Homelessness

Who Can Apply?

Eligible

Homeless or threatened with homelessness

Priority Need

Intentionally Homeless

Local Connection

Making a decision

Information you need to provide

How to apply

Homelessness Review

Homelessness Strategy

Our revised Homelessness Strategy is being considered by Cabinet on 12th March 2012. The draft Strategy contains an overview of the situation regarding homelessness and a summary of the information gathered through the review process. It also sets out the vision for what services should be delivered to homeless households with key objectives for action. The Strategy and relevant supporting documents can be found on our Policies and Strategies page.

Policies and Strategies

If you are homeless or likely to become homeless within the next 28 days and you live in the UK, the Council may have a duty to help you if you ask for assistance. However, we will need to assess your circumstances to determine what level of assistance we can provide.

Homelessness is a last resort and it is much better to get help to avoid homelessness and all the hardships and difficulties that come with it.

Our Housing Options Team may be able to assist you by providing advice and assistance to prevent homelessness.

When looking into a person’s circumstances we will need to consider the following 5 criteria.

Whether:

You are Eligible for Assistance.

You are Homeless (roofless) or threatened with homelessness within 28 days.

You are Intentionally Homeless.

You have a Priority Need.

You have a Local Connection with Arun District or another local area.

Eligible for Assistance

The Council only has a duty to help you if you are eligible for assistance under the legislation.

You may not be eligible for assistance if you are from abroad with limits on your right to remain in the country or if you are an Asylum Seeker.

Homeless

The Homelessness Legislation says you are homeless if;

You have nowhere to live or

You have accommodation but cannot gain entry to it or

You have been living somewhere, but you have no legal right to remain there and you have been told to leave or

You have accommodation but we consider that if you continue to live there it is probable that this will lead to violence or

Your home is a moveable structure such as a caravan or houseboat and you have nowhere to legally park or moor it or

You have been made homeless as a result of an emergency such as fire, flood or other disaster

We will consider you to be threatened with homelessness if you are likely to be made homeless (roofless) within 28 days. This may be because:

You have been taken to court by your landlord and the court has told you to leave or

You have been living with friends or relatives who have told you to leave.

If you are not considered to be threatened with homelessness within 28 days the council does not have to take an application, although we may continue to work with you to try to prevent you from becoming homeless.

Priority Need

You will be considered to be in Priority Need if:

You or someone you usually live with is pregnant or

You have dependent children who normally live with you or

You are aged 16 or 17 and have not previously been looked after by social services and are not assessed as a child in need with a duty by Social Services to provide accommodation under the Children’s Act 1989

You are aged 18, 19 or 20 and have previously been looked after by social services or

Arun District Council considers that you or someone with whom you normally reside is vulnerable because of:

Old age.
Mental illness/disability.
Physical illness/disability.
Having served a custodial sentence.
Previously being a member of the forces.
Having to leave accommodation due to violence or threats of violence which is probable would lead to violence.

When considering vulnerability the Council looks at "whether when homeless the applicant would be less able to fend for himself than an ordinary homeless person so that he would suffer injury or detriment in circumstances where a less vulnerable person would be able to cope without harmful effects."

I’m not in Priority Need - What do I do?

Even if you are not in Priority Need, the Council must still give you advice and assistance to help you find somewhere to live or to help you keep your home. The Council should give you advice about paying for housing and finding housing with Housing Associations or private landlords. You should also be able to apply to the Council’s Housing Register.

Intentional Homelessness

The law says that you could be considered to be intentionally homeless if you have accommodation that is considered reasonable to occupy, but then you do (or fail to do) something which causes you to lose that accommodation and become homeless.

What If I am Intentionally Homeless?

If you are Eligible, in Priority Need and threatened with Intentional Homelessness, the Council will give assistance and advice to try and prevent you from losing your home.

If you are Eligible, in Priority Need and Intentionally Homeless you may be entitled to temporary accommodation for a reasonable period of time so that you can secure accommodation for yourself.

Local Connection

To receive help from Arun District Council you must also have a Local Connection.

To have a Local Connection you must have:

Lived in the Arun District for 6 out of the last 12 months (with certain exceptions.) or
Lived in the Arun District for 3 out of the last 5 years (with certain exceptions.) or
Permanent employment within the Arun District or
A close relative in the Arun District who has lived in the area for the last 5 years. Close relatives are deemed as parents, adult children, brothers and sisters.
Other special circumstances which Arun District Council considers to be a Local Connection.

What Happens Next?

If you are not intentionally Homeless, Eligible for Assistance and of Priority Need, the Council must make sure you have somewhere to live immediately and in the short term while it makes its enquiries and decides whether to house you in the long term.

Whilst enquiries are ongoing you may be accommodated in the short term until a decision is made. This is interim accommodation, however, you will only be provided with interim accommodation if we have reason to believe that you or a member of your household are in priority need, homeless and eligible for assistance.

In an emergency we may accommodate you in Bed and Breakfast whilst we wait for more suitable accommodation to become available. Whilst we try to ensure that accommodation is within the district it sometimes maybe necessary to place outside of the area.

We do not provide accommodation for pets and we do not provide travel costs

Making a decision

A decision following an application under the Homelessness legislation will be provided once we look into your case. Decisions may be delayed because:

We are waiting for information regarding an application or
We are waiting to hear back from you or are waiting for documents to be supplied by you.

When the council has finished its enquiries it must write to you to tell you the decision and give reasons if it decides not to house you in the long term.

I disagree with the Council’s decision - what do I do?

If you disagree with the Council’s decision e.g. it says you are Intentionally Homeless, you can ask the Council to review it. You must make this request within 21 days of when you are told of its decision. If you disagree with the Council’s review of its decision you can appeal to the County Court. You must do this within 21 days of being told the outcome of the review. You can also appeal to the County Court if you are not told the Council’s decision within a certain time. You can ask an advice centre to help you with the review or appeal to the County Court.

Information you need to provide

You will need to provide information to support your application:

Lodgers: Letters from the person whom you are staying with giving you notice to leave.
Tenants: Notice to quit, notice seeking possession, court orders, rent book, proof of rent, letters from the landlord, details of income and expenditure, details of loans and outgoings.
Owner Occupiers: Orders for possession, court papers, letters from the bank/building society/lender, mortgage statements, details of income, outgoings, debts etc.
Hostel Residents: Notice to quit and tenancy agreements.

Other Information:

Proof of Identity such as: passport, birth certificate, driving licence etc.
Medical Information such as: letters from other agencies such as probation, social services, doctors, consultants etc.
Proof of child benefit, child tax credit, proof of pregnancy.
Proof of income e.g. salary slips, bank/financial statements etc.

How to Apply

You should apply in person or by telephone to:

Housing Services
Arun District Council
Church Street
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 5EP
Tel. 01903 737751

Further Information

Arun District Council’s Homelessness Review

Arun District Council’s new Homelessness Strategy 2008-2013

Disclaimer

This page is not a statement of the law. Nor does it cover every situation. If you are in doubt about your legal rights or obligations, you should seek further advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau or an independent solicitor.