Housing

[SweetCheeks1980]

My daughter (20) lives in a hostel type place. She was offered a place there by the council but it's run by a company called Vivid.
Anyway, she's beem there about 10 months and has received an eviction notice. It wasn't because of anything she'd done. The letter stated it was "due to cuts".
Now she's been to the council who really don't seem very helpful, just telling her to move back home etc and as she hasn't got a child she's not priority.
However, I'm under the impression that as the council placed her there they should find her somewhere, even if it's a studio flat or bedsit. The council are telling her to go private but I keep telling her to consult a solicitor or sit tight. She won't be able to afford the private rent.

Any ideas?

Was she placed in the hostel as a result of a homelessness application?

If so, when she was first placed in the hostel, did she receive a S184 letter telling her whether or not they owe her the main housing duty?

If the council have said it is due to cuts - it sounds as though even though she was not priority they found her somewhere even though they had no duty to do that therefore she will need to find somewhere herself.
(I am not saying its not a crap situation) but it sounds from what you have said here that the council do not owe her any duties.

Without trying to sound horrible- the council seem to have gone above and beyond what they needed to so in the first place and are no longer able to provide the hostel accommodation for her.

Councils now have extra duties to some homeless people (that apply after 3rd April this year) so they may well need the accommodation back to fulfill their statutory duties.

If she has any vulnerabilities(illnesses, disabilities etc) then she may be found to be in priority need - however this is a subjective test and just having an illness does not make you automatically priority.

However the answers to the first 2 questions could change this advice.

It may be that the council haven't fulfilled their duties but a lot more information is needed really.
You can have a look at the shelter website for more info.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/guide/homeless_get_help_from_the_council/how_the_council_can_help

If she is entitled to help towards housing costs then she will be entitled to the single persons under 35 Local Housing allowance rate for her area.
lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/search.aspx

Vivid are a housing association and registered social landlord - as she's been given notice I'm assuming the council found her a place in one of their open market or intermediate schemes and that she doesn't have a secure or assured tenancy.

As Nightfall says, your daughter needs to look at her paperwork to establish what the outcome of the council's original homelessness assessment was and whether they accepted a duty to house her. However, even if they have accepted a duty towards her, it doesn't mean they need to find her a flat: they can discharge her into the private sector by facilitating her in finding and securing a private rental, particularly if the assessment outcome placed her as low-priority. With the best will in the world, an able-bodied single young person with no dependents is not a housing priority for the council. I know where Vivid operate and it's a part of the country where housing is under pressure and expensive - your daughter may well not be able to afford to privately rent her own flat and she may well need to do what the majority of 20-year-olds in the region have to do and look at housesharing. If she's not currently in work then she would be able to claim Housing Benefit or Universal Credit to help cover her rent.

Unless you and your daughter believe that the assessment outcome was incorrect (i.e. your daughter has needs which should make her a priority for housing) then consulting a solicitor or refusing to leave is really only going to delay the inevitable.