Homeless Application
We have a legal duty to offer support to all eligible applicants who are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. To be eligible, you must normally live in the UK long-term and not be subject to immigration control.
It is best if you contact us on 01702 215002 as soon as you are threatened with homelessness. This gives us more time to save your existing living arrangement or to support you to find a new property.This then prevents you from becoming homeless.
What will the council do to help me?
Appointment with a Housing Solutions Officer
When you contact us, we will usually arrange an appointment for you to meet us. You can bring a support worker or friend with you. We will ask you to bring evidence of your situation to the appointment with you.
We will discuss your housing situation, your finances and any other issues that are affecting your housing (e.g. medical issues).
Personalised Housing Plan
We will then agree with you a personal housing plan. The plan sets out the steps that you and we must take to stop you becoming homeless or, if you've already lost your home, to find housing.
You could be asked to:
- look for an affordable private tenancy
- apply to the Homeseekers’ Register
- provide evidence of your situation
- apply for benefits
- seek debt advice
- take part in mediation
If you are threatened with homelessness within 56 days, we will agree a duty to support you to try to prevent you from becoming homeless (the prevention duty).
If you are homeless when you approach us, or later become homeless, we will agree a duty to work with you for at least 56 days to try to relieve your homelessness (the relief duty).
Please see our ‘How We Can Help’ page for details about ways we prevent homelessness.
Whatever led to you becoming homeless/at risk of homelessness, and regardless of whether you have a ‘priority need’. We will work with you and develop a personalised housing plan to help you to find suitable housing.
Please note that, if we think you have deliberately and unreasonably refused to take a required step in your plan, our duty to help you may end.
Full Homeless Application and investigation
If at the end of the 56 day relief duty, you are still homeless, the application will progress to the main duty stage. We will have been carrying out enquiries to see if as well as being homeless and eligible for help, you meet three other criteria. These are:
- priority need for housing - households are considered to be in priority need for housing if they contain dependent children under 18, a pregnant woman or someone who is significantly vulnerable, or if they have become homeless through their property becoming uninhabitable due to a fire or flood
- unintentionally homeless - councils can only agree the full housing duty to applicants who have not become homeless through their own actions or failure to act. For example, if you have been evicted for harassing your neighbours or not paying your rent, it is likely that we will not be able to agree the full housing duty
- local connection - You can gain a local connection to Southend due to the length of time you have lived here, having close family in the borough or working here
If you meet all the criteria, we will agree the full housing duty to you. This means we will have a duty to provide you with temporary housing until such time as you are able to get a suitable, long-term home.
Please be aware that, if you refuse a suitable housing offer, the council’s duty to you will end.
If you meet all the criteria except local connection, you may be referred to another area to which you do have a local connection. This is not necessary if you are fleeing domestic abuse.
Please note that local connection will also be considered at the relief stage. If you do not have a local connection to Southend, the relief duty may be referred to the area to which you have a local connection.
If you are found not to be in priority need or to be intentionally homeless, we will have no further duty, except to provide advice and assistance.
At every stage of the process, you will have a right to request a review of any decision you do not agree with.