Can anyone help with some urgent housing advise?

[Jumblebee]

I'm sorry to post in chat, I just thought this might be the best place for traffic.

I need some housing advise for my brother as I have no idea what to do/suggest.

He had a council flat that he lived in for a couple of years. When he met his new girlfriend, he decided to give up his flat to move in to her council house about an hour away. We all advised against this as he was moving away from his daughter and doesn't drive so has very little contact with her.

And now it seems to have backfired as he and his girlfriend have now split up and he has left her house. He has a part time job local to where his girlfriend lives, but due to public transport and the time it would take to get there he would spend more getting there than he would earn as he is only contracted 13 hours per week on minimum wage. So now it looks like he will have to leave this job.

He is under the impression that as he left his first council flat, our local council is under no obligation to house him? He is staying with us temporarily but we have no spare room and he can't sleep on our settee forever. I'll try to encourage him to look for more work, though he has never kept a job for too long before packing it in and he has no qualifications which makes it more difficult.

He is going to go to our local council office as soon as they open but I was just wondering if anyone had any advise on what he can do?

He suffers with depression and anxiety and I wish I could help more but I don't really know what to do. We have a little money in savings but we are living hand to mouth as it is and I know he wouldn't want to accept any cash as it is as he's very proud. Both my mum and dad (who are separated) will not have him stay with them and I'm just so worried.

He might get back together with his girlfriend, however they have a very volatile relationship and if they get back together I can see the exact same thing happening a few months down the line (as it did with his previous girlfriend)

Thank you for reading and any advice!
And also I have put this in paragraphs but my mumsnet app seems to hate paragraphs so I'm sorry if this isn't readable!)

as he left his first council flat, our local council is under no obligation to house him?

He's quite right. What a fool he was to give up a secure council tenancy. Unless you live in an area where there is no housing shortage (if such a place exists) he's unlikely to ever get such a thing again.
As a single man with no dependents to house he's unlikely to qualify for any housing support at all. He needs to get a full time job and private rent.

Would he consider looking at jobs that offer accommodation, can he increase his hours.

That is what we thought Codename and what we tried to tell him but he didn't listen. What makes me even more angry is that he had only just got unsupervised access back to his little girl and he chose to move an hour away from her when he previously lived 15 minutes from her and could have been more involved in her life.

I wish he would take more responsibility for himself but I can't criticise him in any way as he just flies off the handle. Nearly every job he's had he has ended up quitting, making up lies to our parents about why, when really it's because he just doesn't like working and being told what to do. It's like he thinks the world owes him something.

You can probably tell there is a lot of backstory which is too complicated to go into, I just couldn't turn my back on him, but at the same time I can't help him if he won't help himself.

I see
Can't he stay with your parents?

Neither of my parents will have him. They both have new partners who refuse to let him stay as they fear it will be a "temporary" situation that turns permanent.

I'll have a look on Indeed to see what local jobs are available, hopefully he will try to find something and sort himself out.

There are 2 ways he can get help from the council but he won't necessarily be housed.

He can apply to the housing register but depending on what part of the country and what band (most likely lowest band) it can take a long time unless the council has first come first served properties that people can be awarded quite quickly.
He can make a homeless application. he will be owed the "relief duty" which means the council have to help him find somewhere but not actually house him.

They could offer a room in the privately rented sector to discharge this duty. They also have to give him a personalised housing plan setting out what they will do to help and what he need to do. They may help with a deposit or first months rent on a private property under this duty.

To be considered priority need which would entitle him to emergency accommodation, the council would apply the "vulnerability" test for this. That is " is is he more vulnerable then the next ordinary person were they to be come homeless"

If the council accept that he is homeless, he may be awarded a higher band on the housing register.

There is a bit more to it but that will depend on him being priority need which is quite a tough test and very subjective. His MH may factor but he might need GP letter to help with his case.

Thank you Sargass, that's really helpful.

Even if he could get temporary accommodation it would be a start and fingers crossed he will put the effort in and find a job. I've already found a job advertised in a local shop which would be perfect, I'll suggest that.

Just to counter PP - he is entitled to housing support as above by law (homeless reduction act 2017 to be specific)
The council will not even look at his previous council tenancy at this stage. For him to qualify for he needs to be homeless (which he is) and eligible (if he is a UK citizen he will be) so he is entitled to this help (relief) at the very least. I would rather you have the facts so he can get the help to which he is entitled.

he will be owed the "relief duty"

Only if he's actually homeless. They may not consider they have a duty to him at all if he's housed with his sister.

How did he qualify for council housing before, have his needs changed since then that might help him.

You're welcome OP. Don't be put off by any front line council staff who tell you otherwise. (Gatekeeping)
It's not going to be easy but some help is better than none.

CodenameVillanelle
He is legally homeless as he has no property to which he has a legal right to occupy.
I do this for a living.

Sargass0
That's not the test. You're forgetting section 175(1)(c). OP is allowing him to stay there, and I am assuming that she's unlikely to kick him out onto the streets, so he has an express or implicit licence to occupy. Whether it's reasonable to continue to occupy of course is an entirely different matter!

Just mentioning this because a number of authorities would be more than happy to wave him on his way with a "not homeless" decision. Even if they don't, things aren't likely to look good for him- even if they accept that he has a priority need then they'd almost certainly find him intentionally homeless and no further duty would be owed after the relief duty.

He is legally homeless as he has no property to which he has a legal right to occupy

That would not entitle anyone to a housing duty in the area I work in.

can he get a room as a lodger or in an HMO? Obviously better if the council have somewhere, as councils don't sell up/die/divorce/leave the business as private landlords do.

The council where he is currently residing(with you) will have to deal with his housing issue. Perhaps his mental health will be taken into consideration and give him some advantage. But, his lifestyles doesn't really lend itself to secure accommodation. Don't mean to sound judgemental but would a private landlord risk your DB.getting up and going off again. Any mental health organisations with accommodation in the area though that wiukd probably be temporary but may give him enough respite to make decisions on what he wants to do.

He can go to home direct websites to fill in house form and they will put in a band a band b band c or band d he can bid on properties what he like if he get picked they will call him for viewing of something he has bid on he can bid on Wednesday

Warren that's true but he's unlikely to get above band C more likely D and in my area that's a 10 year wait for housing...

omg I'm in band d 10 years waiting list disgusting tbh.im private renting atm because where I lived before was like living in hell with drug addicts alcoholics nuisance neighbor's with quads &moter bikes &a hostel 2 doors away,my health is bad atm my staffy pup was becoming vicious constantly tormented so moved to Barnsley in private rent to get away.dont think il get council property yet can only apply for ground floor flat or bungalow because can't get upstairs

I would suggest he talks to the council and also rings the shelter advice line and downloads the council's allocations policy to find out where he stands.

In some areas depending on what demand is like it's better to be threatened homeless rather than homeless because you're less likely to end up in temporary accommodation and also the council can't discharge their duty to house through a private sector landlord.

Really though he needs to get his act together (I know you know this) - how frustrating for you.

To some extent OP it depends on where your brother lives and if he is considering wider social housing options (most are likely to be covered by a central CBL type scheme - but not all). If he's only pursuing a homelessness route that may limit him - but if you happen to be in an area which has some sub-areas of lower demand he may well be in a better position.

But aside from his housing position, he sounds like he has other issues to deal with - his moving away from his DC is not great to say the least. Perhaps he needs to think about parenting classes etc?

How come he gets council accommodation then?

That's not the test. You're forgetting section 175(1)(c). OP is allowing him to stay there, and I am assuming that she's unlikely to kick him out onto the streets, so he has an express or implicit licence to occupy. Whether it's reasonable to continue to occupy of course is an entirely different matter!

Wrong. His sister can provide a letter saying she can't house him. Simple as that. The Council can't force her to house him permanently. No part of the Housing Act requires that.

The question wouldn't even come up and anyone trying to enforce that illegally is leaving themself open to Judicial Review. On this point, client would win. But as said, Council will not go down that irrelevant route.

If not in priority housing need they can help him access schemes and/or private accommodation that would accept him, and also look into possible vulnerablity eligibility.

(Homelessness Officer for many years previously).

I think the first thing he needs to check is the "local connection" rules to see which, if any, council will consider his case. Local connection is usually based on where he lives, where he works, and where his close family are - but I think the rules can vary between different councils.

The fact that he left his previous council flat will not put him in any worse position than if he'd never had a council flat. But as a single person he's likely to be low priority anyway.