Homeless Application Process - Housing Needs Assessment

Find out more information on:

• If you have no housing
• When am I classed as homeless
• What will the Council do to help
• Housing Needs Assessment
• Priority needs
• What is a local connection
• Intentionally homeless
• Prevention duty
• Relief duty
• Homeless decisions
• Rehousing duty
• Request a homeless application review
• Duty to refer

If you have no housing

You can request a Housing Needs Assessment if you:

• are homeless
• are at risk of being made homeless within the next 56 days (8 weeks)
• have been served with a Section 21 notice by your landlord

Homelessness referral application

You will be allocated a caseworker after you've asked for a housing needs assessment. They will look at your situation to see if you are eligible for rehousing, at risk of homelessness or are homeless. Their decision will determine what further housing duties we may owe you. 

A Housing Needs Assessment will not generate an instant response. 

If it's an emergency and you need accommodation immediately, please call us on 01354 654321. 

When am I classed as homeless?

You are threatened with homelessness if you're likely to become homeless within the next 8 weeks or you've received a section 21 notice from your landlord.

You may be classed as homeless if you:

• have nowhere to live in the UK or anywhere else in the world
• are staying somewhere where you have no legal right to remain
• have a home but are afraid of violence, abuse, harassment or threats.

If you think this may apply to you then don't delay and ask for help to try to prevent your homelessness.

We aim to prevent homelessness wherever possible by agreeing a plan to try to help you solve the problems that may lead to you becoming homeless.

What will the council do to help?

We aim to prevent homelessness wherever possible by agreeing a plan to try to help you solve the problems that may lead to you becoming homeless.

If this isn't possible we'd prefer to help you try to find a new home before you actually become homeless.

Whether it's trying to save your current home or find somewhere else to live it's always best to get early advice to avoid a crisis situation where you actually become homeless. We can:

• assess your current housing situation and work out with you what your needs are
• agree an action plan with you on the steps you and the council will take to try to prevent your homelessness
• help you develop a housing plan on how to find a new home if it's unlikely you can stay in your current home
• highlight and recommend other agencies and organisations to help with the plans we agree with you, referring you directly if possible or giving you information about whom to speak to for further help.

Please note that not everyone is entitled to help with emergency accommodation or long-term accommodation. You may only be able to get emergency help or long-term accommodation if you have evidence that you:

• are homeless or threatened with homelessness; and
• are eligible for assistance; and
• have a priority need; and
• did not become homeless intentionally; and
• have a local connection with the district.

Find out more about who is eligible for help on the Shelter website.

We use electronic scanners to check and verify identity documents from all customers applying to access council services. We will scan documents with a product called Trust ID.

Housing Needs Assessment

A Housing Needs Assessment is used to determine whether you are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. During this, we will look at your housing issues and how we can help you.

Assessing social housing

Social housing demand is very high. The waiting time for an offer of social housing will depend on:

• the number of properties available to meet your bedroom need within your chosen area
• the priority status (or 'banding') given to your social housing application

If you are homeless, this does not mean that you automatically qualify for social housing. You also need to qualify under our allocations scheme

If you're at risk of losing your current housing

We will support you to stay in your current housing as long as it is still suitable for you to live in. If this fails, we will try to find you alternative housing.

If you lose your housing

We'll support you to find alternative housing as soon as possible. In the first instance, this will be within the private rented sector.

Priority needs

You will always have a priority need if you or a member of your household:

• is experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse
• is pregnant
• has dependent children
• is homeless as a result of a fire, flood, or other disaster

If you are a young adult, you will have a priority need if:

• you are a care leaver aged 18 to 20, who was looked after or housed during the ages of 16 or 17 (this is even if you are not currently in receipt of social care)
• if you are aged 16 or 17 and are not a 'relevant child', or a child in need who is owed a duty under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989.

Relevant child

A relevant child is a child aged 16 or 17 who:

• has been looked after by a local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14
• has been looked after at some point whilst aged 16 or 17 who is not currently being looked after (that is, an 'eligible child' under the Children Act 1989)

Priority need owing to vulnerability

You can also have a priority need if you or someone you live with is vulnerable for one or more of the following reasons:

• mental health problems, issues, or illnesses
• learning difficulties
• physical disabilities
• serious health conditions
• having spent time in care, prison, or the armed forces
• having been held in custody
• having been committed for contempt of court or any other kindred offence
• fleeing non-domestic violence
• old age
• any other special reason

If you do not have a priority need, then the council will offer advice and help you find your own housing.

What is a local connection?

You may have a local connection to Fenland if:

• you have lived in the area by choice for 6 out of the last 12 months or 3 out of the last 5 years
• you have qualifying family connections in the area
• you have permanent employment in the area
• you have a connection to the area for another "special reason"

If you do not have a local connection to Fenland, we have the right to refer you to a local authority where you do have a connection. We will offer you temporary housing until the referral is accepted.

Find out more about local connections on the Shelter website.

Intentionally homeless

Intentionally homeless means that you left accommodation that you could have stayed in or you did something or failed to do something that resulted in you losing your home.

These could include failing to pay rent or acting in an anti-social way. Find out more about intentional homelessness on the Shelter website.

Prevention duty

Your caseworker will work with you to prevent you from becoming homeless if both of the following apply:

• you are eligible for housing help
• you have satisfied your caseworker that you are at risk of losing your home within 56 days

About the prevention duty

The prevention duty places a duty on the council to help people who:

• are eligible for housing help
• have been assessed as at risk of becoming homeless in Fenland

If you are awarded a prevention duty, it means that your caseworker must take reasonable steps to prevent you from becoming homeless.

What happens during the prevention duty

During the prevention duty, we can help you to remain in your home. If that is not possible, we will explore a range of housing options to help you find alternative housing.

As part of the prevention duty, your caseworker will develop a personalised housing plan with you. This will include actions we will take to support you and actions you need to take to try and prevent you from becoming homeless.

How long the prevention duty lasts

The prevention duty normally ends after 56 days (8 weeks). If your caseworker has not been able to secure alternative housing for you by this time, the duty can continue for longer in some cases.

If you do not secure housing during the prevention stage

If you lose your current housing and are unable to secure alternative housing during the prevention stage, then we will owe you a relief duty.

Relief duty

If you are eligible for our help and have no housing, you will be owed a relief duty. This is the duty we have to help eligible people in Fenland who we are satisfied are homeless to secure accommodation.

During the relief duty, your caseworker will explore a range of housing options to try to find you other housing that you can live in for at least 6 months.

If we decide that we owe you a relief duty and think you have a priority need for housing help, we will make you an offer of temporary housing. This is if you have nowhere suitable and safe to stay while we find you more permanent housing.

If you have somewhere to stay temporarily while you are homeless, you can still be owed a relief duty.

If you refuse a suitable offer of housing during this time, then we may not have any further duty to house you.

As part of the relief duty, your caseworker will develop a personalised housing plan with you. This will include actions that they will take to support you and actions that you need to take to try and secure housing for your household.

The relief duty normally ends after 56 days (8 weeks). If you have not been able to secure housing by this time, an assessment will be undertaken to see what further duties we owe to you.

Homeless decisions

During the prevention and relief duty periods, your caseworker will investigate whether you are owed a rehousing duty. This is also sometimes known as a main duty. This is the third and final step of your homeless application unless you ask for a review of your caseworker's decision.

If you are still homeless after 56 days of the relief duty period, then we will issue you with a final homeless decision. This will determine whether the council will continue to help rehome you.

This will depend on whether you:

• are still eligible for housing help
• remain homeless
• are in priority need
• are unintentionally homeless
• have a local connection to our district

This decision will be given within 15 working days.

How we reach this decision

To determine if we owe you a rehousing duty, your caseworker must apply the homelessness tests to your case.

These tests are that you:

• are still eligible for rehousing
• are still homeless
• are in priority need of housing
• are homeless by no fault of your own
• you have a local connection to Fenland

The council will only owe you a rehousing duty if you pass all 5 tests. If you fail one of the tests, the tests will not continue any further, and you will not be owed a rehousing duty.

If you pass tests 1 to 4 but do not have a local connection to Fenland we will not owe you a rehousing duty. Instead, another local authority which you do have a local connection to, will owe you a rehousing duty.

Rehousing duty

This is also known as a 'main duty'. This means that the council must make you an offer of suitable long-term housing.

This could be an offer of private rented sector housing for 12 months or more, or an offer of socially rented housing. Until a long term offer is made, we must find suitable temporary housing if needed.

How long rehousing takes

A housing shortage means that you may be waiting a long time for your permanent offer. This is especially if your household requires a large property. To avoid a long wait, you should consider all other housing options.