Homelessness
There are many reasons why you may be affected by homelessness for example;
parents, relatives or friends may have asked you to leave.
your landlord wants to end your tenancy,
it may not be safe to remain in your home due to domestic violence or harassment,
you can no longer afford to pay for your accommodation and it is causing you to get into debt.
Whatever your situation, it is important to seek advice to help you make an informed decision about your future housing. It is highly unlikely that your housing situation will resolve itself! So take advantage of the help available and explore your options; there may be steps that you can take to prevent you losing your home, or to enable you to move into alternative accommodation in a planned way without actually becoming homeless. This may include checking that you are claiming the correct welfare benefits; negotiating with you landlord or lending company; moving to more affordable accommodation; mediating with you and your family.
The council no longer owns any housing stock, although it still has a legal responsibility to all persons who are either homeless or threatened with homelessness within 28 days, and have contracted this service to Chester and District Housing Trust. So if you are homeless, or think you are about to become homeless, contact Chester and District Housing Trust, on their 24 hour free phone number 0808 100 7701 or Minicom 01244 305500 and find out what help and advice is available.
Staff at CDHT will arrange a "Housing Options" interview for you where they will assess your housing situation and then decide what, if any, help they can offer you. Housing Officers follow legal guidelines as set out in the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Act 2002.
Chester and District Housing Trust, working in partnership with the council, offer their available properties for rent via their choice-based letting scheme, Chester HomeChoice; the scheme gives applicants more choice in finding a home. Available properties are advertised in various ways.
To make an application to Chester HomeChoice contact
Housing Options,
Chester & District Housing Trust
Centurion House
77 Northgate Street
Chester
CH1 2HQ.
01244-305503
Chester and District Housing Trust (external link)
To determine whether, or not, the Local Authority owes a duty to you and your household there are five factors to be taken into consideration; homelessness, eligibility, priority need, intentionality and local connection. Link to 5 factors
Useful links on the Council’s Webpage:
The Council has produced a Homeless Directory giving details of the large number of organisations working to prevent homelessness.
Homelessness Directory
Download
(768Kb)
Homelessness Review 2008
The Homelessness Act requires every local authority to carry out
a review of homelessness in the Borough every five years, to
develop and publish a Homelessness Strategy based on this review
and to consult with other local statutory and voluntary
organisations.
Requirements
The Homeless Review is required to cover:
A picture of the scale and nature of homelessness in the district, and likely future levels of homelessness
A map and audit of services including the homelessness service, temporary accommodation, advice, prevention, access to permanent accommodation and provision of support
The gaps in provision and any overlaps
A review of resources available to be spent on homelessness
A record of the views of stakeholders and service users
An analysis of the links between homelessness and other key strategies
The Review
This is the council's second Homelessness Review, and
provides a very comprehensive understanding of homelessness across
the district
This Review provides the basis for a strategic approach to tackle
and prevent homelessness and will help to build upon the work that
has already begun in the council's area to provide
individuals in housing need with a range of housing options to
prevent and alleviate homelessness across the district. A copy of
the review can be found by following this link
Homelessness Review 2008
(288KB)
A new draft Homelessness Strategy has been written taking into account the findings of the latest review. The draft strategy is currently out for consultation and can be found by following this link
Draft Homelessness
Strategy (453KB)
Comments are welcomed on the draft strategy and should be sent to housing@chester.gov.uk or in writing to Paul Simpson, Principal Housing Officer, the Council, The Forum, Chester by the 30th June 2008.
The council’s current Homelessness Strategy can be found by following this link. Homeless Strategy 2003 -2008 (452Kb)
Any comments on the current homeless service should be sent to housing@chester.gov.uk
Comments or suggestions regarding the Homeless Review and its contents, or ideas on how to improve services should be sent to housing@chester.gov.uk.
The City Council will monitor the arrangements to identify
trends in the occurrence of homelessness and also to ensure that
any decisions made are legally correct. The City Council will also
carry out a review into any appeals against the Trusts
decisions.
A downloadable application form is available here:
Housing registration
form 452Kb
External Links
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