, please make contact with the Housing Options Team as soon as possible, so that we can try to prevent you from losing your home.  Please have available the following documents:


Proof of identity

Full birth certificates or passports for all the people in your household

Documents concerning the loss of your housing
For example, letters from your landlord or the court informing you that you must leave


Proof of income
For example, wage slips, benefit books, P45, bank statements and savings books


Details of where you have lived for the last five years

• tenancy agreements  
• rent books or receipts for rent
• postmarked letters
• bills
• bank statements
• medical cards

If relevant, documents confirming

• you are married or divorced
• you have custody of children
• you are pregnant
• you are asking for or have been given asylum

What happens next

Emergency housing during the investigation period

If you are in immediate need of housing, the council may provide you with emergency accommodation. It is likely that this interim accommodation will be in a bed and breakfast guest house, since the council has limited access to temporary accommodation. The council will make every effort to place you and any family locally, but this is not always possible and is dependant upon availability of accommodation.

The council's decision

The council is required to make enquiries into your case. This is to help them decide what help they are able to give you. The council will inform you in writing of the decision on your application. The decision letter will detail the outcome of your application and the reasons for the decision. The decision letter will also inform you of the right to request a review. Review requests must be received in writing within 21 days of the date of the decision letter.