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Home: Q&A: Housing
Homelessness and housing options
Cath McGurk - February 2008
housing.options@kirklees.gov.uk
How to contact us...
| by email to |
housing.options@kirklees.gov.uk |
| by phone |
01924 324310 - for Dewsbury Office
01484 221350 - for Huddersfield Office |
| in writing to |
For Dewsbury Office:
Housing Options and Support Service
Dewsbury Town Hall
Dewsbury WF12 8DG
For Huddersfield Office:
Housing Options and Support Service
Civic Centre 3
Huddersfield HD1 2PR
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Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing
An arms length organisation responsible for managing council homes on behalf of Kirklees Council
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| For more Housing information enter the Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing site.
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What does it mean to be homeless?
A person is homeless if they have no accommodation available for their occupation,
in the UK or elsewhere such as:
- Ownership of a property.
- tenancy of a property.
- expressed or implied licence to occupy (living with family or friends).
- right to occupy by virtue of a court order.
A person is considered homeless if they have accommodation but;
- They cannot secure entry to it.
- it is a moveable structure designed for habitation (caravan, mobile
home) and there is no-where to securely locate it.
- they are living in a situation which is obviously unreasonable for them
to continue to endure.
A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that they will
become homeless within 28 days.
For a person to be accepted by the Council under the homeless legislation
they must be either homeless or threatened with homelessness and have a
priority need. Priority need is defined as:
- You have a dependent child living with you under 16 or under 19 if
in full time education.
- you or a person who normally resides with you is pregnant.
- you or any person living with you is vulnerable because of old age,
mental illness, handicap or physical disability or another special reason.
- you become homeless due to a flood, fire or another disaster/emergency.
- you are 16/17 years old and not in the care of Social Services.
- you are under 21 years old and have been in some kind of care/institution
that has resulted in you being less able to fend for yourself.
Who can help if I am faced with homelessness?
If you think you may become homeless you should contact the following for
help and advice:
Kirklees Housing Options and Support Service
Civic Centre 3
Huddersfield
HD1 2PR
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Kirklees Housing Options and Support Service
Dewsbury Town Hall
Dewsbury
WF12 8DG |
| Tel: 01484 221350 |
Tel: 01924 324310 |
CHAS Housing Aid
1st Floor
Standard House
Half Moon Street
Huddersfield
HD1 2JF
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CHAS Housing Aid
8 Empire House
Wakefield Old Road
Dewsbury
WF12 8DJ
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| Tel: 01484 223922 |
Tel: 01924 324990 |
I have a home but I am faced
with severe problems (financial, social, domestic violence, harassment,
medical etc). Where can I go for help?
You should seek help from any of the following:
Kirklees Housing Options and Support Service
Civic Centre 3
Huddersfield
HD1 2PR
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Kirklees Options Needs and Support Service
Dewsbury Town Hall
Dewsbury
WF12 8DG |
| Tel: 01484 221350 |
Tel: 01924 324310 |
CHAS Housing Aid
1st Floor
Standard House
Half Moon Street
Huddersfield
HD1 2JF
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CHAS Housing Aid
8 Empire House
Wakefield Old Road
Dewsbury
WF12 8DJ
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| Tel: 01484 223922 |
Tel: 01924 324990 |
If you are currently a Council tenant your local Neighbourhood housing offices will be able to help you.
My parents want throw to
me out, can I get a place of my own?
Young people who want a Kirklees tenancy must be aged 18 or over unless
they are in the position of being homeless, in which case they can apply
for a council home once they are 16 years old. Under 16 year
olds should contact Social Services for assistance.
Housing Association rules are similar to the Local Authority and they
are unlikely to grant a tenancy to anyone under 18 without a guarantor.
The private rented sector is open to anyone who wishes to rent a property
subject to the landlord's conditions.
I need to move to access care
and support, can I get help to do so?
Council tenants should approach their local Neighbourhood housing offices to request a transfer who will then investigate
whether or not they would be entitled to medical or care and support points
to assist such a transfer.
Housing Association or Private landlord tenants and owner occupiers should
approach the Housing Options and Support Service who will investigate their
situation.
When is it appropriate for
a Local Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing office to refer cases of harassment
to the Housing Options and Support Service?
If the individual or family are in a life threatening situation they should
be referred to the Housing Options and Support Service immediately. In all other
situations the local Neighbourhood housing offices should ensure that they exhaust all options
open to them to try to resolve the situation through mediation by their
own Estate Management Officers or the Nuisance and Harassment Team before
making a referral.
When is it appropriate for
a Local Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing office to refer a case to the Housing
Options and Support Service for consideration for a care and support band?
If there is a high level of need within the following groups, then refer
to the Housing Options and Support Service:
- Does the person need help with personal care (washing, bathing, toiletting
etc.)?
- what level of general assistance do they need with shopping, house
cleaning, washing, laundry?
- how far away from the source of help do they live?
- how definite is the commitment of the carer to provide the level of care
needed?
- what suitable support is available from professionals?
When and why are people placed in temporary accommodation?
If temporary accommodation is needed due to a homeless situation and there
seems to be a priority need, the Housing Options and Support Service will
provide this. Each individual case will be considered. Hostel placements
and Bed & Breakfast accommodation will be looked at for single people
and based on demand, these could be outside of the Kirklees area. Families
with children may be offered Bed & Breakfast accommodation as emergency
accommodation but furnished properties will be identified as soon as possible.
It may also be appropriate to use the facilities of a women's refuge. If
applicants can, they will be encouraged to make their own temporary arrangements
with family relatives or friends and this will not adversely affect their
homeless application.
How long do people usually have to wait before being
rehoused?
All offers of Kirklees Council housing are made from the Housing Register
and allocations are made on the basis of points which reflect housing
needs. When a property becomes available a shortlist is made from applicants
who have expressed an interest in that particular type of property in
the same area on the basis of the number of points they have been awarded.
The applicant with the highest number of points is offered the property
first, if they turn it down, it will be offered to the next in line. The
time will depend on turn over of properties in a chosen area, coupled
with the number of points an applicant has, in a high demand area the
turn over will be slower and the number of points required will be higher.
Another factor will be the type of property required, for example, homes
for older people are currently more readily available than properties
for young single people.
I would like more information
about private renting, where should I look?
Private rented properties are to be found through estate agents, the local
newspaper and in adverts placed in local shops. In general a bond will
be required along with a month's rent in advance and references. Although
there are landlords who do not require all of these. Single people or
couples without children can apply to the Bond Bank, run by CHAS Housing
Aid who may provide a guarantee of a bond and may also have contacts with
landlords who have vacancies.
Help towards paying your rent (Housing Benefit) can be applied for and
it is advisable to get a pre-tenancy assessment on how much Housing Benefit
will be paid on a specific property before signing a tenancy agreement.
Advice is available from the Housing Options and Support Service on 01484
221350/ 01924
324310 or Kirklees Revenues and Benefits on 01484
221410.
When I get a tenancy,
where can I access help with furniture, budgeting and other support?
Help is available in accessing second hand furniture from the Brian Jackson
Centre and your local Neighbourhood housing offices can assist in this. Organisations such
as CHAS Housing Aid and the Single Homeless Accomodation Project (SHAP)
and other voluntary agencies may be able to help. Support can be obtained
by young people from SHAP where a support worker can be assigned to assist
and support with a wide range of needs. Kirklees Council provides debt
counselling as does the Citizens
Advice Bureau, and help should be sought as soon as you are experiencing
problems.
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