Intentionally homeless with kids

[Cardiganandcuppa]

Hi,
Looking for some advice for a friend (honest!)

Someone i know has been declared intentionally homeless. She was evicted for non payment of rent.

She has 3 kids. They are sofa surfing at the moment but have to be out by the end of the week.

What happens next? It’s the kids I am worrying about really.

Why didn't she pay the rent? Working and wages wouldn't cover outgoings or crap with money/poor priorities?

Both really.

A strong possibility the kids would be taken into care or fostered. They wouldn't be allowed to sleep on the street.

Yes social services will be involved. I think the degree of help might well depend a bit on what the reasons behind it are. Rent should really be a priority.

If she's been evicted for non payment of rent, the council have no duty to house her. She needs a private let (yeah, good luck with that) or the council can take the kids into care and your friend will be left to fend for herself. If she can find a private let willing to take her, the council might have a deposit guarantee scheme to help.

She needs to present as homeless at her local authority's homeless apartment. If she has no-where to go they have a duty to house them even though it might be bed and breakfast miles away. The authority would not want to take the children in to care and it will be down to housing to provide accommodation.

Tell your friend to contact civil legal advice. If she is on a low income then she will be entitled to Legal Aid to challenge the council on the intentionality.

Rent arrears do not always mean that someone is intentionally homeless. The council need to look at the reasons why- for instance if there was a benefit delay that caused the arrears. ... etc or if the property was genuinely unaffordable.

A lot of councils automatically see rent arrears=intentional. This is actually unlawful hence why they should get a legal aid caseworker. The number is 0345 345 4345

If your friend has only just made a homeless application then the council should not even be looking at intentionality at this stage, they have a duty to house her in emergency accommodation until they have completed enquiries into how she came to be in arrears and issue her with a decision letter which is called an s184.
Civil legal advice should be able to help with this.
Good luck

Technically the duty of care from the council only extends to the dc and therefore they could be taken into care and mother given no support. In reality a grotty bed and breakfast some distance from where they were living with the costs covered by the council is the most likely outcome.

Would i be a do gooder making things worse if I offered to take a couple of the kids in? I can’t bear to think of them being taken into care. I only have one spare room so they’d have to share. One is much older than the others (think older teen and two KS1 age)

I don’t know if I’m just being a middle class idiot though. Whether it would make things worse for her to have an offer of help or whether we are at proper “now or never” point.

Totally depends on what kind of friendship it is...long term life long friend, fine. New friend met in the pub taking the piss out of your loneliness etc, not fine!

(Going out for eve, not ignoring replies)

She will only get help from the council if she has the dc living with her. They are not going to get taken into care if the mother is a UK citizen because the costs of this would be ridiculous and it is not in the dc's best interests.
You could help in lots of practical ways I am sure but housing the dc actually won't help her.

If the children are under 18 then they have rights under the Childrens Act, it is not all about the actions of the parent.

& rent arrears do not automatically mean intentionally homeless. But if you've no legal representation and aren't the type to be insistent re challenging a decision then you can end up just another case closed by an over-busy housing adviser. Intentionally Homeless, bye-bye.

You can actually challenge LA's Intentionally Homeless decision. In the 1st instance your friend should get on to Shelter 0808 1644660. They'll advise her, and also assess if shes entitled to legal aid re getting a solicitor to help with her case.

She needs to move quickly.

Hiya is they a follow up to this just would like to no the out come , I'm in this situation ATM but staying in a carvan . I was in private rented for 13 years and with the lock down and price of everything going up I decide I couldn't afford my privret and I wanted a. Affordable house so I went my local council and they couldn't help I told them I could not afford the rent and need to find a council house which I could afford . To cut a long story short my land lord evictede and I applied for homeless and the homeless have done nothing. At all ,now the council are saying because I am in arrears with my old land lord. That I can not get a council house. I asked for help before I got into arrers and they advised me to stay at the property or I will not get any help at all so I stayed till baillifts and now court cost and everything on top , iv refered myself to social services to see if they can help. It's 5 weeks now I'm staying out side my parents home in there tourer . All house I apply for ask if there is any arreas and I say yes they don't want to no. I'm at a loose end . Now a house round the corner as came avaible and it's affordably and. Meets all my needs I have local connection next door to my kids schools and the council said no . I also have a debt management in place to pay the arrers to my old land lord . I have also been scammed thinking I had a home for me and my kids but I was scammed . I don't no what else I can do I worry ss will take my kids but they are well looked after they my life .I just don't understand how getting in finance difficulty, no help at all no one seems to want to help or knows what to do . The council has now put a block on bidding it says for behoivour, iv done nothing wrong ,never had anti social behoivour before no police involvement , all I done was ask for help . Now no one to turn to I'm worrying not sleeping because I'm searching for a home . Ss say I might have to try out the town but I don't drive and scared to move away from my family and kids don't want to move schools.if it wasn't for my mam I don't no we're I would be , I'm on her front in a carvan plugged into her house 2 kids stay in it with is the rest are sleeping in her spare room.

Far more likely the local authority accommodation team will find them somewhere to live and social services will have to pay the bill. Children don't get taken into care before a home is sought for them.

They won't take the children into care without trying to house the family first. It just means social services will have to pay the bill.

Damn just realised this is a zombie. @Mykidssremylife you need to make a new thread.

@Mykidssremylife maybe contact
www.shelter.org.uk/
or CAB for advice

I have already done that and they are not basied anywhere near me to be able to provide help for me

Legally they only have to house the children but takings 3 children into care will cost a lot more than housing the family, so I imagine they will find them somewhere. It probably won't be desirable but they won't be on the streets.

Anywhere is better than no where , as long as it's a Roof over my kids heads as long as it's got a roof we can make it a home ,. I just Carn't see light at the end of the tunnel to tbh

To all the Mums out there .... please know that you are not alone in this situation and please know that NO BODY can take your beautiful babies away from you! Stay strong.... I know it's hard, but don't give up! As Mums we can all relate to the longing to do the very best for our child/children.
The very fact that you have taken time to seek help and share your experience speaks a thousand words.... Sending you a huge hug xxx

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ZOMBIE ALERT!
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