Homeless tonight – emergency crash pads
We hope this never happens, but if you ever find yourself homeless and needing somewhere to stay that night, there is help available.
There are a small number of emergency beds, sometimes called crash pads, in each area of Somerset. These are there to support care leavers who are in a housing emergency.
If this happens to you outside normal office hours, you can call the Emergency Duty Team for help on 0300 1232 327.
They are there to help keep you safe and supported.
Homelessness - your rights
The law (the Homelessness Reduction Act 2018) says that Local Housing Authorities (LHAs) must:
- Prevent people from becoming homeless by identifying people at risk and intervening earlier with solutions we know work. This can involve assisting you to stay in your current accommodation or helping you to find a new place to live.
- Relieve homelessness and intervene rapidly if a homelessness crisis occurs, so it is brief and doesn’t keep happening. Help could be, for example, providing a bond guarantee, funding a rent deposit or working with a private landlord to make properties available. If that isn’t possible there is a duty to provide you with temporary accommodation.
- Help people recover from homelessness by getting them back on their feet. Help could include advice about managing your finances, or about what is expected of you as a tenant.
Your Local Housing Authority must provide you with free homelessness advice and information services about:
- Prevention of homelessness
- Securing accommodation when homeless
- Your rights and their duties to you
- What help is available to you if you are threatened with homelessness or homeless
- How to access the available help
What ‘threatened with homelessness’ means
You are threatened with homelessness if your current accommodation is only available for you to continue to stay in for 56 days or less. This could include, but is not restricted to, having been issued with a valid notice to end your tenancy or being asked to leave by friends or family.
Duty to refer people at risk of homelessness or who are homeless to Councils
There is a duty on ‘specified’ public authorities, including Children’s Services, to notify a Local Authority of someone thought to be homeless or at risk of homelessness within 56 days. That can only be done with your consent. You can also choose which Council you are referred to.
If you are already homeless, the ‘local connection rule’ would apply, but not if you are threatened with homelessness
The ‘local connection’ rule
If you are a former care leaver aged 18 to 20, you automatically have a local connection with Somerset Council as the Local Housing Authority.
You can also have a local connection to an area if you have lived there for 2 years. This can include time before you turned 16.
A Local Housing Authority cannot pass their prevention duty to another Local Housing Authority. However, the relief duty may be passed on if you do not have a local connection to them but do have a connection to another area.
Assessments and Personalised Housing Plans
If you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, the Local Housing Authority where you live must:
- carry out an assessment
- share that assessment with you
The assessment looks at:
- what has led to you being at risk of homelessness
- your housing needs
- any support you might need
After this, a Personalised Housing Plan will be made with you. This plan sets out the reasonable steps that the Local Housing Authority, you and other people supporting you will take to help prevent or fix your housing situation.
This may include support from:
- your Leaving Care Worker or Personal Adviser
- a former foster carer
- a Pathway to Independence worker
The steps in your plan should:
- be tailored to you
- be realistic and achievable
It is really important that you take part and stay engaged with your plan. These steps are there to help prevent or relieve your homelessness.
How long the duties last
The Local Housing Authority has:
- 56 days to help prevent you from becoming homeless
- If you do become homeless, they then have another 56 days to help you find somewhere to live
This support is available regardless of priority need or intentional homelessness status.
The Local Housing Authority may end this support early if:
- you find suitable accommodation for at least 6 months
- you refuse a suitable offer of accommodation
- you deliberately and unreasonably refuse to cooperate
- you withdraw your application
- you become intentionally homeless from accommodation provided under the relief duty
What ‘intentionally homeless’ means
Being intentionally homeless means that you could have avoided becoming homeless.
For example:
- you left suitable accommodation that you could have stayed in
- you lost your home because of something you did or did not do such as not paying rent
- or being evicted because of anti-social behaviour
If an intentionally homeless decision is made, the Local Housing Authority does not have to provide accommodation. However, they should still offer advice and support to help you resolve your housing problems.
If you refuse to co‑operate
The Local Housing Authority should try their best to keep you engaged through your Personalised Housing Plan.
If you continue not to co‑operate:
- you will be given a warning notice
- a final notice may then be issued to end the prevention or relief duty
Need to talk?
If you are worried about becoming homeless or need help, please talk to your worker. They are there to support you and help you find the right next steps.