are you homeless in stockport

Are you homeless inStockport?

Housing Options

“Here to help”

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2 Housing Options - Are you homeless in Stockport?

Contents

Introduction

What do we mean by ‘homelessness’?

How can Stockport Homes help?

a) Are you eligible for assistance?

b) Are you legally homeless?

c) Are you in priority need?

d) Are you intentionally homeless?

e) Have you got a local connection?

What happens next?

What if you think we have got things wrong?

Visit our website www.stockporthomes.org

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3Housing Options - Are you homeless in Stockport?

If you are homeless in Stockport you shouldcontact the Housing Options Team at:

Housing Information Centre1 St. Peter’s Square, Stockport SK1 1NZTel: 0161 474 4237Text: 07800 617 690Fax: 0161 474 1934Email: [email protected]: www.stockporthomes.org

Opening hours: Monday 8.30am - 4.30pmTuesday 9.30am - 4.30pmWednesday 8.30am - 4.30pmThursday 8.30am - 4.30pmFriday 9.30am - 4.00pm

If you need advice and assistance out of office hours please contact0161 477 2626.

Introduction

At the Housing Information Centre you will be able to discuss yoursituation and get advice in a private interview. If you are unable to attendthe office for medical or other reasons, a home visit can be arranged.You can ask a support worker to come along to the interview with you. IfEnglish is not your first language we can arrange for an interpreter tocome to your interview.

• Please bring all the relevant information and paperwork to do withyour circumstances with you. This will be discussed with you prior toyour appointment.

• If you are likely to need temporary accommodation, please also bringtwo forms of identification. Both of them must be official. Forexample, photo ID, household bill or benefits letter. One of themmust show your printed national insurance number.


What do we mean by homelessness?

You are legally classed asbeing homeless if you fall intoone of the followingcategories:

• you have absolutely nowhere tolive in the United Kingdom orelsewhere which you can legallyoccupy;

• your family has been forced tosplit up as there is nowhereavailable where you can all livetogether;

• it is not reasonable for you to stay in your home because you wouldbe at risk of violence, abuse or harassment, or serious threats ofviolence;

• it is not reasonable for you to stay in your home because of extremeovercrowding, very poor state of repair, serious financial hardship orother special reason;

• you have accommodation but cannot get into it; or

• you live in a mobile structure such as a caravan or boat, and youhave nowhere to park or moor it.

If one of these situations is likely to apply to you within 28 days, you areclassed as being threatened with homelessness. The first step is tocome and see us at the Housing Information Centre.


How can Stockport Homes help?

If you contact us and are facing homelessness, we will firstmake a full assessment of your situation. This is because thelaw says we have different duties to help people, dependingon their individual circumstances.

There are five main things we need to look at, including whether:

a) you are eligible for assistance;

b) you are legally homeless or threatened with homelessness;

c) you are classed as being in ‘priority need’;

d) you have made yourself ‘intentionally’ homeless; and

e) you have a local connection to Stockport or any other localauthority.

This leaflet explains these five points in more detail.

a) Are you eligible for assistance?

The law says there are four groups of people we cannot help, except togive housing advice:

1) you are subject to immigration control and have limited rights to behere. (We will check your immigration status and are obliged to tell theauthorities if you are here illegally);

2) you are here from abroad and are not able to claim state benefits(known as ‘public funds’);

3) you are not normally or ‘habitually’ resident in this country; or

4) you are an asylum seeker (but you may be eligible for temporaryaccommodation arranged by central government).


b) Are you legally homeless?

Stockport Homes will make a decision about whether you are homelessor threatened with homelessness as mentioned earlier. If we decide thatyou are not homeless, then we can give you advice to help you keepyour home.

If you are classed as homeless or threatened with homelessness, we willlook at whether you are ‘priority need’.

c) Are you priority need?

All homeless people need somewhere to live, but certain groups ofpeople are legally defined as being a priority. People in the followingcategories, along with people who usually live with them, are classed asbeing in priority need.

• Those with dependent children of their own, or children they areresponsible for. Stockport Homes will usually class dependentchildren as those under 16, and those under 19 in full-time education.

• Those who are pregnant, or have a member of their family who ispregnant. Stockport Homes would need confirmation of thepregnancy.

• Those who are vulnerable as a result of:1) age;2) mental or physical ill health or disability;3) having been in Her Majesty’s armed forces;4) having been in custody;5) having been fostered, in care or looked after by a local authority;6) leaving accommodation as a result of violence or threats ofviolence likely to be carried out; or

7) any other special reason.


• Those who are homeless because of an emergency such as a seriousfire or a flood.

• Those who are aged 16 or 17 years old.

• Those who are aged 18-21 and are a former ‘relevant child’ (seebelow for a definition of what this means).

There are several exceptions to these priority need groups:

• ‘Relevant children’ - which means those aged 16 or 17 who were incare for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and being looked afterby a Council on their 16th birthday.

• ‘Relevant students’ - relevant children who have gone on to full-timeeducation and whose term-time accommodation is not available tothem.

• ‘Children in need’ - those owed a duty under section 20 of theChildren Act 1989.

These are excluded from the priority need groups because the SocialServices Team has a duty to help them with their accommodation. If youare one of these exceptions, then you should contact your SocialWorker or the Social Services Contact Centre on 0845 644 4313.

If you are not sure whether you are one of these exceptions, thencontact a Housing Options Officer who will assess your situation andrefer you elsewhere if appropriate.


Homeless 16 and 17-year-olds

The Housing Options Team has an agreement with Social Services tomake joint assessments of all potentially homeless 16 and 17-year-olds,to help ensure that all your needs are met and where possible helping tonegotiate a return home where it is safe to do so. You should contactthe Housing Options Team if this is the case for you and they will be ableto arrange this appointment.

If we decide you are not in priority need:

If you are not in one of the priority need groups, your Housing OptionsOfficer will give you this decision in writing. An assessment of your needswill be made and we will offer appropriate advice and assistance. We willalso try to get you a hostel place or temporary accommodationwherever possible. As places in Stockport are limited, we cannot giveany guarantees, but we will make every attempt to find you somewhereto stay in the Greater Manchester area.

If we decide you are in priority need:

If you are in one of the priority need groups, then we will have to look atwhether you are intentionally homeless. If we have reason to believe thatyou may be homeless and may be in priority need, then we have a dutyto provide you with temporary accommodation while we make furtherenquiries.


d) Are you intentionally homeless?

We have to investigate your application and will make a decision onwhether we consider you are homeless because of your own actions.

Some examples of this:

• You decided to leave a property when you didn’t have to.

• You could have afforded to pay the rent or mortgage and chose notto. We would investigate your financial circumstances.

• You didn’t bother to claim housing benefit or to renew your claim; oryou failed to give the Benefits Section the information about yourcircumstances that it needed to process your claim.

• You were evicted for Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).

• You were found suitable accommodation by Stockport Homes butdidn’t take it.

• You have made yourself homeless to try to get alternative housingmore quickly.

If we decide you are intentionally homeless:

If Stockport Homes decides you are intentionally homeless, you will begiven this decision in writing. We would then have a duty, if you are inpriority need, to provide temporary accommodation for a limitedperiod so that you could make arrangements to find somewhere else tolive. After assessing your needs, we would give you appropriate adviceand assistance to do this.

If you have children, we would also discuss with you the possibility ofreferring your case to Social Services.


If we decide you are not intentionally homeless:

If Stockport Homes decides you are in priority need and not intentionallyhomeless, then the final thing we look at is whether you have a localconnection to Stockport.

e) Have you got a local connection?

If we have decided you are eligible for assistance, homeless, in priorityneed and not intentionally homeless, then we will check whether youhave a local connection with the Stockport area.

You have a local connection if you:

• have lived in Stockport for six out of the last 12 months, or three outof the last five years;

• have employment here;

• have family associations here. This has to be a close relative such asa parent, brother or sister, or adult child; or

• have special circumstances, which we would consider on anindividual basis.

You do not have a local connection if you have been living in Stockportin somewhere such as a hospital or at college here.


If you do not have a local connection with Stockport but have one withanother local authority, we will find you temporary accommodation andthen refer your application to that Council. Once they accept yourapplication, then they would also accept responsibility for rehousing you.

You would not be referred to an area where you would be at risk ofviolence.

It is possible to have a local connection with more than one area. If youdo not have a connection with Stockport, but you do with more thanone Council area, then we would consult you about which Council youwould prefer to accommodate you.

If you have no local connection anywhere, then it is usual for the Councilyou first approached to assist you. If Stockport is the first Council youhave contacted, then we would rehouse you.


What happens next?

If you meet the criteria we have listed in this booklet, in otherwords:

1) you are eligible for assistance;2) you are homeless;3) you are in priority need;4) you are not intentionally homeless; and5) you have a local connection,

then Stockport Homes will provide temporary accommodationif you need it and guarantee an offer of a permanent home.

Our temporary accommodation provides kennels, so if you have a dogyou won’t necessarily have to find alternative arrangements for it whilstyou are waiting to be re-housed.

This would usually be in a Council or Registered Social Landlord (RSL)tenancy. Although, with your agreement it could be in a private rentedhome.

To give you a wider housing choice, we would give you an increasedpriority through our ‘Homechoice’ letting system after making ourdecision on your homelessness. Your Housing Options Officer will giveyou more details on the ‘Homechoice’ system.

If you do not get a property through ‘Homechoice’, then StockportHomes will reserve a property and offer it to you. Where this will bedepends mainly on your Homechoice points level, although yourHousing Options Officer will discuss this with you.


If Stockport Homes feels that any property offered to you is suitable foryour needs and you are being unreasonable in refusing it, then we areunder no obligation to offer you another property and will have no furtherduty towards you. So it is important that you tell us if you have genuinereasons for refusing; for example, the property is too close to an abusiveformer partner.

What if you think we have got things wrong?

You have the right to ask for a review of any homelessness decision youare given. If you are in priority need, you can usually ask for a review ofany accommodation you are offered. For details on this, please speak toa Housing Options Officer who will give you full information.

We are always looking at ways of improving our service. Forms areavailable at the Housing Information Centre, 1 St. Peter’s Square if youhave complaints, comments or compliments.

Where can I find other help?

A list of services that may be able to help you and a range of housingoptions available to you can be found in our ‘Your Housing Options inStockport’ leaflet. Alternatively, please call 0161 474 4237 to speak witha Housing Options Officer.


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SHL Option 1 Your Housing Options in Stockport

There are other leaflets in the series that you may find helpful:

SHL Option 2a Homechoice and other social housing- getting registered

SHL Option 2b Homechoice - How do I get a property?

SHL Option 3 Are you a young person being asked toleave home?

SHL Option 4 Looking for private rented accommodation?Struggling to find a deposit?

SHL Option 5 Housing Options for young parents

SHL Option 6 Housing Options for older people

SHL Option 7 Housing Options for people leaving prison

SHL Option 8 More than a home - A guide to with work,education and training

SHL Option 10 Temporary and supported accommodationin and around Stockport

SHL Option 11 Moving home or staying put- we can help

Accessing our services

This leaflet gives you information about the advice and support availableif you are homeless in Stockport. If you would like a copy in large print,Braille, on audio tape or CD, please contact the Social Inclusion Teamon 0161 474 2860 or email: [email protected]

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/July2009

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