Five Factors

The Local Authority needs to consider when determining what duty, if any, is owed to you

Homelessness – Do you qualify?

• You do not have any accommodation you are legally entitled to occupy anywhere in the UK, or elsewhere.
• You have accommodation but you cannot gain entry to it.
• You face threats of violence or actual violence at home.
• You find it is not reasonable for you to occupy your current accommodation.
• You live in movable accommodation such as a houseboat or caravan and there is nowhere for you to legally place it and live in it.
• You are leaving the Armed Forces, prison or hospital.
• You are suffering domestic abuse.

• Eligibility – Do you qualify?

You are eligible for consideration if you are habitually resident in the UK. You are not eligible if:

• You are from abroad and subject to immigration control (link to Immigration status).
• You are from abroad and you are not habitually resident in the UK.
• You are a British citizen and you have not been habitually resident in the UK for a number of years.

There are exceptions to this and these will be discussed with you at your Housing Options interview.

If you are not a British Citizen, or a national of a country in the European Economic Area you will not be eligible for assistance. Certain groups of people are ineligible for homeless assistance in accordance with the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, but this does not prevent you from receiving housing advice. We need to know if you were born outside the United Kingdom because the help we may be able to offer will depend on your immigration status.

Priority Need – Not all homeless people are in priority need.

Do you qualify?

• You have dependent children.
• You or your partner is pregnant.
• You are 16 or 17 years old.
• You are 18-20 years old and have been in Local Authority care.
• You are vulnerable due to old age, mental illness, physical disability, as a result of being in Local Authority care.
• You have been in or prison, custody, or served in the armed forces.
• You have suffered an emergency such as a fire or a flood.

To be considered vulnerable you must have some reason as shown above that may affect your ability to find and maintain accommodation.

Intentional Homelessness

You may be deemed intentionally homeless if...

• You deliberately did something, such as causing damage to the property or did not do something, such as failed to pay your rent or mortgage.

This includes people who may have 'caused' their own homelessness by being were evicted from a tenancy due to anti-social behaviour, or people who had the money to pay their mortgage but did not prioritise the mortgage/rent payments when they knew their home was at risk. These people will not get rehoused. This is why it is especially important to seek advice as soon as you know you are threatened with homelessness. Not only could something be done to prevent you becoming homeless, but you will have demonstrated that you have done what you can to avoid the situation.

If you are concerned about being found homeless intentionally, you should get advice immediately.

Local Connection - Do you qualify?

You can only be housed by the council's homelessness service if you have a 'connection to the council's area. You have this connection if…

• you have lived in the council's area for at least six of the last 12 months; or
• you have lived in the council's area for at least three of the last five years; or
• you have a parent, brother or sister who has lived in the council's area for at least five years; or
• you work in the council's area.

You may also qualify if you do not have a connection here or to any other council, however this will be decided at your Housing Options Interview.

If the Council is satisfied that that you meet all five factors of this test then it has a duty to you, and your household, to make accommodation available to you. There are various type of accommodation that are used to accommodate people when they are homeless; these may be hostels, temporary private sector accommodation or bed and breakfast, if you have fled your home due to domestic abuse then a place in a refuge may be found.

The Council only has a full duty to you if you have a local connection to this area, if you do not have a local connection we will normally refer you to an area where you do have a connection unless it is not safe for you to go there. If you do not have a local connection to this area or any other area then you are able to present as homeless at any Local Authority.