Homelessness  

Hart District Council has a range of duties under legislation laid down by government, to help homeless people. This help may be giving advice and information or finding long term housing.

When looking at homeless applications the Council has to be satisfied that the applicant is :

• eligible
• homeless
• in priority need as defined in legislation.
• homeless through no fault of their own, and
• have a local connection with the Hart District.

The first thing you need to do if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness is contact us to see what help, advice and assistance we can offer you. You can speak to our Duty Housing Options Officer on 01252 774420.

If you are in immediate need of emergency accommodation outside of office hours you should call 0845 677 0678

In order to decide whether you meet all of the criteria above they will need to ask you the following questions:

Are you Eligible?

Not everyone who is homeless is eligible for help with housing. The legislation makes certain people from abroad ineligible for housing assistance. If you are a British Citizen, a European Economic Area national or a settled person you are likely to be eligible. If you are subject to immigration control or are an asylum seeker it is unlikely that you will be eligible.

Are you Homeless?

Homeless is a term which covers a range of situations which people find themselves in. You may be homeless if:

• You have no where to stay tonight, or
• You have been staying somewhere but have no legal rights to stay there and are being told to leave, or
• You have been locked out of your home and told not to go back, or
• You have somewhere to live but are likely to face violence if you return, or
• You are forced to live apart from someone you normally live with, or who the Council considers it would be reasonable for you to live with, or
• You are forced to leave your home because of harassment, or
• You have a mobile home, caravan or boat but do not have anywhere to put it or that you can live in.

We usually will not consider you as homeless unless you are within 28 days of losing your accommodation, but we will investigate and try to prevent you becoming homeless before this.

People who are not homeless can be provided with housing advice to ensure that their accommodation remains available to them or to help them find alternative solutions to housing problems.

Are you in Priority Need?

The legislation helps decide the groups of people who are in priority need. You may have a priority need if your circumstances are such that they would make you more vulnerable or disadvantaged if you were homeless and would include:

• Households with dependant children.
• Pregnant women.
• If you are homeless as a result of a disaster such as fire, flood or other disaster.
• If you are 16 or 17 years old.
• If you are 18 to 21 years old and were looked after, accommodated or fostered between the ages of 16 and 18.
• Those who are regarded as vulnerable.
  
  You may be `vulnerable’ because:
• you are an older person (over 60 years old as a guide)
• you suffer from mental illness, disability, or physical illness
• you are at risk of domestic or other violence
• you are at risk as a young person
• you are over 21 but used to be looked after, accommodated or fostered
• you have served a custodial sentence or served in the armed forces.

People who are not in priority need will be provided with advice and assistance to help with housing problems.

Intentionally homeless

The homelessness law says you are intentionally homeless if:

• You deliberately gave up accommodation it would have been reasonable for you to have continued to occupy, or
• You deliberately did something, or failed to do something, which you knew would mean losing your accommodation, e.g. lost accommodation due to non-payment of rent, anti-social behaviour etc. or
• You made arrangements to stay in accommodation on an insecure basis which gave you no legal rights, with the intention of making an homelessness application, or
• You failed to act on legal/financial, advice/assistance that you have been given to help you find alternative suitable accommodation or to help you stay in your home.

If you are in priority need but homeless through your own fault, we have no duty to find you long-term accommodation. We will help you by giving advice and assistance.

Do you have a Local Connection with Hart?

We also need to see if you have a local connection with the Hart area, this usually includes the following:

• You have lived in settled accommodation in the Hart area for a minimum of 6 out of the last 12 months or 3 out of the last 5 years.
• You have a permanent job in the District
• You have a close family member (parents, brother, sister, grown up children) that has lived in the area for more than 5 years.

If you have no local connection to the area but fulfil all the other criteria, we will refer you to the Council where you do have a local connection providing you are not at risk from violence from the area you are connected to.

What you will need to bring to your homelessness interview

To investigate any homeless application we require certain information from you. Please bring as many of the documents listed below as you can, because we need to see them before making any offer of emergency accommodation.

Identification for each person on your application

• Full birth certificate
• Drivers licence
• Passport(s)
• Identity cards
• Medical cards
• Marriage certificates
• Confirmation of Income Support or other welfare benefit
• National Insurance card or number
• Home Office documents

Proof of homelessness

• Eviction notice
• Notice to quit
• Letter from landlord/parent/friend/relative, if you have been asked to leave
• Summons
• Court order
• Bailiff’s warrant

Proof of residence

• Official letters and documents showing the addresses you have lived at for the last five years, e.g. rent books, tenancy agreements, Council Tax demands, driving licence, bank statements
• Medical cards
• Marriage certificates
• Credit agreements

Proof of priority need

• Antenatal card or pregnancy certificate
• GP/hospital letter or medication details concerning any medical condition
• Children/child’s full birth certificate
• Child benefit book
• Pension book
• Documents relating to care of your child, e.g. residence orders/parental responsibility agreement
• Documents that confirm full time attendance at a school or college or training course
• Divorce papers

Proof of employment, income and savings

• Employment contract and/or wage slips
• Building society book or bank statements
• DWP benefit books or evidence of a claim to the DWP
• National Insurance card or number
• Jobseekers Allowance book or evidence of claim

Homelessness Strategy

Hart has produced a Homelessness Strategy to guide the actions the Council and a number of partner organisations will be taking over the next 5 years to reduce the impacts of homelessness. The Council is fully committed to achieving the Government's objective of ceasing the use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families, except in emergencies, by April 2004.

The Homelessness Strategy is available to download in the Downloads Area at the top right of this page.:

Directory of Services

A list of agencies who deal with homelessness within Hart and local boroughs

The Directory may be available from Hart District Council, Housing Services or by calling 01252 774420

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