Name of Housing Options Officer Issuing This Pack

[Name of Council]

Housing

OptionsService

A Toolkit containing useful resources to prevent homelessness and record casework for applicants claiming homelessness from the home of a parent or extended family

Name of Housing Options Officer Issuing this pack

Contact E-Mail

A Toolkit containing useful resources to prevent homelessness and record casework for applicants claiming homelessness from the home of a parent or extended family

The Homelessness Reduction Bill

The Homelessness Reduction Bill has been given its second reading in Parliament at the end of October. It has the support of the Government and is likely to become law by the Spring of 2017 with a commencement date to be decided by the Government.

The prime focus of this new legislation is to reduce homelessness by placing greater emphasis on preventing homelessness and improving prevention help for people not in priority need.

There will be a new Local Authority duty to take reasonable steps to prevent or relieve homelessness for anyone at risk of homelessness within 56 days. This new duty will significantly extend the entitlement of many applicants who are currently only entitled to a duty to advice and assistance and require local authorities to provide early and more effective help to prevent homelessness.

Please note the following:

The prevention of homelessnessadvice provided in this and the other toolkits provided free to local authorities must always be considered in the context of whether a homelessness application has been made and triggered.

Localauthorities are reminded that if they have reason to believe that a person may be homeless or threatened with homelessness they are under a duty to take an application; make enquiries and issue a decision on that application. If the person is eligible, homeless and may be in priority need then emergency accommodation must be provided until the enquiries are completed and a decision issued.

The information and advice has not been legally checked and is for guidance only. It does not form legal advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the content and a local authority should always take its own legal advice when considering using any resource contained in this toolkit.

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Housing Options Interview – Parentor relativethreatened exclusioncase

Whenshould thispreventioncaseworktoolkitbeused?

This casework toolkit has been developed to help Officers take the right actions to try and prevent homelessness.The checklist should be used for all parental or relative threatened homelessness cases and long-term arrangements living with friends. It should be used where:

Aparent/relative/friend has not yet asked the person to leave but you believe this is a realisticand immediate threat

Or where the person has been given a verbal or written notice to leave

It should be used where the person living within the family home is single or where they have children of their own that live within the family home.

References throughout this toolkit to a Parent equally apply to cases where there is a threat ofexclusion from the home of a relative or friend

TheHousing Options InterviewingOfficershould carryoutthefollowingactions:

1. Complete Section 1.This is a summary sheet covering the core actions that an officer should take and record for every parental/relative exclusion or threat of exclusion case.
2. Then follow the ‘casework actions to be taken’checklist in section 2.You may need to paste this action checklist into the case notes section on the Northgate case so that a record of actions is on the casefile. Use the checklist to 1) Structure the actions you take to try to prevent the person from becoming homeless and 2)To record your casework notes.
3. Use the Section 3 Resources toolkit to help you prevent homelessness.This section contains a set of resources that can be used for the potential excluder or for the person being threatened with exclusion.There are numerous resources and an index at the start of section setting out what each resource is and how best to use that resource. Using the resources may greatly improve your chances of prevention success.You will find at the end of section 3 the Personal Housing Plan for any Parent/Relative exclusion case.
4. Section 4 is the ‘Self Help Pack’to be issued to the person approaching the Council claiming they are at risk of being excluded by a parent or relative.You should try and email a copy of the Help Pack to the parent/relative if you have their email address or alternatively you could send in the post.This ‘Help Pack’should not be used if there are any allegations of abuse, violence or threats of violence or any other safeguarding issues.

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Section1:

Thecasework checklist:

Coreactions totakeoneverycase

Action / Confirmationthat theactionlisted hasbeentaken
Recordthe name of the Housing Options Officer (HOO) undertaking the Housing Options Interviewandwillberesponsiblefortheprevention caseworkactions / Name
Record as many ways of contacting the parent/relative as you can.

• Name
• Address
• Email contact
• Mobile contact
• Landline contact

Would the applicants housing problem trigger a homeless application under the section 183 threshold test requiring you to consider whether you have reason to believe that the applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness? / Yes/No
If your decision is that a homeless application has not been triggered because you are satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances do not trigger an application under the statutory test have you completed the‘assessment of whether a homeless application has been triggered form’which is part of the ‘Housing OptionsAssessmentApplication Form’‘? / Yes/No/NA
If your decision is that an application would be triggered because you are satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances would trigger an application under the statutory test does the applicant wish to pursue a homeless application?
If the person does not wish to pursue a homeless application that would be triggered under the section 183 test make sure you have fully recorded the reasons for that decision / Yes/No

1

Action / Confirmationthat theactionlisted hasbeentaken
Confirmation that the correct Personal Housing Plan has been issued/e-mailed to the applicant? / Yes/No
PHPNumber
Where a homeless application has been triggered is it possible to recommend to the Duty Manager that a decision can be made that day based on the inquiries you have made in your interview with the applicant plus (if required) any 3rd party inquiries that have been made or could be completed that day. / Yes/No
If yes confirm that a section 184 notification letter has been given tothe applicant / Yes/No/NA
Specific questionsandpreventionactions tobeconsideredfor
allParent/Relativethreatened exclusioncases
Has the applicant presented with a letter asking the person to leaveand explaining the reasons why / Yes/No
Have you e mailed or sent or both the standard letter to the Parent/Relative seeking the detailed reasons for wanting the person to leave?
Important: this form should be sent even where a conversation has take place with the parent/relative as it will help obtain details for any problem that has led to a notice being issued and help in the preparation of any ‘offer to resolve’ / Yes/No
If yes date
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat of violence or abuse have you emailed or sent the initial ‘How we
are going to try and help and next steps letter’– Section 3 Resource number 3 in this pack (which also includes the reasonable notice paragraphs)? / Yes/No
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat of violence or abuse have you emailed or sent or both the Self Help Pack to help the parties try to resolve the problems in the home? / Yes/No
IfYes confirm pack issued to:
ApplicantY/N
ParentY/N

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Action / Confirmationthat theactionlisted hasbeentaken
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat of violence or abuse and you have concerns that the parent needs to understand the request for a period of reasonable notice and why it is being requested have you emailed or sent the Request for reasonable notice letter Section 3 Resource number 1 in this pack? / Yes/No
Have you set up the parent/relative casework action checklist(section 2 of this toolkit) in the notes section for the applicant’s fileon Northgate and completed section for the actions to take when the person presents? / Yes/No
Has a ‘home visit’been arranged? / Yes/No
If no, state thereasons whyone hasn’t been arranged
Have you completed and issued to the Parent/Relative Offer to
Resolve the Problem letter? / Yes/No
If a letter has been sent has the Parent/Relative responded to the offer set out in the letter?
Record their response and whether a resolution may be possible / Yes/No
Is there a possible resolution?
Y/N
Have you issued the Personal Housing Plan – Section 3 Resourcenumber 11 / Yes/No
Has the applicant been taken through and advised on their realistic alternative social housing or private rented options includingtelling them where they are likely to be able to afford to look foraccommodation?
This action is required regardless of the steps being taken to resolve the problems at home.Aback up of seeking alternative accommodation options needs to be pursued with every applicant in case action fails / Yes/No

1

Action / Confirmationthat theactionlisted hasbeentaken
Have you issued the person their ‘How to find accommodation pack’ / Yes/No

1. Initial resolution actions

1. Look to speak to the parent on the day or if no contact obtained within 24 hours of the approach and test water on chance of resolution to the problem

1. Regardlessissuetheinitial‘Howwearegoingtotryandhelpand nextstepsletter’,SelfHelpPackandanyotherrelevantresources suchasSocialHousingFactsleaflet–Section3Resourcenumber7

1. Once you have obtained enough information about the problem issue a ‘Offer to Resolve the Problem’letter to the parent

1. Follow up on the offer within 3 days of sending it

/ Advice to the
Officer

Section 2:

This section contains the actions that the Housing Options Officer should consider taking to resolve the problem that has led to the parent/relative seeking to exclude

The checklist is split into:

Summary table for casework and outcome.

Part 1 – the preventionactions to take in the housing options interview when the person presents.

Part 2 – the preventionactions to take at the home visit or if a home visit does not take place an interview with the parent.

It should be used to structure the way you deal with the case and the actions you should take to try and prevent homelessness. Use it to record your case notes.

Summary of Casework and outcome / Comments/confirmations

1. Date of initial contact with the parent/relative (record the date and details for any subsequent contact with the parent/relative in the case notes section)

1. Parent/relative initial stated reason for seeking possession
   

1. Have there been any other issues/ problems at the home?
   

1. Has a resolution of the problem been discussed with the parent/relative?
   

1. Is the parent/relative prepared to accept or consider a resolution?
   

1. What solution would the parent/relative be prepared to accept? (Phrase question to the parent/relative if you had to agree a solution what would it be)
   

1. Is there anything that can be tried to try and prevent homelessness?
   

Conclusion:
Prevention action is successful: Tick
Prevention action not successful: Tick
How to deal with cases that present claiming they are being asked to leave their parent/s home. Checklist Toolkit for the Housing Options Interview
Part 1: This checklist covers the actions that the Solutions Officer should take during any Housing Options interview where a single person or household living with their parents or relatives or their friends has been asked to leave.
Household presenting claiming to be homeless today or imminently
Take the following actions where a person has come in and claims to have been excluded by the parent/s they live with or are claiming that they will be excluded shortly.
Action 1 – Look at the evidence – does it indicate exclusion?

• Has the person presented with baggage?
• Have they presented with a notice or letter asking them to leave?
• Are they upset indicating that there has been some incident or row that led that day to being asked to leave?
• If there is a letter is it claiming that they have to leave today or a date in the future?

You must consider safeguarding issues before continuing with the next actions. Decide from what you have heard if there is a possibility of any violence or abuse that would make it unsafe for the person to return. If so provide safe interim accommodation for the person if they may be homeless and may be in priority need. If there are no safeguarding issues continue with the actions as set out below:
Action 2 - If they have come in with a letter/notice from the parent undertake some basic checks:

• Is the letter is addressed to the applicant,
• Is it dated and signed by the excluder,
• Where the person excluding is a joint tenant or joint owner is it clear that both tenants/owners want the person to leave?
• Does it give the person a period of reasonable notice?

Some suggestions on the approach to reasonable notice.
If a person occupies accommodation with parents they are occupying that accommodation as a bare licensee. The Licence may be written but is more likely to be a verbal licence or implied licence. Remember, no court order is required to evict that person. However, a period of reasonable notice should, in common law, be given and what that period is will always depend on the facts and circumstances relating to their occupation and why they are being asked to leave.
Reasonable notice is initially based upon how the rent is paid (i.e. a week’s notice if weekly or a month’s notice if monthly). However, given many applicants may be presenting from a home where no rent is paid what is reasonable will have to be determined on a case by case basis and will be dependent upon the circumstances of each presentation and may require further investigations to decide what period is reasonable. This could range from immediate notice where there is a serious incident to 28 days where a person has lived at home all their life or for a long period and there has been no incident that would indicate an immediate or shorter period of notice should be given. The period of reasonable notice is likely to be something that you will need to negotiate with the person wanting to exclude.
Resources to help you:
1)There is a request for reasonable notice letter in this pack and you should give a copy addressed to the parent to the person claiming a threat of exclusion as well as e-mailing the same copy to the parent.
2)There is a form in the pack to e-mail the parent or to send asking the parent to fully set out the reasons why they want the person to leave.
Note:A homeless application is still likely to have been triggered even if reasonable notice is obtained as the person is still likely to be at risk of homelessness within 28 days.
Action 3 - Before contacting the parent find out from the person threatened with homelessness their view about the issues that have led to being asked to leave.
Be mindful that the person may be nervous and upset so ask questions sensitively. Your questions should obtain as much detail as you can for the reasons why the person is being asked to leave to enable you to be able to help both the person and the person claiming to exclude to resolve matters, and to also enable you to lawfully consider whether the person is homeless and owed a duty under the legislation.
Unless the person is visibly upset and not able at this point to explain the reasons seek to establish the detailed reason and evidence as to why the person has been asked to leave. Be careful not to accept on face value alone a reply from the person that they don’t know why they have been asked to leave or a response that “they have been asked to leave because they have not been getting on”. There will in virtually all genuine cases have been a trigger issue, incident, or on-going problems that have led to the threat of exclusion and you should ask questions to obtain as much detail about these as you can. There may genuinely have been no trigger incident but in the majority of cases if there is no trigger incident explained there is a question to consider as to whether you are satisfied that the person is genuinely at risk of becoming homeless and this may shape the nature of further inquiries.
Action 4 – In the majority of cases you will have to take a homeless application if the applicant wants to pursue one because the test of an application is based on whether the person may be homeless or may be threatened with homelessness.