Homelessness

From 3rd April 2018, applicants approaching Chorley Council as homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days are subject to a statutory duty to prevent or relieve homelessness, provided they are eligible and meet the criteria.

As part of this duty, Chorley Council will work collaboratively with the applicant to produce a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP). The PHP outlines reasonable steps both the Council and the applicant must take to prevent or relieve homelessness.

Under Chapter 14 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance 2018, the duty may be ended due to deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate with the PHP. Section 193B of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017) governs this process.

Before issuing a formal notice under S193B, Chorley Council must:

• Issue a warning letter outlining the required steps
• Allow sufficient time for the applicant to comply
• Consider the applicant’s individual circumstances, including vulnerability and unmet support needs

The decision to serve a S193B notice must be approved by a senior officer not involved in the original recommendation, in line with Regulation 3 of the Homelessness Review Procedures Regulations 2018. This is to ensure that notices are only served where there is very good reason to withdraw the support offered under the prevention and relief duties.

PHP Compliance Procedure

• Initial Assessment: Housing Officers must discuss the steps outlined in the Personal Housing Plan and advise clearly on the importance of engaging with services and support involved, along with following the advice and steps agreed to prevent or relieve homelessnes 
• Additional Support: It is important that the Housing Officer is aware and acknowledges if the applicant has any additional needs, and if so, steps are taken to support and assist the applicant in following the agreed steps
• Support in Place: If the applicant already has support in place, consent should be requested to provide the relevant support services with a copy of the PHP

If the applicant disputes the reasonableness of steps, the PHP should be reviewed and adjusted if appropriate.  If the Housing Officer and the applicant can’t agree on the Personal Housing Plan, the Housing Officer will still need to issue the plan and let the applicant know they have the right to ask for a review.

• Monitoring: Housing Officers must continue to monitor progress against the PHP until the duty comes to an end

Non-engagement

Non engagement can include but not limited to, not answering calls, not turning up to appointments, not providing documents requested that will help them resolve their current housing situation etc. Support agencies should be engaged to encourage cooperation.

• Step 1: If the applicant has been refusing to engage with the steps outlined in their PHP for over a period of 2 weeks, the Housing Officer will issue a warning letter and take reasonable steps to try to engage the applicant and use various methods of contact, i.e. phone, email or via other support avenues and officers involved

The warning must include:

• detail the unmet actions or non-engagement
• explain why the applicant is deemed to have failed to cooperate
• set clear timescales for compliance
• outline the consequences of continued non-cooperation

• Step 2: If there has been no cooperation or improvement within 1 week of the warning letter being issued, a formal warning may be considered (this must be approved by a Senior Officer)
• Step 3: If there has still not been cooperation or improvement, the Housing Officer will follow the procedure for serving a final notice below

Procedure for Serving Final Notice

Upon expiry of the warning period, the Housing Officer must request authorisation to serve a S193B notice, and this must be made by a Senior Officer who is not involved in the case.

All relevant professionals should be notified.

The authorising officer must review the case and respond within 3 working days.

If the final notice is authorised, the notice must be:

• Recorded in case notes
• Served in person, by email, tracked post, or made available for collection
• Include the applicant’s statutory right to review

If the applicant rectifies the situation immediately, the duty may continue.

If authorisation is denied, reasons must be recorded, and the duty continues until it ends for another reason.

Safeguarding

In the event there is risk that a duty may come to an end due to non-compliant, safeguarding referrals must be completed advising the accommodation may come to an end resulting in the applicant having nowhere to stay.

Future Reapplications

Applicants may reapply if their circumstances change significantly.

Previous non-cooperation may be considered in future assessments, particularly regarding intentionality.

A new 56-day prevention and/or relief duty should be applied before determining intentional homelessness, unless duties can be ended for other reasons.