In this section
Housing service standards
Where you are asking for the council's advice and assistance because you are threatened with or actually homeless, we will:
- Work with you to prevent you becoming homeless
- Provide you with the name and contact details of your Case Officer
- Confirm in writing either on the day or within 2 working days the advice given and a Personal Housing Plan for any follow up work necessary
- Provide you with information about other organisations who may be able to assist you, eg, the Citizens Advice Bureau, etc. No referrals will be made to other organisations without your permission/authorisation
- If visiting you at your home, give you advanced notice when we can (except if we are dealing with your homelessness application), show our identification, and treat your home with respect
- Where a Homeless Application is taken, we will work within the statutory guidelines so that,
- if you are not yet homeless, we will try to prevent your homelessness within 56 days (the prevention duty period), or
- if prevention fails and you become homeless or you are already homeless when you first ask for our help, we will work with you to find another place to live within 56 days (the relief duty period)
- if it is not possible by the end of the relief period to find you another place to live, we will make a decision and inform you about whether we owe a duty to house you under the homelessness law within 15 days of the relief duty period ending
- Keep in regular contact with you throughout the process of working with you
If you are applying to the Housing Register we will:
- Process your application and send you a letter informing you of the outcome within 15 working days
If the council has provided you with temporary accommodation because you are homeless, we will:
- Let you know you in writing the details of the temporary accommodation you are being offered including the type of property, its address, the cost, the move in date, who the landlord is and any local information available
- Regularly visit you at your temporary accommodation to ensure the accommodation remains safe and appropriate for you and your family to live in. This will include a welcome visit which will happen within 2 weeks of when you move in, and will also visit you at least once every three months while you live in temporary accommodation
- Ensure any issues with your temporary accommodation are resolved as quickly as possible, or move you to alternative accommodation if it is not possible to resolve the issues within a reasonable time
- Work with your Case Officer to help get a decision taken as quickly as possible on your Homeless application
- Whenever possible, give you a minimum of 24 hours notice if we need you to move from your current temporary accommodation to another on
Find more information on the councils corporate customer service standards and how we handle complaints.
