Homelessness

It is important that you let the Council know as soon as possible if you think you are going to be homeless and do not think you will be able to secure your own accommodation. If you tell us early on this will help us prevent you from becoming homeless and enable you to take up any housing options that might be offered to you.

The following services and information may be made available dependant upon your circumstances through the Housing Options Team.

• Practical advice for private tenants particularly those whose tenancies are at risk of ending as well as advice for tenants of social landlords who may be at risk of losing their homes, or have had a notice of seeking possession.
• Information on seeking and securing accommodation in the private rented sector including information on Housing Benefit entitlement and the relevant Local Housing Allowance applicable for your family size.
• An external mediation service designed to try and prevent homelessness.
• Completing a Housing Register form where necessary. Advising you on your prospects of your being rehoused. This may include advice on widening your areas of choice or considering a different type of accommodation.
• Low cost home ownership - options for households who cannot afford to buy outright to part buy a percentage of a property and pay rent. There are a variety of schemes available under the name of |Homebuy
• Referral to other agencies who may be able to assist with accommodation if support is needed e.g. for those with a mental health problem who need support
• For households who are council or Housing Association tenants information on the Homeswap scheme, which allows tenants to swap with other tenants. You should also contact your Landlord regarding this.
• Assistance with a rent deposit to enable you to secure accommodation in certain circumstances.
• Advice and information if you are a victim of domestic violence.
• Information on the Sanctuary scheme for victims of domestic violence who need additional security measures to be installed into their properties.

The Council will try to prevent homelessness wherever it can. Where this is not possible or you do not take up one of the housing options and we have reason to believe you are homeless or threatened with homelessness your case may be assessed under homelessness legislation.

We understand this may be a difficult time for you and will do what we can to help you. We will try and prevent your homelessness where we can.

Even if you think you are homeless or threatened with homelessness we might not have a legal duty to secure accommodation for you. If we agree we have a duty towards you we might not be able to secure you the type of accommodation you might want. The housing options team will give you assistance on the options available to you and also investigate homeless applications as necessary.

If you are homeless...
Under the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Act 2002 we have a duty to find homes for certain homeless people. The information set out below is a summary. The legislation is quite complex and it is difficult to set out each possible variation.

Do we have a duty to find you a home?
By law, to decide if we have a duty to secure accommodation we need to consider if:

• You are homeless
• You are in a class of people who are eligible for assistance
• You have a priority need for housing
• You have not become homeless intentionally
• You have a local connection with Elmbridge, or you have no local connection with any council in this country.

Are you homeless? - You will be homeless if you do not have accommodation which is available for your occupation. This includes accommodation abroad. If you are homeless through your own fault, we have no duty to find you long-term accommodation. We will only help you by giving advice, assistance and short-term accommodation, if you need it. We will talk to you about other housing options you have.

Are you eligible for assistance (help)? - Most UK residents are eligible for assistance. However, you might not be eligible if any of the following apply.

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 this country or Ireland
The Home Secretary has said you no longer have a right to stay in this country.

Do you have a priority need for housing? - You have a priority need for housing if one of the following applies.

• You are pregnant or a member of your household who is eligible for assistance is pregnant
• You are 16 or 17 years of age
• Someone in you household is under 16 (or under 19 if they are in full-time secondary education) i.e. you have dependants
• You or a member of your household is vulnerable due to old age
• A vulnerable care leaver
• Mental illness or disability;
• Physical disability; or
• Another special reason
• You are homeless because of fire, flood, or a similar disaster. (If your home can be repaired, we will usually only give you somewhere to stay until the repairs are done.)

There are also some other categories which might result in someone being in priority need. This includes those who are considered to be vulnerable due to:

• having been in this country's armed forces
• having been in prison or custody
• having left your accommodation because of violence or threats of violence

Are you intentionally homeless? - We will not give you a home if you have become homeless intentionally. You could be intentionally homeless for example, if you have been evicted because you did not pay your rent when you could have done, or you have given up your home without a good enough reason.

Do you have a local connection with Elmbridge? - If you are homeless, unintentionally homeless, have a priority need and are eligible for housing assistance, we must decide which council will have duty to secure you accommodation. We will do this if you have a connection with Elmbridge because:

• You have lived here for at least six out of the last twelve months, or three out of the last five years;
• You have a close relative (parent, child, brother or sister) who has lived in Elmbridge for the past five years;
• You have a permanent job in Elmbridge.
• You have a connection with Elmbridge for some other special reason.
• You have no local connection with any part of the UK. For example, if you have recently Come here from another country.

If none of these apply to you, we will refer you for housing to a council you have connections with.

If we have a duty to find you secure accommodation - we may meet our responsibilities by offering you temporary accommodation. As a last resort this may in bed and breakfast hotel; later we could move you to another type of temporary accommodation, such as a hostel or a self contained flat in the private sector. We will also put you on our Housing Register. We have about 2000 households waiting for a permanent home and we must give priority to those with the greatest need for permanent accommodation. So, depending on your circumstances, you may have to wait a very long time for a housing association property through the Housing Register.

Where our temporary homes are - Most of our temporary homes are in Elmbridge. However, because of a severe shortage of suitable properties in Elmbridge, we may need to use properties in other parts of Surrey and West London. We will discuss your personal circumstances with you before we decide where to place you if this becomes necessary.

If you refuse our offer of accommodation - If we offer you suitable accommodation and you refuse it without a good reason, we will not offer you somewhere else to live. This means you will have to find your own accommodation.

If the Council accepts a duty to secure accommodation for you - this duty will continue until the local housing authority ceases to be subject to the duty. This can happen in a number of ways. Below is a list of the reasons why a local authority may cease to have a duty to house you. These include:

If you:

• Cease to be eligible for assistance.
• Become homeless intentionally from the accommodation made available for your occupation.
• Accept an offer of an assured tenancy (other than an assured shorthold tenancy) from a private landlord.
• Otherwise voluntarily cease to occupy the accommodation made available for your occupation.
• Accept a qualifying offer of an assured shorthold tenancy, which is made by a private landlord in relation to any accommodation, which is, or may become, available for your occupation.
• Refuse a final offer of suitable permanent accommodation under a part VI of the Housing Act 1996, after having been informed of the possible consequence of refusal and of your right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation offered.
• Accept an offer of permanent accommodation under part VI of the Housing Act 1996.

If we don't have a duty to secure accommodation for you - If we decide that you are not homeless or threatened with homelessness according to the legal definition, we will do everything we can to try and stop you becoming homeless. We will tell you what you can do to protect your rights to stay in your home. If necessary we will refer you to a solicitor or an advice agency. We will also give you advice on housing options, which can help you find alternative housing.

What you should do if you are homeless - If you are homeless or you think you might be homeless, please contact the Housing needs team open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm (Monday-Friday). If you become homeless outside these times, you can call the team on 01483 517898.

You should bring the following information with. If you don't, we may not be able to help you.

• Proof of identity including the birth certificates (full version) and passports of all the people in your application.
• Proof that you are or will be homeless, such as:
• A notice to quit from your landlord, friend or relative;
• Letters from the building society showing that it intends to repossess your home; and a court order or bailiff's warrant.
• Proof of income and savings including:
• Wage slips, benefit books, P45, bank statements and savings books.
• Proof of where you and all the people in your application have lived for each of the last five years, including: tenancy agreements, rent books or receipts for rent, postmarked letters, bills, bank statements, driving licences, and medical cards.
• If relevant, documents proving: you are married, you are divorced, you have custody of children, you are pregnant, you are asking for or have been given asylum.

If you do not have all this information available you can still approach for assistance but it helps us to give you better advice if you can.

What will happen if you apply for housing? - We will interview you and make detailed enquiries to confirm what you have told us. You must not deliberately mislead us or withhold relevant information. We will also try to stop you becoming homeless. We will tell you what you can do to keep or get back into your home. If you lose your home because you do not follow our advice, you could be intentionally homeless. We will not give you a home if you are intentionally homeless.

If you are homeless while we are making our enquiries - If we cannot prevent you from becoming homeless, we will make enquiries to find out if we have a duty to find you a home. If we think we might have, we will offer you somewhere to stay until we finish our enquiries. If we offer you a place to stay, it may be in a bed and breakfast hotel or hostel.

Our decision - When we have finished our enquiries, we will give you our decision and the reasons for it in writing. This will advise you that you have a right to request a review of the decision.

If you disagree with our decision - If you disagree with our decision, you can ask us to review it. You have 21 days from the date you get our decision to request a review. You must make your request in writing. By law we must review our decision within eight weeks of your request unless you agree to a longer period.

You can get help with your appeal from a law centre, Citizens' Advice Bureau or a private solicitor.