Who is entitled to council housing?

If you become homeless, you might expect your local authority to provide you with accommodation, if only on a temporary basis. However, not all homeless people are entitled to accommodation, and this varies depending on which part of the UK you live in. Since devolution in 1999 there has been a divergence in the way in which England, Scotland and Wales decides what homeless people are entitled to.

In England, Scotland and Wales only 'statutory homeless' people are entitled to council housing. This means you are eligible for public funds and have some sort of connection to the local area. You also have to prove that you are ‘unintentionally homeless' (that it is not your fault that you became homeless) and have to pass a series of stringent tests. Only then will you be considered 'statutorily homeless'.

England

In England, if you are eligible for public funds, have a connection to the local area and can prove you are ‘unintentionally homeless', in order to be statutorily homeless you will then need to prove that you are in ‘priority need'. Local authorities have a duty to house only those homeless households who meet this strict set of criteria. This is known as the main homelessness duty.

If you are a single homeless person (i.e. with no dependent children) it is unlikely that you will be judged to be in 'priority need', unless you are deemed particularly vulnerable. Local authorities should still provide you with advice and information on homelessness and homelessness prevention. Research for Crisis however, found that in practice this too often doesn't happen. Single homeless people who may be entitled to accommodation are not always given the opportunity to make a homelessness application, many are not provided with any meaningful advice and assistance at all and many are misinformed about their entitlements.^[1]

Even if you are owed the main homelessness duty, it may be some time before you are allocated permanent accommodation. In the mean time you will be housed in temporary accommodation.

Homelessness on the rise

From 2003-2009, the number of homelessness applications being assessed by their local authority and the number of households being accepted as homeless and in 'priority need', both declined sharply^[2]. However, in 2010/11 there was an increase of 15 per cent to 102,200 homelessness applications and an increase of 10 per cent to 44,000 households being accepted as homeless and in 'priority need'.

The Localism Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, will make significant changes to the homelessness duty. The local authority will be able to fully discharge its duty by offering a private rented sector (PRS) tenancy of 12 months, without the consent of the tenant. Previously the local authority had to offer a social home unless the tenant opted for a private tenancy.

Scotland

Since devolution in 1999, the Scottish Parliament has the power to pass primary legislation in many areas including housing. The 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act provided a new ‘package of rights' for homeless people, aiming to improve the services homeless people receive from councils, and setting out that all homeless people are entitled to at least temporary accommodation.

The 2003 Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act, made provisions to abolish the distinction between ‘priority' and ‘non-priority' need by 2012. This means all non intentionally homeless households will be entitled to permanent social housing. The Act also introduced a more proactive approach to working with intentionally homeless people by working to tackle the causes of intentional homelessness.

In 2010/11, over 55,000 households in Scotland made an application for homelessness assistance. Of these, 65 per cent were accepted as being unintentionally homeless and in 'priority need' and so owed the main homelessness duty^[4]. Since 1996/97, the number of households being accepted has increased from nearly 17,000 to around 36,000 ^[5].

36 per cent of those households accepted as unintentionally homeless and in 'priority need' included dependent children^[6]. 38 per cent had 1 or more support need, with 15 per cent having mental health problems, 13 per cent drug or alcohol dependency issues and 14 per cent lacking basic housing management/independent living skills^[7].

Wales

The Welsh Assembly does not hold the same legislative powers as the Scottish Parliament. The Assembly can develop separate secondary legislation, and since 2007 has had limited primary legislative powers.

The 2002 Homeless Persons (Priority Need) (Wales) Order extended the 'priority need' categories set out in the 1996 Housing Act to include:

16 and 17 year olds
18-21 year old care leavers or persons at risk of financial or sexual exploitation
Those who became homeless after leaving the armed forces
Former prisoners who became homeless after being released from custody
Those fleeing domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence

In 2010/11 over 14,300 households applied to their local authority for homelessness assistance - arise of 11 per cent from 2009/10^[8]. 44 per cent (more than 6,200) were accepted as being owed the main homelessness duty - a rise of 12per cent from 2009/10. The number of applications and acceptances had been on the decrease in Wales after numbers peaked in 2004/05, when more than 22,500 households applied for assistance and almost 9,900 were accepted as being owed the main homelessness duty.

46 per cent of acceptances in 2010/11 were because of the presence of a dependent child in the household or because the household included a pregnant woman. 14 per cent of those acceptanced were former prisoners with no accommodation to return to; 11 per cent were vulnerable due to domestic violence; and 7 per cent were 16 or 17 year olds.

Temporary accommodation

Those deemed to be owed the main homelessness duty may well be placed in temporary accommodation whilst they are waiting to be allocated permanent housing. Those who are deemed in 'priority need' but intentionally homeless may also be placed in temporary accommodation.

There are currently over 48,000 households, mainly families, living in temporary accommodation in England ^[9]. Much of this is leased from private landlords and residents often face very high rents and have little stability. This is well above the same period in 1997 when 41,250 households were living in temporary accommodation. However, numbers have been falling since 2005 when there were more than 100,000 households living temporary accommodation.

In London there are over 35,500 households in temporary accommodation.

In Scotland there are over 11,000 households living in temporary accommodation, up from 3,800 in 1997^[10].

In Wales there are 2,640 households living in temporary accommodation^[11].

1 Reeve, K. (2011) The hidden truth about homelessness: experiences of single homelessness in England

2 DCLG (2011) Table 770 Statutory homelessness: decisions taken by local authorities under the 1996 Housing Act on applications from eligible households1, England

3 DCLG (2011) Statutory Homelessness: April to June Quarter 2011, England

4 Scottish Government (2011) Table 10, Assessment decision by type of support need: All applying and assessed in 2010-11

5 Scottish Government (2011) Table 1, Applications during financial years 1992-03 to 2010-11 and assessments

6 Scottish Government (2011) Table 9, Assesment decision by presence of children in household and age of main applicant

7 Scottish Government (2011) Table 10, Homeless households by type of support need identified

8 Stat Wales (2011) Decisions taken by eligibility

9 DCLG (2011) Table 777, Statutory Homelessness: households in temporary accommodation in London and England

10 Scottish Government (2011) Table 1, Households in temporary accommodation