This page explains what the Council can and cannot do
to help you and what help is available.
The law explained
Young people aged 16 and 17 who are either street homeless or
being asked to leave accommodation they have no legal right to
occupy, and who are not the responsibility of social care services,
can claim help with housing because they are considered to be
‘priority need’ due to their age.
What will the Council do?
A Housing Options officer will interview you and ask questions
about your housing situation. You may then be offered one of the
following options:
Family mediation - if you are staying with
close relatives, a professionally trained family mediator can
arrange to see you and your relatives to try to resolve any
disputes and enable you to remain in your present accommodation.
You can download a leaflet explaining
how mediation can help and how it works (new
window PDF 441KB).
Supported housing - if you have no experience
of living alone and need help with managing money, paying rent and
living independently, an interview can be arranged with one of the
following supported housing providers in the Suffolk Coastal
district:
- Sanctuary Housing, based in Felixstowe.
- Flagship Foyers, based in Felixstowe, Leiston and
Framlingham.
- St Matthew Housing, based in Felixstowe.
Supported lodgings - if you have nowhere
else to stay, the Council will arrange for you to make a
homelessness application and will place you in supported lodgings.
The Council will then make a decision on your homelessness claim to
see whether you are entitled to help in securing a permanent
home.
Making a homelessness application
The Council has a legal duty to investigate why you are becoming
homeless and will ask you questions to establish the facts of your
situation. Before deciding what help you are entitled to, the
investigating officer must consider the following:
- Are you homeless or threatened with homelessness in the next 28
days?
- Are you eligible under immigration and asylum rules for
assistance?
- What is your priority need for accommodation?
- Have you done or failed to do something that may have made you
homeless?
- Do you have a local connection with the Suffolk Coastal
district by way of close relatives, residence in the area or
permanent employment?
Once the Council has gathered together all the facts, you will
be given a written decision, telling you what help you can expect.
If you are dissatisfied with the decision that we make, you can
appeal against this.
Applying for social housing
If the Council accepts your homelessness claim and tells you
that you are entitled to permanent re-housing, a Housing Options
officer will help you apply for social housing by helping you
register with Gateway to Homechoice.
Gateway to Homechoice is the new way that social housing (both
Council and Housing Association properties) is now allocated. When
you register your application will be assessed and you will be
placed in one of five priority bands (from A to E with band A for
the most needy cases) depending on how serious or urgent your
housing needs are. Once you know the band you have been allocated
you will be able to 'bid' for accommodation that suits your
requirements as it becomes available. Follow this link for more
about Gateway to Homechoice.
If you are able to stay in your current accommodation, with
friends, relatives or a resident landlord, it is unlikely that you
will given priority for re-housing through Gateway to
Homechoice.
Private landlords
Until you are 18 years old, you cannot legally hold a private
sector tenancy in your own right. It may be possible for a
responsible adult to act as ‘guarantor’ on the tenancy (this means
they are legally responsible if you do not pay the rent or damage
the property), but many landlords are reluctant to rent to young
people.
If you are not working or are on a low income, if you claim help
towards the rent from the Council, Housing Benefit rules say that
if you are single and below 25 years of age, you can only claim
help for rent on a single room. This means you cannot rent anything
larger and will not be eligible for help on a self-contained one
bedroom flat.
It is more likely that if you want to rent from a private
landlord, this will be someone renting out a room in the house
where they live. Often the rent will include heating, water and
lighting costs.
Where and how to get in touch with us
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Housing Options Team,
Email:
homelessness@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
Council Offices, Melton Hill, Woodbridge IP12 1AU.
Monday to Thursday - 8.45am to 5.15pm.
Friday - 8.45am to 4.45pm.
Telephone: 01394
444264.
Map of the Woodbridge office (new
window).
Seafront Offices, 93 Undercliff Road West, Felixstowe IP11
2AF.
Monday & Wednesday - 2pm to 4.30pm.
Telephone: 01394
276766.
Map of the Felixstowe office (new
window).
Level 2, 54 Cobbold Road, Felixstowe (above Tesco).
Thursday - 3pm to 5pm.
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