The kind of homelessness assistance you are entitled to depends on your circumstances and how you became homeless. The Housing Act 1996 (amended 2002) states that enquiries must be made about all homeless applicants to establish if we have a duty to help, and if so, what kind of help we should give. Every Council must, by law, ensure that enquiries are made into all homeless applications.

Our enquiries will be made under the following five criteria. This will tell us what kind of help we have a duty to provide for you. It is important that you provide full and truthful information.

1. Are you Homeless?

The Housing Act 1996 (amended 2002) states that you are homeless if you have no accommodation available in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. This means that if you have suitable accommodation anywhere in the world, which is available to you, you are NOT homeless. The Housing Act also says that you are threatened with homelessness if you are likely to become homeless within 28 days.

You are also considered to be homeless if you have accommodation available to you but:

• It is not reasonable to live there with people who would normally live with you as members of your family. This includes partners, children and carers.
• You are not legally entitled to occupy it because you have a court order requiring you to leave, or you are a tenant with no right to remain where you are.
• Your accommodation is not reasonable for you to occupy. For example, it is in poor physical condition, and is beyond reasonable repair, or you cannot get it repaired for a good reason.
• You are at risk from violence in the property.

If you are worried about becoming homeless, you should get advice as soon as possible. There is no need to wait until you are actually homeless or “threatened with homelessness within 28 days”. In fact, it may be possible for you to get advice, which may prevent you from losing your home. If you need to find other accommodation you can also get advice about this.

2. Are you eligible for assistance?

Everyone is entitled to housing advice from their local Council. If you need further assistance then your Council must find out whether you are eligible to receive further assistance. You will not be eligible for assistance if you are subject to immigration control, although there are exceptions. You will be subject to immigration control if you are not in one of these groups:

• A British or Commonwealth Citizen (as shown on your passport) who has the right to live here.
• A Citizen of one of the following: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
  • You have been granted refugee status in the United Kingdom.
  • You have been given permission to enter or stay in this country (providing you have not been told you cannot use public funds).
  • You have permission to enter or stay in this country with no time limit.
  • You are a citizen of Turkey, Malta, Iceland, Norway or Cyprus.
  • You receive an income-based job seekers allowance or in receipt of income support.

In addition, you must be “habitually resident”; in other words you must live in this country. This means that even if you are a British Citizen, if you have lived away from the country for a length of time you may not be eligible for assistance.

The “habitually resident” rule does not apply to you if you:

• have refugee status.
• have exceptional permission to enter or stay in the country.
• are an asylum seeker who is eligible for assistance.
• are a “worker” for the purposes of EEC regulations.
• have the right to live outside the UK under an EEC Council directive.

If you are NOT “eligible for assistance” then you will be given advice about how you can find accommodation, and it might be possible to put you in contact with other organisations that may be able to assist you. If you ARE “eligible for assistance” then further enquiries will be made as explained below.

3. Are you in priority need?

If you are homeless and eligible for assistance, we then need to determine whether you are also in priority need. This is because we have a duty to provide immediate temporary accommodation, if needed, for people who are homeless, eligible for assistance and who may be in priority need.

You are considered to be in priority need if you:

• have dependant children living with you or who might reasonably be expected to live with you.
• or someone you live with, is pregnant.
• are vulnerable as a result of old age (people over 60 may be considered vulnerable), mental illness or handicap or physical disability or other special reason, or someone who lives with you, or would normally live with you is vulnerable for these reasons.
• are 16 or 17 years of age.
• are homeless as a result of flood, fire or other disaster
• arere age 18 - 20 and leaving care
• are vulnerable as a result of leaving prison or the armed services.

The critical test for vulnerability is whether the applicant is less able to fend for him/herself so that he/she will suffer injury or detriment, in circumstances where a less vulnerable person would be able to cope without harmful effects.

If you are not “in priority need” you are entitled to advice and assistance to help you find your own accommodation or to prevent you from losing any accommodation you may have at the moment.

If you are homeless or threatened with homeless and in priority need we will make further enquiries into your homeless claim. We may provide interim accommodation, usually bed and breakfast, in some circumstances.

4. Are you intentionally homeless?

By law, it is necessary to find out whether you are homeless through no fault of your own. If you lost your accommodation through a deliberate act which you knew would make you homeless then you may be found “intentionally homeless”.

For example, you are “intentionally homeless” if you:

• sell or give up your home when there is no need to and you do not find other suitable accommodation before you sell or give up your home.
• do not pay your rent or mortgage repayments when you can afford to.
• ignore housing advice, which would have prevented the loss of your home.
• are evicted because of anti-social behavior.

If you are intentionally homeless then you are entitled to advice and assistance to prevent you from losing your home (if you have one). If you are already homeless then you may be entitled to accommodation for a reasonable period of time, usually 28 days, while you find accommodation of your own.

5. Do you have a “Local Connection”?

You have a “Local Connection” with Ashford if:

• you normally live here, or have lived here in the past, of your own choice, for at least 6 out of the past 12 months, or 3 out of the last 5 years.
• you are employed here (other than in the armed forces).
• you have close family living here, who have lived here for at least five years
• there are other special circumstances, which connect you to this area.

If you have a “local connection” with Ashford, then any assistance you may be entitled to will be provided by Ashford Borough Council.

If you do not have a “local connection” with Ashford, but you have a connection with another borough, then this Council will refer you to the borough where you have the local connection. If you have a “local connection” with several other Boroughs, but not Ashford, you can choose which one you would like to go to. You will not be referred to another borough if you are at risk from domestic violence there.

You don’t have to go to the borough where you have the strongest local connection. Providing you have a local connection with the borough where you apply as homeless you will not be referred elsewhere. If your case has been referred to another Council then you may be entitled to accommodation until the other council agrees to accept your case.

If you do not have a local connection in any area, then the first Council you applied to as homeless has the duty to provide you with advice and assistance. You cannot be referred to another Council if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness intentionally. You can make an application to any authority, particularly if you are at risk of violence and need to leave the area urgently.