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What advice can the council give you?
Everyone is entitled to free advice from the council. The Housing Solutions Service at Stoke-on-Trent City Council offers a wide range of housing related advice, including how to find suitable accommodation, ways of preventing the loss of your current accommodation and what your legal rights are as a tenant or home owner. The service can also signpost to other relevant organisations if you need more specialist advice.
What can I expect when I contact the Housing Solutions Service?
Exactly how the service can help you will depend very much on your personal circumstances.
If you have nowhere to stay tonight, the duty officer will ask you some basic questions about your situation to determine the best course of action. In some cases, we can only offer advice and guidance, but you may be entitled to some temporary, emergency accommodation whilst we make further enquiries into your homelessness.
If you are facing homelessness in the near future or you need some general advice on your circumstances, you may be invited to attend an interview with a Housing Needs Officer, who will talk to you in more detail about your needs and discuss all of the options that are available to you.
Taking action…
In many cases, homelessness can be prevented if action is taken soon enough.
What enquiries will the Housing Needs Officer make?
The Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002, places a legal duty on all local authorities to assist people who are homeless or who are facing homelessness in the near future. At Stoke-on-Trent City Council, this duty lies with the Housing Solutions Service, the contact details for which are on the back of this leaflet.
We are required by law to investigate all homeless applications to find out the following information:
- If you are eligible for assistance
- If you are homeless (or about to become homeless)
- If you are in priority need
- If you have made yourself homeless intentionally
- If you have a local connection to Stoke-on-Trent
If our enquiries show that you meet all of the criteria above, the council will accept a legal duty to find settled accommodation for you.
Are you eligible for assistance?
Everyone is entitled to housing advice from the council; however, some people are not eligible for any further assistance.
You are eligible for assistance if you have lived in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man continuously for at least the last 5 years or are habitually resident. You must also be one of the following:
- A British citizen
- A citizen of a country from the European Economic Area
- Accredited with immigration status, giving you the right to reside in the UK
You are also eligible for assistance if you live outside the UK and are one of the following:
- A national of a country from the European Economic Area and have “worker” status; or the “right to reside” in the UK
- Eligible to claim a state benefit (also known as “public funds”
Are you homeless?
“Homeless” is a legally defined term. The law states that you are homeless if you have no suitable accommodation available in the UK or elsewhere in the world.
You are also considered homeless if:
- There is no home where you can reasonably be expected to live with your immediate family (including partners, children and carers) or;
- you can only stay in your current home temporarily, or;
- you do not have permission to live where you are currently living, or;
- you have been locked out of your current home and are no allowed back, or;
- you cannot live at home because of violence or threats of violence, or;
- it is not reasonable for you to stay in your present home (for example it is in very poor condition) or;
- you cannot afford to stay in your current accommodation.
Are you in priority need?
If our enquiries show that you are homeless and eligible for assistance, we will then look at whether you have a priority need. The Homelessness Act 2002 states that you are in priority need if:
- you are pregnant or responsible for dependent children, or;
- you are 16 or 17 years old, or;
- you are a care leaver under 21, or;
- you are homeless because of fire, flood or other disaster, or;
- you are vulnerable because you are ill, elderly or disabled, or;
- you are escaping violence or the threat or violence, or;
- you are vulnerable on account of a lengthy service in the armed forces, prison or in care.
Did you become homeless intentionally?
If we find that you have lost your accommodation because of something you did on purpose and you knew it would make you homeless, you may be found ‘intentionally homeless’. Examples of such actions include:
- selling or giving up your home that you could have stayed in without finding other accommodation first, or;
- being evicted for anti-social behaviour, or;
- not paying the rent or mortgage when you could have afforded to do so.
This is not a complete list and each application will be considered individually.
If we find that you are intentionally homeless, you will still be entitled to advice and guidance to either prevent you from losing your current home or to help find your own accommodation.
You may also be entitled to temporary, emergency accommodation for a reasonable amount of time (usually 28 days) while you find your own accommodation.
Do you have a local connection to Stoke-on-Trent?
If you have lived in Stoke-on-Trent for 6 months of the last year, (or for 3 years out of the last 5 years), or if you are employed here or have close family living here, you are considered to have a local connection to the area.
If you do not have a local connection to Stoke-on-Trent, but you do have a connection elsewhere, we will refer you to the relevant local authority unless the referral puts you at risk of violence.
Our decision:
We will make our decision based on the evidence you have provided during our enquiries. We aim to process all homeless applications within 30 days, although in many cases, the process is completed much sooner than this.
You will be notified of our decision in writing within 3 days of the decision being made.
Refusing an offer of accommodation:
If you refuse an offer of accommodation that the council considers reasonable, we will no longer have a duty to re-house you. You should always get advice before turning down any offer of settled accommodation.
Your right of appeal:
If you disagree with our decision, you can ask for a review to take place. However, you must do this within 21 days of receiving our decision letter and your appeal must be in writing. You will be asked to state your grounds for requesting a review and the council will obtain any new information that relates to your case.
The review will be dealt with by a Senior Housing Needs Officer and you will be told of the outcome within 56 days of you requesting the review.
If you disagree with the outcome of the review, or you are not told of the decision within 56 days, you can appeal to the County Court. You must do this within 21 days of receiving your decision letter (or the date when you should have been notified).
Information and Advice Services:
Housing Solutions Service:
Civic Centre, Glebe Street
Stoke, ST4 1HH
Tel: 01782 233696
Emergency (out of hours): 01782 234234
Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau:
Advice House, Opening hours:
Cheapside, Monday: 10am – 2pm
Hanley, Tuesday: 10am – 2pm
Stoke-on-Trent, Wednesday: 10am – 2pm
ST1 1HL Friday: 10am – 2pm
Tel: 01782 408600 (General Advice Line)
Email: advice@stoke-cab.org.uk
www.stoke-cab.org.uk
Shelter- Free housing advice line
Tel: 0808 800 4444
For information and advice on housing-related problems including:
- Homelessness
- Disrepair
- Debt and arrears
- Housing rights and legal issues"
Web: http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice
Potteries Women’s Refuge:
The Bluebell,
Tel: 01782 822885
Email: pwrg@hotmail.co.uk
Refuge:
Asian Women’s Project,
Tel: 01332 200027
Email: satinder_panesar@refuge.org.uk
www.refuge.org.uk
National Domestic Violence Helpline:
Tel: 0808 2000 247
www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk
Male National Domestic Violence Helpline:
Tel: 0808 8010327
Domestic Violence Team - Arch (North Staffs):
Tel: 01782 205500 (Helpline)
Tel: 01782 683754 (Support and advice)
Brighter Futures - 90 Hope Street (Hostel Accommodation)
Tel: 01782 406000
Email: emma.davis@brighter-futures.co.uk
www.brighter-futures.org.uk
North Staffs YMCA – (Hostel Accommodation)
Tel: 01782 222376
Email: simon.lovatt@stokeymca.co.uk
www.northstaffsymca.org.uk
The Salvation Army - Vale Street (Hostel Accommodation)
Tel: 01782 744374
Email: gary.thomas@salvationarmy.org.uk
www.salvationarmy.org.uk
Rough Sleeper Team:
Tel: 0800 9702304