Rykneld Homes has a Housing Options Team which assists people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

The amount of assistance depends on a person’s circumstances. Some homeless people qualify for emergency accommodation and rehousing. Others are given help and advice to find their own accommodation.

If someone has a housing problem, which may lead to homelessness, we have a duty to assist them to try and keep their current accommodation. For example this could be:

• Advice on benefits including housing benefits
• Negotiating with private landlords to prevent the termination of the tenancy
• Referrals to the Citizens Advice Bureau for detailed financial advice
• Referral to a mediation service when relationships between parents and children or partners breakdown

If these attempts to reconcile problems fail then we would look at various options including taking a homeless application.

The team also has a duty to provide advice on private tenants’ rights and investigate complaints from private tenants of harassment and illegal eviction.

Homelessness and Re-housing

If attempts to resolve housing problems fail and households are homeless or will become homeless within the next 28 days, the team will take a homelessness application. There are five main questions that all authorities must ask to assess their duty to homeless applicants. Rykneld Homes has a responsibility for the assessment of eligible applicants who apply as homeless or are threatened with homelessness. We must establish if a person is homeless, whether they have become homeless as a result of a deliberate act or omission and are therefore intentionally homeless and whether or not they have a priority need for housing. We also need to check if applicants have a local connection with the authority.

People are defined as being in priority need if they:

• Are pregnant
• Have parental care, control and responsibility for children
• Are 16 or 17 years of age and without adult support, or are
• Are vulnerable as a result of
  - Serious physical or mental health problems
  - Domestic violence
  - Being in care, in prison or in the armed forces

This is not a complete list of priority need cases. Each homelessness case is assessed on its own merits, as it relates to homelessness law.

Vulnerability has a legal definition. Assistance to determine vulnerability will be sort from appropriate bodies including hospitals, doctors, mental health teams and social services. This information may then be passed to the Council’s doctor before a decision is made. Successful homeless applicants are provided with a safety net into suitable accommodation. For more information on how vulnerable tenants can receive support see ‘Tenancy and other forms of Floating Support for Vulnerable tenants’.

The authority may also offer other options which include; waiting for a chosen property via the housing register, contacting housing associations or renting privately. If people are receiving benefits or are on a low income they may be able to claim Housing Benefit for any of these forms of accommodation.

Temporary Accommodation

If applicants become literally homeless before Rykneld Homes has finished dealing with a homeless application and they are in priority need the team will arrange temporary emergency accommodation. This will be either one of the our homeless units or bed and breakfast accommodation. Applicants will be asked to pay for this accommodation or claim Housing Benefit and pay a smaller amount covering the remaining charges. Therefore, wherever possible, we advise applicants to stay on temporarily in their present accommodation or with relatives or friends until we have finished dealing with their problem.

What happens if we agree to assist you into accommodation?

It should normally take about 2 or 3 weeks between applicants making a homelessness application and the team making a decision, but this can vary greatly depending on the complexity of the case, the time it takes to make inquiries and the speed with which applicants provide necessary documentary information.

If we agree to assist you into accommodation we would normally make you one offer of suitable council or housing association accommodation. We will attempt to offer you accommodation in your area of choice, but this cannot be guaranteed and as you are homeless we will attempt to re house you as soon as possible. If there is a slow turnover of council and housing association accommodation we may consider arranging private rented accommodation.

What happens if Rykneld Homes does not have a duty to assist you into accommodation?

Some applicants will see they have no priority need, others may feel they are vulnerable but because of the strict legal definition confirmed by the Courts they may be told they are not vulnerable, and some others may be classified as intentionally homeless. In these cases Rykneld Homes would not have a duty to secure accommodation. However, there are alternatives to Council accommodation including hostels, private rented, the housing register and housing associations. This can be hard to arrange at short notice. Therefore even whilst the team is considering a homeless application households should consider alternatives. Information on these alternative types of accommodation can be given at any time by the Housing Options Team.