Pendle Borough Council
Market Street, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 7LG
Tel: 01282 661661 Fax: 01282 661130
Homelessness
Housing Advice
The Housing Act 1996 (Part VII) and The Homelessness Act 2002 set out the legal duties of local authorities towards people who are homeless or about to be made homeless. The Council must provide advice and assistance to any one who housing requests it. We also have a duty to provide temporary and permanent accommodation to some groups of homeless people. Whether you qualify for housing depends on your individual circumstances.
The homelessness legislation is very complex and the information given below is a brief summary only; please contact the Housing Needs Section using the contact details below for full details
For information email: homeless@pendle.gov.uk
The Council gives 'reasonable preference' to homeless people on the Housing Register. We may also be able to offer you temporary accommodation while you are waiting for an offer. We can only offer you temporary accommodation if you are 'statutorily homeless' - this means that:
You are eligible for assistance
You are not eligible if:
- you are from abroad and subject to immigration control;
- you are from abroad and you are not habitually resident in the UK; or
- you are a British citizen and you have not been habitually resident in the UK for a number of years.
There exceptions to this and this will be discussed with you in interview.
You are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 28 days
You are considered to be homeless if now or within the next 28 days:
- you have nowhere to live at all; or
- there is nowhere that you and your family can stay together; or
- you no longer have a legal right to stay in your home; or
- you have somewhere to live but cannot gain entry to it; or
- you are at risk of violence from someone who is living in your home; or
- your home is a caravan or boat and you have nowhere to legally place it and live in it; or
- you have a home in which it is not reasonable for you to live, when compared with the housing conditions of other people living in the area.
You have a priority need
You are considered to have a priority need if you or a member of your household is:
- pregnant;
- the parent or guardian of a child aged 16 years or under (18 and under if the child is still at school);
- aged 16 or 17 years
- aged 18 - 20 years and have recently left care
- vulnerable as a result of a physical or mental disability;
- homeless due to a fire, flood or similar disaster;
- vulnerable as a result of leaving an institution such as prison or hospital;
- forced to leave home because of violence or abuse, and more at risk than most people.
You are not intentionally homeless
This means that you have done something deliberately which causes you to be homeless. For example, if you have become homeless because you did not pay your rent or mortgage and you could afford to do so, you could be considered to have made yourself intentionally homeless. If you are found to be intentionally homeless, the Council cannot provide temporary accommodation, even if you have children, except for a 'reasonable period' (usually 28 days). The Council must provide you with advice and information to help you while you find somewhere to live.
You have a connection with Pendle
Generally, the Council will only house you if you or a member of your family have a local connection with the area. You may have a local connection if:
- you have lived here for six out of the last 12 months, or three out of the last five years; or
- you have permanent work in the area; or
- your close relatives, such as mum, dad, brother or sister, have lived in here for the past five years; or
- you have very special reasons why you must live in the area.
If you have no local connection, we will refer you to another area where you have connections, if it is safe for you to go there.
If you have no connection with any area, we will house you if it is decided we have a duty under current homelessness legislation to do so.
How do I ask for help?
If you are homeless, think you might become homeless in the near future or have any other worries about your housing, you should contact the Housing Needs Section, using the contact details below.
If you are made homeless outside our opening times, you can contact our Emergency Out of Hours Service on 01282 661199 for help.
Homeless application forms are also available at all Pendle Town Halls
The homelessness interview
We may be able to help you by providing advice over the telephone but if we need to see you we will arrange an appointment for an interview.You will be interviewed by an experienced Housing Needs Officer who will conduct enquiries on behalf of the Council. Your Housing Needs Officer will be your point of contact and will make a final decision on your application once all enquiries are complete. If you fail to respond to a request for information or your Housing Needs Officer loses contact with you then it may be deemed that you wish to withdraw your application. It is important therefore that you comply with your Housing Needs Officer's requests for information from you.
What documents will I need to bring to the interview?
You may need to bring several of the following documents to support your application. You will be advised when you contact us which ones will be relevant to your particular case.
- Birth Certificates for your entire household (especially children)
- Passports
- Photo ID cards
- Evidence of household income
- Home Office letter showing your eligibility to remain in the UK or other documentation showing your status to remain in the UK
- Benefits entitlement, eg., Child Benefit, Incapacity Benefit (books or bank statements showing the relevant payments)
- Proof of pregnancy (this must be the blue book issued at your anti-natal clinic or a letter from your GP showing your name, date of birth and stating that you are pregnant and the expected date of confinement)
- A copy of any current tenancy agreement
- A copy of any Notice to Quit your accommodation
- Bank statements and bills etc if you are claiming debt problems/bankruptcy as the reason for homelessness
- Crime reference numbers or contact details of relevant individuals if you are claiming to be fleeing violence (domestic or otherwise)
- Medical evidence of a claimed priority need on medical grounds (this may be a copy prescription/list of prescription medication or contact details of a GP, CPN or other medical practitioner
- You may have priority need on a mobility basis and you may need to provide professional contact details so that we can establish how your mobility will be affected in respect of housing.
What happens next?
If the Council accepts a duty to you under the legislation, you will be offered temporary accommodation whilst waiting for an offer of permanent housing. For details of our housing allocation policy see LINK TO ALLOCATIONS SCHEME
The Council will make you an offer of a home with enough bed-spaces for your household. We will try and find accommodation for you in the area(s) you have requested but some areas are very popular and
If the Housing Needs Officer decides that you are not owed a duty under the current housing legislation, due to you being ineligible, not homeless, not in priority need or intentionally homeless; you will still be able to get advice and assistance from the Council and we may be able to provide temporary accommodation for a short period.
What if I am unhappy with the decision
You have the right to request a review of that decision. All reviews of homelessness decisions are undertaken by an officer who is senior to the Housing Needs Officer and who was not connected with the original decision.
