Housing advice on homelessness
If you have nowhere to live now, or if you think you are going to lose your home, the Council may be able to help you.
If you are having problems keeping you home because of difficulties in paying your rent or mortgage or you are unsure of your rights, you can contact the Housing Options Team. Our advice is free and by giving you the right advice or referring you to our partner agencies, we may be able to keep you in your home.
Homelessness and your rights
If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness the Council may have a duty to provide help under the Housing Act 1996. This information is only intended to be a guide to the law. If you have any questions about the following information please contact the Housing Options team on 01727 819410.
What the council can do
The Council must provide assistance and advice to anyone who applies claiming to be homeless. How much help we can give is dependent on your situation. This does not necessarily mean that we have to provide you with accommodation.
Firstly, we will look at the following 3 facts:
Are you eligible for our assistance?
Are you homeless, or likely to lose your rights to your home within 28 days?
Are you in priority need, as defined by the law?
To help us to give you the correct advice we will need to see any relevant documents such as Passport, Court Orders, Notice to Quit, rent book, Child Benefit book etc. Always bring with you any documents that will help us to deal with your case.
Are you 'eligible' for assistance?
In order to get help from the Council for advice or for housing you must be eligible for assistance. Some foreign nationals or people from abroad are not eligible and therefore not entitled to assistance.
We will advise you if you fall into this category and refer you to the right agency.
What is 'Priority Need'?
You are said to be in a priority need category if:-
You have dependent children who normally live with you
You or someone you normally live with is pregnant
You have become homeless as a result of fire, flood or other disaster
You, or someone you live with is disabled, suffering from a mental illness, or is vulnerable for some other special reason (for example, old age).
It will help if your doctor, social worker, health visitor etc supports your claim. Please bring any medical evidence you have with you to the interview.
If the Council is satisfied that you are eligible for assistance, homeless and in priority need we will need to check two other facts:-
That you are not homeless intentionally.
Whether or not you have a local connection with St Albans District Council or any other Authority.
While we are investigating these two facts, we may provide emergency accommodation, if this is necessary.
What is 'intentionally homeless'?
If it is discovered that you deliberately did, or failed to do, something which has caused you to lose your home (i.e. not paid the rent or mortgage although you had the income to make those payments) you may be regarded as having made yourself intentionally homeless.
If the Council discovers that you have colluded with your landlord or a member of your family or friends to get your current accommodation taken away from you, so that you can apply for housing under the homelessness legislation, you may be regarded as intentionally homeless.
You may also be regarded as intentionally homeless if it is known that accommodation was available for you and you received assistance to secure it, but deliberately failed to do so.
If the Council decides that you are intentionally homeless we may provide you with emergency accommodation for a short period only, to allow you some time to find your own accommodation elsewhere.
Local Connection
You have a local connection with St Albans District Council if:-
You have lived in our area for at least six months in the last year or for three out of the last five years.
You have permanent employment within the area.
You have close relatives (i.e. your parents, brother or sister) who are living in the area and have lived here for at least five years.
If you have a local connection with more than one authority
If you have a local connection with the Council you first applied to, they cannot normally ask another Council to help you. If you do not have a local connection with the Council you first applied to, but have a connection elsewhere, they may ask that other Council to help you with housing.
If all the facts are checked and the Council wants to accept responsibility for rehousing you, you will be able to bid on our Choice Based Letting system
Notification of decision
Everyone whose homeless application has been investigated by the Council will receive a written decision about their application stating the reasons for the decision.
If you disagree with the council's decision.
The Council will normally have considered all the facts regarding your case and we make effort to ensure that each decision is fair and reasonable in all respects. If the Council has decided that:-
You are not eligible for assistance
You are not homeless or threatened with homelessness
You are not in priority need
You are intentionally homeless
You are not happy with the accommodation the Council has offered you after having been accepted as homeless
You have the right under Section 202 of the Housing Act 1996 to request a review of the Council's decision. All letters notifying you of these decisions will advise you of your right to review and how to go about requesting a review.
Private Sector Housing
You may need to, or want to, consider finding a property to rent independently in the private sector. Details of properties to rent can usually be found in local newspapers or by contacting estate agents operating in the district. In some cases St Albans council may be able to assist you, please contact the Housing Options department for further details.
Pre-tenancy workshops
St Albans District Council have joined up with Oaklands College to provide pre-tenancy workshops. These 5-week courses are aimed at delivering key skills to people to prepare them for sustaining a successful tenancy. These include sessions on money management, literacy and numeracy and healthy eating. You can see the course timetable by checking the link below, please contact St Albans District Council on (01727) 819382, email: housing@stalbans.gov.uk, or Oaklands College on (01727) 737154, email: branka.platten@oaklands.ac.uk, if you would like further information.
Flat Share
A house or flat share is the general term used to describe most shared accommodation and properties with rooms to rent. Someone who is living in a house or flat share is usually referred to as a flatmate. In a house or flat share you will rent a room from the landlord but share communal areas such as the kitchen and lounge with other people that live with you in the house. This can prove to be an affordable and practical housing option.
How to contact us
The Housing Options team are here to help anyone in St Albans who is threatened with homelessness or who is in need of housing advice. We can be contacted by telephoning 01727 819271/819277/819449/819410 or 819413.
You can also visit the Council offices to complete a 'Housing Options Enquiry Form'.
You can leave your details of your particular issues, a Housing Officer will contact you within 24-48 hours with advice and offer an opportunity to make an appointment.
Date of last review: 24 January 2011