Homelessness. Housing advice and options

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1 Housing advice and options Homelessness This leaflet explains what happens if you make a homeless application and what enquiries are undertaken to make an assessment. This leaflet is for information and guidance, it is not a complete statement of the law or of your rights. If you are homeless or concerned about the possibility of losing your home you can obtain advice and assistance from Cornwall Housing, Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and/or Shelter. Tel:

2 What should I do? If you are homeless, or think that you are about to become homeless, we can provide you with help and advice. We may be able to prevent you becoming homeless, or help you find new accommodation. We may be able to help you keep your home. The earlier we know about your problems the more we can usually help. Please do not give up your home without seeking appropriate advice first. Seek immediate advice if you are homeless or believe you may lose your accommodation. If we cannot prevent homelessness we will take a homeless application from you. What will the Council do? We will offer anyone who approaches our service an appropriate housing options interview to assess your housing circumstances. We have to investigate your circumstances to consider whether or not we have a legal duty towards you, and if not how else we can help you. Even if you think you are homeless or threatened with homelessness we may not have a legal duty to find you a home. Even if we agree that we have a duty towards you, we might not be able to give you the type of home you would like. Regardless of what legal duty we have towards you we will deal sensitively with your situation as we understand that this is a difficult time.

3 What will happen if I apply as homeless? You will be allocated a named Homelessness Officer. S/he will be responsible for making enquiries into your application. You should keep trying to obtain alternative accommodation yourself regardless of any appointment you may have with an Officer. You should contact your allocated officer with any updates on your application, either by telephone, or make an appointment to see them at the office. If you want to see them in person you will have to make an appointment, as they may not be available without notice. If there is any change in your situation between your first interview and our decision, you must tell your allocated officer immediately. You must tell us the truth and give us all the information we need. To protect people who are genuinely homeless, we will take legal action against you if you don t do this. Enquiries the Council has to make Following your interview the Council has to make enquiries to establish whether you are considered to: be homeless or threatened with homelessness be eligible for assistance be in priority need be intentionally homeless have a local connection with this area

4 Examples of these enquiries are: Homeless or threatened homelessness Visits to your current and previous address Written enquiries to Building Societies, Banks, Parents, Friends, Solicitors, Landlord, other Authorities, Employers, Schools, Police and other Council departments as considered appropriate Eligible for assistance Written enquiries will be made to the Immigration & Nationality directorate and the Department of Work and Pensions as appropriate You will be required to produce relevant documentation to confirm your status in the UK including passports, Standard Acknowledgement Letters etc. if appropriate Priority Need Children s birth certificate will be required Child custody / residence orders will need to be seen Pregnancy certificate or confirmation of pregnancy will be required Written enquiries will be made to the Child Benefit Agency, GPs, Hospitals, Schools etc. as appropriate Information on health problems and medical details will be required Intentional Homelessness Reasons for your current circumstances will be required Written enquiries will be made to Building Societies, Banks, Landlords, Finance Companies, Solicitors as appropriate to establish the reasons for your homelessness

5 Local Connection Enquiries will be made as to your length of residence in a particular local authority area Where you have family associations Where you are employed Whether you would be at risk of violence in a particular area We are required by law to make these enquiries to ensure that the Council makes an accurate assessment of your case. When we have finished our enquiries we will write to you explaining our decision and the reasons for it. If the decision is that you are not entitled to help with obtaining housing then we may not be able to change our decision. However, we are always happy to give help and advice on how else you may be assisted. Your homelessness decision Giving you the decision Once we have completed all our checks we will assess your case as quickly as possible and write to you with a decision. If the likely decision is that you are not owed a full housing duty, we will write to you to explain the reasons why, and allow you time to provide any additional information prior to the final decision being issued. You will normally receive this notification within six weeks of applying to the Council. However, if your homelessness situation is complex or if you don t provide documentation promptly this may take longer.

6 You have a right of review for any decision that is issued to you. Please refer to our separate leaflet A guide to homelessness reviews. If we decide that we have a full housing duty towards you You can apply for any advertised vacancies on Home choice for which you are eligible. However, Cornwall Housing reserves the right to apply for suitable properties on behalf of applicants who fail to bid appropriately. Cornwall Housing may apply for properties on behalf of applicants if they fail to bid for suitable vacancies within six months of being accepted as homeless. However, if a suitable property is advertised the Move On Team will bid on your behalf prior to the six month period. Applicants owed a main housing duty will generally only be given one suitable offer of accommodation in either social or private accommodation. An offer of private accommodation would be through our Stepping Stones to Homes programme. Applicants wishing to refuse an offer of accommodation have the right to request a review. The review will focus on the suitability of the accommodation offered. For further details of the review process please refer to our separate leaflet A guide to homelessness reviews.

7 How can we help you? We will try to give the best service possible, within our resources and legal duties, but regrettably we cannot provide a home to everyone who applies to us. Please show courtesy to our staff. If a customer abuses or harasses a member of staff in any way, including using offensive language we will stop dealing with them. Useful contacts Shelter Palace Building, Quay Street, Truro, TR1 2HE cornwall@shelter.org.uk Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Further information For further information, or if you have any questions, contact us on: Tel: info@cornwallhousing.org.uk If you have a housing emergency where there is an immediate risk of losing your accommodation, call our out of hours emergency number: More information about our service and downloadable information can also be found on our website: Cornwall Housing Ltd has been commissioned by Cornwall Council to deliver a range of housing services on its behalf and is a company wholly owned by the Council.

8 Did you know you can get instant on-line, personalised housing advice? Visit our website and try Your Housing Options. If you would like this information in another format please contact: Cornwall Housing Ltd Chy Trevail, Beacon Technology Park, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL31 2FR. Telephone: /14