A Guide to Emergency Housing from the Council

If you become legally homeless, your council is obliged to help you. The amount of help that you receive will depend on your eligibility, whether you are homeless through your own fault and your personal level of need.

The following guide offers information on who might be eligible for help in homelessness and where additional support can be found.

What does legally homeless mean?

You may be considered as being legally homeless in the following circumstances:

• If you have no legal right to live in a home in the UK or any other country
• You are unable to get into your home, for example, if your landlord locks you out of the property
• You are not able to live with your family or your normal cohabitants because suitable accommodation is not available for you
• There is a risk of abuse or violence in your current home, and so you have to leave
• Your current home is not suitable because of poor conditions such as overcrowding or dangerous infrastructure.

When a person is legally homeless, their local council is legally required to give them help and support. The help offered can range from supplying advice through to actually providing accommodation.

How much help is offered?

The amount of help that is offered to a person who is legally homeless will depend on a number of factors, including:

• Whether the person became homeless through no fault of their own
• If the homeless person meets eligibility criteria
• Whether the homeless person is in priority need

A person who permanently lives in the UK is usually automatically eligible to receive support if they become legally homeless. Foreign people in the UK may still be entitled, but this will depend on their immigration status.

What is considered as priority need?

A legally homeless person will be considered as being in priority need if:

• They or a person that they live with is pregnant
• They have any ‘dependent children' living with them. This includes all children under the age of 16 (or under the age of 19 if they are in full-time education)
• The person is recognised as being vulnerable, such as those who are disabled or elderly
• Fire, flood or natural disaster led to the homelessness

Meeting the Costs of Emergency Housing

Rent will be payable on any emergency housing that is arranged by the council. For those who are accommodated in a hostel, additional charges such as food will also need to be paid.

For those who are supported with accommodation by the local council, they may be entitled to receive Housing Benefit to help pay for costs. Housing Benefit is unlikely to meet additional costs, and so some expense will still be a liability for the person being housed.

What is Emergency Housing?

Emergency housing is offered to people who are homeless as a temporary solution, and as emergency accommodation is in short-supply, this is usually offered for a short term only. In many areas, councils will use hostels or local B&Bs to house those needing emergency accommodation. This is more often the case for single people and couples.

If a homeless family requires emergency accommodation, the council is more likely to provide a temporary house or flat to meet their needs. If the homeless family includes dependent children or a pregnant lady, the council will strive to only use a B&B or hostel as a very last resort. In such situations, alternative housing should be arranged in no more than six weeks.

Time Limits on Emergency Housing

A person who is offered emergency housing following legal homelessness should be entitled to stay in the accommodation while their case is being investigated by the council. Once the investigation is complete, the council will decide whether the person or people are entitled to receive further support.

Time Limits Following a Positive Decision

If, following their investigation, the council determines that the homeless person or people are entitled to further assistance, they may be required to stay in their temporary accommodation until an alternative home is found.

Time Limits Following a Negative Decision

Once their investigations are complete, the council may decide that there is no eligibility for further support. If this is the case, the decision must be given in writing along with the reasoning. Once this notification is received, it is likely that the emergency accommodation will be withdrawn soon after.

If the council determines that there is no case of legal homelessness or the person does not meet the eligibility criteria for help, the temporary accommodation may be immediately withdrawn.

If it is decided that a person is intentionally homeless, the temporary accommodation should be allowed to remain in place until the person finds an alternative home. This time limit must be reasonable for both parties, and the council will issue a date by which they expect the person to leave.