Homelessness prevention

We help people who are homeless or who might become homeless in the next 28 days. The help we can provide will depend on your and your household’s circumstances. To see if you may be entitled to help, please read the ‘Homelessness law and your rights’ below.

Homelessness law and your rights

The Housing Act 1996, amended by Homelessness Act 2002, sets out the legal duties councils have towards homeless people. Under this Act, the Council has a legal duty to make sure you have somewhere to live if you:

are homeless;
are eligible for help;
have a priority need;
are not intentionally homeless; and
have a local connection to Hounslow.

Where are you located?

We are based at the Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow, TW3 4DN. We are open from 8.45am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, except on Wednesdays when we are open from 1pm to 4pm.

Do I need an appointment?

Please make an appointment to see someone whenever possible, as this avoids a long wait at reception. If you do not have an appointment, you must wait to be seen on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis. If you arrive without an appointment and we are very busy, we may have to arrange an appointment for you on another day.

Depending on your circumstances, we will make an appointment for you to see a Housing Advice Officer, a Housing Officer (Homelessness) or an officer from our Special Needs Team. We will give you an appointment letter, which you will need to bring with you on the day of your visit.

Call us on 020 8583 3842 to make an appointment or write to the address above. If you cannot get through when phoning, please keep trying as the line is often very busy.

Who can I contact outside the normal opening times?

If you are made homeless after 4pm or on a Saturday or Sunday, and you have nowhere to stay that night, please call our emergency number 020 8583 2222. The officer on duty will ask you to explain what has happened and may arrange bed and breakfast accommodation for you. You must then come and see us as early as possible on the next working day.

When will I be considered homeless?

We will consider you to be homeless if you:

have no accommodation for yourself and the people who would normally live with you.
have somewhere to live but are likely to become homeless within the next 28 days.
have somewhere to live but you cannot enter it.
have accommodation but it is not reasonable for you or your household to live there for example, because of domestic violence, overcrowding, disrepair, health and safety reasons or cost.

It is important to note that not everyone is ‘eligible’ for housing assistance. It will depend on where you usually live or if immigration control applies to you. You are likely to be eligible if you:

usually live in the UK and immigration control does not apply to you;
usually live in the UK and immigration control applies to you, but there are no restrictions on your right to stay in the UK;
have been given refugee status as a result of an asylum application; or
are an asylum seeker who applied at the port of entry before 3 April 2000 and have not received a decision on your application.

What is meant by priority need?

if you or a member of your household is pregnant.
if you have dependent children under 16, or under 19 if they are in full-time education, who live with you.
if you are 16 or 17 years old.
if you are a care-leaver who is under 21 years old.
if you are vulnerable as a result of leaving prison, or the armed forces.
if you are vulnerable as a result of violence or threats of violence.
if you are vulnerable as a result of leaving a care home or foster home, and are over 21 years old.
if you are vulnerable as a result of mental or physical ill health or disability, old age or another special reason.
if you have been made homeless because of a disaster such as fire or flood.

Could you give me examples of intentionally homeless?

If you deliberately do (or fail to do) something which causes you to lose your home. This might include:
failing to pay your rent or mortgage;
failing to follow advice given by the Council or a legal advisor; or
being evicted because of nuisance or harassment to your neighbours, or because you have damaged your landlord’s property.

What is a local connection to Hounslow?

If you have lived in the borough for six out of the last twelve months, or three out of the last five years;
If you have close family who have lived in the borough for the last five years;
If you have a permanent job in the borough.
If you do not have a local connection to Hounslow, we may refer your case to a local authority in an area where you do have a connection.

When making a homeless application, what information will I be asked for?

You will need to bring as much information as you can to your interview. We will need to see the following:

Identification for each person on your application, for example:

a full birth certificate;
a driver’s licence;
a passport;
an ID card;
a medical card; or
a marriage certificate.

Proof of homelessness, for example:

an eviction notice;
a notice to quit;
a letter from your landlord;
a bailiff’s warrant; or
a Court order or summons.

Proof of eligibility, for example:

a passport;
travel or immigration documents; or
confirmation that you receive Income Support.

Proof of priority need, for example:

an antenatal card or pregnancy certificate;
correspondence from your doctor or hospital regarding any medical conditions;
full birth certificates for children;
a Child Benefit book;
a residence order or other documents relating to the care of your children;
documents from your child’s school or college showing that they are in full time education;
a pension book;
probation reports; or
social worker’s reports.

Proof of residence, for example:

official letters or documents showing the addresses you have lived at in the last five years (for example, tenancy agreements);
medical cards;
bank statements;
letters from your employers; or
Council Tax documents.

Proof of employment, income and savings, for example:

a letter from your employers;
a P60 or P45;
a bank or building society statement or book;
benefit books or proof of benefit claims;
a National Insurance card or number; or
wage slips.

How is the application made?

When you make your application, a Housing Officer will fill in an application form with you in a private interview room. That officer will then be responsible for making the necessary enquiries into your application, and will give you their name and phone number. If you have any questions or want to give us more information, you will need to contact your particular Housing Officer.

We will need to ask you:

how and why you are homeless;
where you have lived for the past five years;
whether you have any medical problems or special housing needs; and
about anyone else you include on your application.

What happens next?

Your Housing Officer will need to investigate your application fully and may visit you, or visit previous addresses you have lived at. If your circumstances change, please let your Housing Officer know as soon as possible as your application may be affected.

We will give you our decision on your application, in writing, within 33 working days.

What type of temporary accommodation will I be given and what charges will there be?

If we believe that you are eligible for help, homeless and in priority need, we have a duty to provide temporary accommodation until we make a decision on your application.

If we approve your application, we will continue to provide temporary accommodation for you until we can offer you permanent accommodation.

We encourage as many people as we can to make temporary arrangements to stay with parents, relatives or friends to avoid having to stay in bed and breakfast or hostel accommodation. We call this type of arrangement ‘homeless at home’.

If you cannot stay with friends or family, we can provide bed and breakfast accommodation. We always try to make sure that bed and breakfast placements are in the borough, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee this every time. We are working to reduce the use of bed and breakfast hotels, but at the present time we must still use this type of accommodation to meet people’s immediate housing needs.

If you receive benefits or are on a low income, you can claim Housing Benefit to help meet the cost of bed and breakfast accommodation. We will help you fill in a Housing Benefit form, but you must make sure that you supply all the documents needed to support your application. If you are working, you must pay £75 a week for your bed and breakfast accommodation to start with. However, you should still apply for Housing Benefit as you may be entitled to some help. Please be aware that your contribution to the cost of bed and breakfast may go up or down once your Housing Benefit claim is processed.

There is more information on staying in bed and breakfast accommodation on our Bed and breakfast web page.

Generally, we will offer most people in bed and breakfast another type of temporary accommodation. This may be a hostel placement, or a private property or housing-association property that we lease. Again, you can apply for Housing Benefit. This accommodation will be available to you until we can offer you permanent housing.

If you need furniture, we can refer you to Hounslow’s Furniture Project. You may also be able to apply at the Benefits Agency for a Social Fund loan or grant to help you buy furniture.

If you are staying in temporary accommodation, you must make sure that your rent payments are up to date. If you have any problems paying your rent you should tell us immediately so that we can give you appropriate advice and help. If you are evicted from temporary accommodation because you owe rent, we may consider you to be ‘intentionally homeless’ and we will not offer you any more accommodation. This also applies to people who are evicted from temporary accommodation for antisocial behaviour or causing a nuisance.

When you leave your temporary accommodation, you must take all your belongings and remove all your rubbish. If you leave rubbish behind and we have to remove it for you, we will charge you at least £100.

When will I get permanent housing?

Please be aware that you may have to wait a long time in temporary accommodation before we can offer you permanent housing. This is because the number of council properties becoming available in Hounslow is limited, and there are a lot of people waiting for accommodation.

For information regarding allocation of permanent housing please see links to Locata.

What if my homeless application is turned down?

If we investigate your application and decide that we cannot house you under homelessness law, you have a right to ask us to review that decision. If we do not accept your homeless application, we will tell you in writing, and the letter will also tell you how to ask for a review. You must ask for a review within 21 days of the date on the decision letter.

At least two independent senior officers will carry out the review, taking account of any representations you, or someone acting on your behalf (for example, a solicitor) have made, or new information you have provided.

If we accept your homeless application and we offer you temporary or permanent accommodation which you don’t think is suitable for your household, you also have a right to ask us to review the offer.

What services are there for vulnerable homeless people?

The Special Needs Team is part of the Homeless Persons Unit. Officers in the team are responsible for investigating homeless applications made by people who are, or may be, ‘vulnerable’ under homelessness law, or who have a vulnerable person living with them. This may include people who have learning difficulties, mental illness, physical disability, or drug or alcohol dependency problems. It may also include the elderly, 16 and 17 year olds, care leavers and people who have been in prison.

What extra support does the Special Needs Team give?

Apart from investigating homeless applications, the team also:

makes sure that clients are receiving all the benefits they are entitled to;
provides continuous advice and practical support, from when a client applies as homeless, while they are in bed and breakfast or other temporary accommodation, to when they move into permanent accommodation (for up to six months from the start of the tenancy);
works closely with other agencies (for example, Social Services, Community Mental Health Teams, the Probation Service, the police and doctors) to make sure there is a co-ordinated approach to housing and support; and
works with the Council’s Re-housing Unit to make sure offers of accommodation are appropriate for clients.

What does this mean for me?

If you make a homeless application and you or a member of your household are vulnerable under the terms of homelessness legislation, the Special Needs Team will be responsible for your case. Your Housing Officer will investigate your application and will provide you with the kind of support listed above. If you have any questions or need advice and help, you should ask your Housing Officer. They will give you their phone number when you make your application or you can call us on 020 8583 3842.

If you move into bed and breakfast or other temporary accommodation, such as a hostel or private leased property, you will continue to receive support from your Housing Officer. They can help you to apply for benefits and get furniture if you need it. If you have any problems in your temporary accommodation, you must let your Housing Officer know.

If you move into permanent accommodation that belongs to us, your Housing Officer will be available to help you for up to six months from your tenancy start date. If you are offered permanent accommodation with a housing association, your Housing Officer will speak to any other agency that helps you and your family, and to housing-association staff, to make sure that you receive the support you need when you move in.

Contact Details:

Telephone: 020 8583 3842

Fax: 020 8583 3843

Other information

Available from Housing reception at the Civic Centre:

Housing Advice for the Homeless (information Pack )

The services provided by the Homeless Persons Unit (Booklet)

Extra services for vulnerable homeless people (Booklet)