Families Prevention
Toolkit
Andy Gale
Housing Consultant
0
[Name of Council]
Housing
Options Service
A Toolkit containing useful resources to prevent
homelessness and record casework for applicants
claiming homelessness from the home of a parent or
extended family
Name of Housing Options Officer Issuing this pack
Contact E-Mail [email protected]
1
A Toolkit containing useful resources to prevent
homelessness and record casework for applicants
claiming homelessness from the home of a parent
or extended family
The Homelessness Reduction Bill
The Homelessness Reduction Bill has been given its second reading in Parliament at the end of
October. It has the support of the Government and is likely to become law by the Spring of 2017 with
a commencement date to be decided by the Government.
The prime focus of this new legislation is to reduce homelessness by placing greater emphasis on
preventing homelessness and improving prevention help for people not in priority need.
There will be a new Local Authority duty to take reasonable steps to prevent or relieve homelessness
for anyone at risk of homelessness within 56 days. This new duty will significantly extend the
entitlement of many applicants who are currently only entitled to a duty to advice and assistance and
require local authorities to provide early and more effective help to prevent homelessness.
Please note the following:
The prevention of homelessness advice provided in this and the other toolkits provided free to local
authorities must always be considered in the context of whether a homelessness application has been
made and triggered.
Local authorities are reminded that if they have reason to believe that a person may be homeless or
threatened with homelessness they are under a duty to take an application; make enquiries and issue
a decision on that application. If the person is eligible, homeless and may be in priority need then
emergency accommodation must be provided until the enquiries are completed and a decision
issued.
The information and advice has not been legally checked and is for guidance only. It does not form
legal advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the content and a local authority
should always take its own legal advice when considering using any resource contained in this toolkit.
2
Housing Options Interview – Parent or
relative threatened exclusion case
When should this prevention casework toolkit be used?
This casework toolkit has been developed to help Officers take the right actions to try and prevent
homelessness. The checklist should be used for all parental or relative threatened homelessness
cases and long-term arrangements living with friends. It should be used where:
 A parent/relative/friend has not yet asked the person to leave but you believe this is a
realistic and immediate threat
 Or where the person has been given a verbal or written notice to leave
 It should be used where the person living within the family home is single or where they
have children of their own that live within the family home.
References throughout this toolkit to a Parent equally apply to cases where there is a threat of
exclusion from the home of a relative or friend
The Housing Options Interviewing Officer should carry out the
following actions:
1. Complete Section 1. This is a summary sheet covering the core actions that an officer
should take and record for every parental/relative exclusion or threat of exclusion case.
2. Then follow the ‘casework actions to be taken’ checklist in section 2. You may need to paste
this action checklist into the case notes section on the Northgate case so that a record of
actions is on the casefile. Use the checklist to 1) Structure the actions you take to try to
prevent the person from becoming homeless and 2) To record your casework notes.
3. Use the Section 3 Resources toolkit to help you prevent homelessness. This section
contains a set of resources that can be used for the potential excluder or for the person
being threatened with exclusion. There are numerous resources and an index at the start of
section setting out what each resource is and how best to use that resource. Using the
resources may greatly improve your chances of prevention success. You will find at the end
of section 3 the Personal Housing Plan for any Parent/Relative exclusion case.
4. Section 4 is the ‘Self Help Pack’ to be issued to the person approaching the Council
claiming they are at risk of being excluded by a parent or relative. You should try and email
a copy of the Help Pack to the parent/relative if you have their email address or alternatively
you could send in the post. This ‘Help Pack’ should not be used if there are any allegations
of abuse, violence or threats of violence or any other safeguarding issues.
3
Section 1:
The casework checklist:
Core actions to take on every case
Action
Confirmation
that the action
listed has been
taken
Record the name of the Housing Options Officer (HOO) undertaking
the Housing Options Interview and will be responsible for the
prevention casework actions
Name
Record as many ways of contacting the parent/relative as you can.





Name
Address
Email contact
Mobile contact
Landline contact
Would the applicants housing problem trigger a homeless application
under the section 183 threshold test requiring you to consider
whether you have reason to believe that the applicant may be
homeless or threatened with homelessness?
Yes/No
If your decision is that a homeless application has not been triggered
because you are satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances do not
trigger an application under the statutory test have you completed the
‘assessment of whether a homeless application has been triggered
form’ which is part of the ‘Housing Options Assessment Application
Form’‘?
Yes/No/NA
If your decision is that an application would be triggered because you
are satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances would trigger an
application under the statutory test does the applicant wish to pursue
a homeless application?
Yes/No
If the person does not wish to pursue a homeless application that
would be triggered under the section 183 test make sure you have
fully recorded the reasons for that decision
4
Action
Confirmation
that the action
listed has been
taken
Confirmation that the correct Personal Housing Plan has been
issued/ e-mailed to the applicant?
Yes/No
PHP Number
Where a homeless application has been triggered is it possible to
recommend to the Duty Manager that a decision can be made that
day based on the inquiries you have made in your interview with the
applicant plus (if required) any 3rd party inquiries that have been
made or could be completed that day.
Yes/No
If yes confirm that a section 184 notification letter has been given to
the applicant
Yes/No/NA
Specific questions and prevention actions to be considered for
all Parent/Relative threatened exclusion cases
Has the applicant presented with a letter asking the person to leave
and explaining the reasons why
Yes/No
Have you e mailed or sent or both the standard letter to the Parent/
Relative seeking the detailed reasons for wanting the person to
leave?
Yes/No
If yes date
Important: this form should be sent even where a conversation has
take place with the parent/relative as it will help obtain details for any
problem that has led to a notice being issued and help in the
preparation of any ‘offer to resolve’
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat
of violence or abuse have you emailed or sent the initial ‘How we
are going to try and help and next steps letter’ – Section 3 Resource
number 3 in this pack (which also includes the reasonable notice
paragraphs)?
Yes/No
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat
of violence or abuse have you emailed or sent or both the Self Help
Pack to help the parties try to resolve the problems in the home?
Yes/No
If Yes confirm
pack issued to:
Applicant Y/N
Parent Y/N
5
Action
Confirmation
that the action
listed has been
taken
If you are satisfied there are no safeguarding issues due to any threat
of violence or abuse and you have concerns that the parent needs to
understand the request for a period of reasonable notice and why it is
being requested have you emailed or sent the Request for
reasonable notice letter Section 3 Resource number 1 in this pack?
Yes/No
Have you set up the parent/relative casework action checklist
(section 2 of this toolkit) in the notes section for the applicant’s file on
Northgate and completed section for the actions to take when the
person presents?
Yes/No
Has a ‘home visit’ been arranged?
Yes/No
If no, state the
reasons why one
hasn’t been
arranged
Have you completed and issued to the Parent/Relative Offer to
Resolve the Problem letter?
Yes/No
If a letter has been sent has the Parent/Relative responded to the
offer set out in the letter?
Yes/No
Record their response and whether a resolution may be possible
Is there a
possible
resolution?
Y/N
Have you issued the Personal Housing Plan – Section 3 Resource
number 11
Yes/No
Has the applicant been taken through and advised on their realistic
alternative social housing or private rented options including telling
them where they are likely to be able to afford to look for
accommodation?
This action is required regardless of the steps being taken to resolve
the problems at home. A back up of seeking alternative
accommodation options needs to be pursued with every applicant in
case action fails
Yes/No
6
Action
Confirmation
that the action
listed has been
taken
Have you issued the person their ‘How to find accommodation pack’
Yes/No
1. Initial resolution actions
Advice to the
Officer
2. Look to speak to the parent on the day or if no contact
obtained within 24 hours of the approach and test water on
chance of resolution to the problem
3. Regardless issue the initial ‘How we are going to try and help
and next steps letter’, Self Help Pack and any other relevant
resources such as Social Housing Facts leaflet – Section 3
Resource number 7
4. Once you have obtained enough information about the
problem issue a ‘Offer to Resolve the Problem’ letter to the
parent
5. Follow up on the offer within 3 days of sending it
7
Section 2:
This section contains the actions that the
Housing Options Officer should consider
taking to resolve the problem that has led
to the parent/relative seeking to exclude
The checklist is split into:
Summary table for casework and outcome.
Part 1 – the prevention actions to take in the housing options
interview when the person presents.
Part 2 – the prevention actions to take at the home visit or if a home
visit does not take place an interview with the parent.
It should be used to structure the way you deal with the case and the
actions you should take to try and prevent homelessness. Use it to
record your case notes.
8
Summary of Casework and outcome
Comments/confirmations
1. Date of initial contact with the
parent/relative (record the date and
details for any subsequent contact with
the parent/relative in the case notes
section)
2. Parent/relative initial stated reason for
seeking possession
3. Have there been any other issues/
problems at the home?
4. Has a resolution of the problem been
discussed with the parent/relative?
5. Is the parent/relative prepared to
accept or consider a resolution?
6. What solution would the parent/relative
be prepared to accept? (Phrase
question to the parent/relative if you
had to agree a solution what would it
be)
7. Is there anything that can be tried to try
and prevent homelessness?
Conclusion:
Prevention action is successful: Tick
Prevention action not successful: Tick
9
How to deal with cases that present claiming they are being asked to
leave their parent/s home. Checklist Toolkit for the Housing Options
Interview
Part 1: This checklist covers the actions that the Solutions Officer should
take during any Housing Options interview where a single person or
household living with their parents or relatives or their friends has been
asked to leave.
Household presenting claiming to be homeless today or imminently
Take the following actions where a person has come in and claims to have been excluded by
the parent/s they live with or are claiming that they will be excluded shortly.
Action 1 – Look at the evidence – does it indicate exclusion?

Has the person presented with baggage?

Have they presented with a notice or letter asking them to leave?

Are they upset indicating that there has been some incident or row that led that day to
being asked to leave?

If there is a letter is it claiming that they have to leave today or a date in the future?
You must consider safeguarding issues before continuing with the next actions. Decide from
what you have heard if there is a possibility of any violence or abuse that would make it unsafe
for the person to return. If so provide safe interim accommodation for the person if they may be
homeless and may be in priority need. If there are no safeguarding issues continue with the
actions as set out below:
Action 2 - If they have come in with a letter/notice from the parent undertake
some basic checks:

Is the letter is addressed to the applicant,

Is it dated and signed by the excluder,

Where the person excluding is a joint tenant or joint owner is it clear that both
tenants/owners want the person to leave?

Does it give the person a period of reasonable notice?
Some suggestions on the approach to reasonable notice.
If a person occupies accommodation with parents they are occupying that accommodation as a
bare licensee. The Licence may be written but is more likely to be a verbal licence or implied
licence. Remember, no court order is required to evict that person. However, a period of
reasonable notice should, in common law, be given and what that period is will always depend
on the facts and circumstances relating to their occupation and why they are being asked to
leave.
Reasonable notice is initially based upon how the rent is paid (i.e. a week’s notice if weekly or
a month’s notice if monthly). However, given many applicants may be presenting from a home
where no rent is paid what is reasonable will have to be determined on a case by case basis
and will be dependent upon the circumstances of each presentation and may require further
investigations to decide what period is reasonable. This could range from immediate notice
10
where there is a serious incident to 28 days where a person has lived at home all their life or
for a long period and there has been no incident that would indicate an immediate or shorter
period of notice should be given. The period of reasonable notice is likely to be something that
you will need to negotiate with the person wanting to exclude.
Resources to help you:
1)
There is a request for reasonable notice letter in this pack and you should give a copy
addressed to the parent to the person claiming a threat of exclusion as well as emailing the same copy to the parent.
2)
There is a form in the pack to e-mail the parent or to send asking the parent to fully set
out the reasons why they want the person to leave.
Note: A homeless application is still likely to have been triggered even if reasonable notice is
obtained as the person is still likely to be at risk of homelessness within 28 days.
Action 3 - Before contacting the parent find out from the person threatened with
homelessness their view about the issues that have led to being asked to leave.
Be mindful that the person may be nervous and upset so ask questions sensitively. Your
questions should obtain as much detail as you can for the reasons why the person is being
asked to leave to enable you to be able to help both the person and the person claiming to
exclude to resolve matters, and to also enable you to lawfully consider whether the person is
homeless and owed a duty under the legislation.
Unless the person is visibly upset and not able at this point to explain the reasons seek to
establish the detailed reason and evidence as to why the person has been asked to leave. Be
careful not to accept on face value alone a reply from the person that they don’t know why they
have been asked to leave or a response that “they have been asked to leave because they
have not been getting on”. There will in virtually all genuine cases have been a trigger issue,
incident, or on-going problems that have led to the threat of exclusion and you should ask
questions to obtain as much detail about these as you can. There may genuinely have been no
trigger incident but in the majority of cases if there is no trigger incident explained there is a
question to consider as to whether you are satisfied that the person is genuinely at risk of
becoming homeless and this may shape the nature of further inquiries.
Action 4 – In the majority of cases you will have to take a homeless application if the
applicant wants to pursue one because the test of an application is based on whether
the person may be homeless or may be threatened with homelessness.
Unless on the evidence presented you conclude that the person clearly may not be homeless
or threatened with homelessness you will still have to take a homeless application and carry
out further investigations even if:
a)
If you are not satisfied that the note or letter gives sufficient information on why the
person has been asked to leave, or
b)
There is no note or letter, or
c)
You are not convinced this has been written by the excluder, or
d)
You are not convinced by the person’s account
However, any of these concerns will be matters you will have to investigate further as part of
your statutory homelessness assessment duties to enable you to make a final decision on
whether the person is homeless.
11
Action 5 - Now you have an account from the person on why they think they have been
asked to leave you will need to seek the applicant’s consent to disclosing what they
have told you.
Use the consent statement at the end of the interview form and read it to the persona and get
them to sign it. Where the interview is a telephone interview you will need to read the consent
statement in order to obtain verbal informed consent to make inquire and disclose
Make sure you have the consent and the full contact details including mobile phone numbers
and e-mail contact details for the applicant and the parent/s.
Action 6 – Where you have been able to get through on the phone you will now need to
cover some basic steps. These are:
1) to explore in more detail the problem that has led to the threat of exclusion
2) remind the parent of the need for a period of reasonable notice (if appropriate)
3) reassure the parent that you will do everything you can to help
4) arrange a date and time for a home visit where parent will be present as well as person
or another arrangement such as the parent and the person coming into the office for an
interview.
If you can get through on the phone find out if the person presenting is known to the parent and
that you have that person’s consent to talk to them.
If you cannot get through on phone leave voicemail message and text to confirm your actions
including reasonable notice requirement and need to contact to arrange home visit.
The purpose of contacting the parent is:
a) To check whether there is a threat of exclusion.
b) To check with the parent, and in the case of 2 parents living in the home, whether one
or both have asked the person to leave
c) To compare the detail of the person’s account with the detail of the account given by
the parent/s and whether the details given by both is consistent and therefore indicates
that the treat of exclusion is genuine.
d) To begin to talk to the parent about the possible solutions based on what you know.
e) To be clear to the parent that you are here to help to resolve the problem that has led to
the person being asked to leave.
f)
To hold the position, if it is safe for the person threatened with exclusion to remain, by
explaining to the parent the common law requirement for a period of reasonable notice
to be given.
At this stage you only have the person saying they have been excluded so start by telling the
parent that the person has come to see you for help and ask them to explain if there is a
problem at home. Emphasise that you understand that the person may have a housing
problem or there may be tensions at home and you are here to do everything to help.
12
Detail of what to cover in this conversation:
1)
As you did with the son/daughter now explore with the parent the detail of any
incident, argument or problem. What was the trigger issue? Again do not accept on
face value a general response that “they have not been getting on”. There must
invariably have been a trigger issue, incident, or on-going problems that have led to
the threat of exclusion. Once the trigger incident and core problem has been
established you can help both parties to prevent homelessness. If there are no trigger
incidents there may be a question to consider (though it is still possible) as to whether
you are satisfied that the person is genuinely at risk of becoming homeless and this
may shape the nature of further inquiries.
2)
Compare the parent account with the person’s account and whether what has been
said by both parties can be said to be consistent.
3)
Explain that although you may have ‘reason to believe’ that the person may be
threatened with homelessness (which will trigger a homelessness application) you are
requesting that the person fill out the form explaining in writing the details of why the
person has been asked to leave in order to investigate the application for help more
fully. Make sure you e-mail the form to the parent.
4)
Explain that the parent must give a period of reasonable notice if one has not been
given and suggest what you think that period should be. (See above for advice on
asking for reasonable notice). Do explain that the reasonable notice doesn’t have to
be in writing
5)
From the story given by the excluder do you believe that there is a clear intention to
exclude or does it possibly indicate a more general problem of tensions at home or
that the parent thinks that the applicant needs social housing or that they have to say
that they want to exclude in order to get social housing? If they do not indicate that
they clearly intend to exclude talk through how you can help deal with tensions at
home.
6)
Where you have established at this stage that there is a problem or trigger incident
that has led to the threat of exclusion reassure the excluder that you are going to do
everything you can to help them. Discuss the possible help that may be available for
that problem that you have identified using the checklist below – i.e. if the problems
are rows at home talk about the options of mediation and possible on-going support.
Explain that all the options for helping will be discussed in detail at a home visit.
Note: There are examples of the possible help at the end of this section and these are
written as a script/conversation with the parent/s
7)
Explain that you are issuing the applicant with a Help Pack for the family to use to try
and find a solution to the problems or concerns at home.
 Explain that in that help pack is a letter to the parent/s setting out the offer of
help from the Council and all the other information they need to know.
 Explain the actions that you want the applicant and the parent to take using the
Help Pack
8)
Book the home visit with parent (or if they are being asked to come in then book the
appointment) and e-mail the reasonable notice letter that also confirms home visit
date. Give a copy of the parent/s letter and reasonable notice letter to the applicant to
give to the parent when they return home.
13
9)
Where it is clear from the initial telephone conversation with the parent that there is
anger caused by an incident or dispute or the applicant’s behaviour which means that
the excluder is reluctant to consider granting any period of reasonable notice consider
offering respite accommodation initially for 48 hours to allow a cooling off period until
the home visit has taken place. Explain to the parent that this is initially 24/48 hour
cooling off accommodation pending the Home Visit and reasonable notice period
starting.
10) It is imperative that the Home visit takes place the quickly ideally within 24/48 hours to
demonstrate to the excluder that you are taking the matter seriously and wish to do
everything you can to help.
11) Where the excluder has been informed about the need for reasonable notice and the
applicant has been given a letter to take home confirming in writing the date and time
of the home visit and the details of the agreed period of reasonable notice you should
still protect the applicant just in case the excluder refuses to allow the applicant
access when they return. Therefore contact the out of hours team to inform them that
if the applicant presents out of hours they should be booked in (as long as it has been
determined that you have reason to believe that the applicant may be in priority need).
12) Discuss with the parent/s in general terms the difficulty of the person obtaining social
housing but that you will talk to them in more detail about this at the home visit. Tell
the parent/s that the Help Pack gives more details on the person’s prospects of social
housing.
13) Where it is clear from the conversation that it is the applicant’s desire or action to
leave, and there is no violence or abuse, and no other reason why it would not be
unreasonable to continue to occupy the home issue a notification letter that the
applicant is not homeless or threatened with homelessness.
List of possible help available to resolve the problem written as a script/conversation
with the parent:
a) Practical help available from the Council
We have either given you son or daughter a help pack for all of you which aims to try
and get things moving towards a solution. There are a lot of ideas to try to get you all to
work through some a way forward. Please be assured that just because we have given
you all a help pack this doesn’t mean we won’t be providing any other help and support.
It is just to get you all thinking about solutions.
b) Practical help available from the Council – Consider using the “Promised
Behaviour in the future contract” or the “Licence to Live at Home agreement”
If the problem at home is that your [son/daughter] doesn’t always follow the rules you
expect for living in your home we can meet with you all and help you to put together
either:
1) A “Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” between you and your
[son/daughter]
or
2) A written license where you give them permission to occupy your home only if
they abide by your reasonable rules.
There are copies of both of these suggested agreements in the Self Help Pack we have
issued you with.
14
We have also told your [son/daughter] of the possibility of being found to be
intentionally homeless if they do not cooperate with the help offered and are evicted for
poor behaviour. Having told them of this they have given us a commitment to change
and to no longer cause problems at home.
Where things are particularly bad at home we might be able to look at offering some
short stay accommodation to allow time for “cooling off” whilst other support can be put
in place.
c) Our offer of upfront mediation/support
If the problems are more complex and need longer term help we can make a referral to
our local mediation service or family conflict service and can arrange for your case to
be dealt with urgently.
d) Our offer of a support worker
If we think you all may need some extra support to help you sort out the things that are
leading to the tensions at home I can make a referral for support and they can interview
your son or daughter and talk to you to assess what support can be given.
e) Helping to resolve financial problems in the family that are contributing to these
tensions and have led to the decision to exclude.
If there are financial problems at home you feel you can no longer afford to keep your
[son/daughter] there are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce or
resolve these financial problems. We may be willing to make a small payment from our
Homeless Prevention Fund to:
 Help with debts if it is these that are creating the problems at home
 Pay for a one-off item.
 To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to look
for other accommodation to move onto.
 Arrange debt and money management help for you to reduce financial
pressures
 Making a Discretionary Housing Payment. DHPs can cover costs such as rent
top ups; non-dependent deductions; short term help for people affected by a cut
in their housing benefit due to welfare reform.
f)
Help you all to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or friends.
We can look at supporting your [son/daughter] to move to safe alternative
accommodation with extended family or appropriate friends and may be able to offer
some financial help to support a move including help to find somewhere to rent.
g) Help you all to plan a move into accommodation in the private rented sector.
We can look at supporting your son/daughter to move to accommodation in the private
rented sector and may be able to offer some financial help to support a move such as a
deposit or rent in advance. We can talk to you about this in more detail when we meet.
h) Help to get the person engaged with Education, Employment and Training (EET)
(There will be some applicants who are at risk of exclusion because the parent/s is
frustrated that they will not engage in training, education or seeking employment)
We can look at helping your son or daughter get into training, further education or to
plan to look for work. We can see that this is causing frustration and they are at home
most of the day and under your feet. We can work out a clear plan setting out the help
that will be available to your [son/daughter].
15
Action required at the Home Visit or the appointment in the office
with the parent and applicant.
A home visit is essential to try and resolve any the problems as well as checking whether the
person is to be excluded or not. Ideally you should always look to carry out a home visit as the
fact that you have come to see them shows the parent that the Council is committed to trying to
sort things out.
If resources make it impossible to carry out a home visit on every case consider arranging an
appointment for the parent and the applicant to come into the office or a mutually convenient
venue.
So the home visit should be used to:
1) To work through the options and actions to solve the problem and prevent
homelessness or if this is not possible to look to hold the position at home for a period
of time which is sufficient to arrange with all parties a planned move into alternative
accommodation in the PRS or with extended family.
2) Make inquiries and gather the information needed to complete any homelessness
investigation to decide whether the person is going to be excluded; what duty (if any) is
owed and checking that there are no other issues that would make the accommodation
unreasonable to occupy. This will enable you to complete inquires and issue a section
184 decision.
Part 2: Actions at the Home Visit itself.
Take along a template Licence agreement or Behaviour contract. If you know enough about
what the problems at home from the conversation you have had on the phone prepare a draft
copy of an agreement and leave some space to add things in.
At the home visit you will need to judge whether to speak to the parent first alone and then the
applicant depending on the tensions and whether that is the best way to try and find a way
forward and to be able to obtain clear information on the problem.
It is suggested that you seek to split the conversation with the parent into 4 distinct topic areas.
Do try and keep these topic areas separate so you are not giving a confusing message by
mixing up different issues.
Discussion 1 – To get to the bottom of the problem that has caused the parent to ask the
applicant to leave – Your objective – to gather the information to decide how best you
can help resolve the problem and to check if the applicant is likely to be made
homeless.
1)
You understand that their son/daughter has a housing problem and you are here to
help. You have a lot of things you can do to resolve any problem between the parent
and the person.
2)
Explore with the parent the detail of any incident, argument or problem. Establish the
cause so you can establish what options you can discuss to prevent homelessness.
3)
Where you have established that there was a trigger point or issue that has led to the
threat of exclusion reassure the parent that you are going to be able to find a solution
to help the and the person.
16
Discussion 2: Discuss the actions that you can take to help the person and the parent/s
resolve the problem: Consider the actions suggested below. The objective to resolve
the problem and prevent homelessness.
You may need to conduct a “conciliation and solutions” meeting there and then. Allow the
parent to be able to state their concerns with the son and daughter and focus on the positives
and explore possible solutions.
Take notes of the meeting and any issues that are raised. Sum up the main points and
possible solutions reached at the end of the meeting. Provide your contact details.
It may be that they need time to think it over and you can suggest contacting them in a few
days. Advise that it is best to set the solution down in some form of signed agreement as this
way everything is clear. Show them the model “Behaviour contract“ or the model “Licence
agreement”.
At the meeting when you have identified the problem or problems work through the offer of
help taken from the list below.
List of possible help available to resolve the problem written as a script/conversation with the
parent:
a)
Practical help available from the Council
We have either given you son or daughter a help pack for all of you which aims to try
and get things moving towards a solution. There are a lot of ideas to try to get you all
to work through some a way forward. Please be assured that just because we have
given you all a help pack this doesn’t mean we won’t be providing any other help and
support. It is just to get you all thinking about solutions.
b)
Practical help available from the Council – Consider using the “Promised
Behaviour in the future contract” or the “Licence to Live at home agreement”.
If the problem at home is that your son/daughter doesn’t always follow the rules you
expect for living in your home we can meet with you all and help you to put together
either:
1)
A “Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” between you and your
son/daughter
or
2)
A “Written license” where you give them permission to occupy your home
only if they abide by your reasonable rules.
There are copies of both of these suggested agreements in this help pack.
We have also told your son/daughter of the possibility of being found to be
intentionally homeless if they do not cooperate with the help offered and are evicted
for poor behaviour. Having told them of this they have given us a commitment to
change and to no longer cause problems at home.
Where things are particularly bad at home we might be able to look at offering some
short stay accommodation to allow time for “cooling off” whilst other support can be
put in place.
c)
Our offer of upfront mediation/support
If the problems are more complex and need longer term help we can make a referral
to our local mediation service or family conflict service and can arrange for your case
to be dealt with urgently.
d)
Our offer of a support worker
If we think you all may need some extra support to help you sort out the things that
are leading to the tensions at home I can make a referral for support and they can
interview your son or daughter and talk to you to assess what support can be given.
17
e)
Helping to resolve financial problems in the family that are contributing to these
tensions and have led to the decision to exclude.
If there are financial problems at home you feel you can no longer afford to keep your
son/daughter there are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce or
resolve these financial problems. We may be willing to make a small payment from
our Homeless Prevention Fund to:
 Help with debts if it is these that are creating the problems at home
 Pay for a one off item.
 To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to
look for other accommodation to move onto.
 Arrange debt and money management help for you to reduce financial
pressures
 Making a Discretionary Housing Payment. DHPs can cover costs such as rent
top ups; non-dependent deductions; short term help for people affected by a
cut in their housing benefit due to welfare reform.
f)
Help you all to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or
friends.
We can look at supporting your son/daughter to move to safe alternative
accommodation with extended family or appropriate friends and may be able to offer
some financial help to support a move including help to find somewhere to rent.
g)
Help you all to plan a move into accommodation in the private rented sector.
We can look at supporting your son/daughter to move to accommodation in the private
rented sector and may be able to offer some financial help to support a move such as
a deposit or rent in advance. We can talk to you about this in more detail when we
meet.
h)
Help to get the person engaged with Education, Employment and Training (EET)
(There will be some applicants who are at risk of exclusion because the parent/s is
frustrated that they will not engage in training, education or seeking employment)
We can look at helping your son or daughter get into training, further education or to
plan to look for work. We can see that this is causing frustration and they are at home
most of the day and under your feet. We can work out a clear plan setting out the help
that will be available to your son/daughter.
You might also need to consider sensitively reminding the parent of parental responsibility.
Parental responsibility is important and putting this message across sensitively but clearly may
help bring the parent round to agreeing to work with you on finding a solution. Excluding a son
or daughter and possibly grandchildren is not good for the applicant and becoming homeless
may have a negative impact on their life and affect their prospects for education, employment,
etc. Reminding the parent of their obligations as a parent to their son and daughter to work with
you on finding an appropriate solution is an important action you need to consider taking.
In cases where the situation at home is still very volatile you might need to consider
using Respite Accommodation to provide a ‘breathing space’
If there is a solution but the anger of the parent is just too high at the time of the visit you might
want to consider using respite accommodation sensitively and sensibly to allow for a period of
cooling off whilst a solution can be discussed and negotiated.
18
Discussion 3: Provide an accurate factual reality check with the parent and the applicant
on the prospects of obtaining social housing. Objective – to make the parent and the
person fully aware of the difficulty in obtaining social housing in case this is a key
factor contributing to the decision to ask the person to leave. This may be because the
parent and applicant believe this will allow a move into social housing or because the
parent genuinely believes that the only way to resolve any problem is for the applicant
to move out into a social housing home and doesn’t realise that obtaining a social
housing home may not be possible in the short, medium, or longer term.
The nature of this conversation will depend on the local social housing supply and allocation
policy but might include the following points adapted to your local circumstances. Give very
clear facts and figures to get across to the parent and applicant their prospects or lack of
prospects of obtaining a social home.
The conversation has been scripted below to make sure you get across the important facts.
Use the factsheet in the section 4 resources pack to help you. The factsheet explains a
person’s social housing prospects if they are excluded and if they remain at home. Make sure
you are able to get over key facts.
Examples of a possible conversation are set out below:
I’m really sorry I know how much your son/daughter would like to receive a quick offer of a
Council or Housing Association home in our area. This is always the best housing solution and
would allow them to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social housing
and be close to you. However, we have so few homes available. I’m going to give you some
facts that show just how bad things are. In the last 12 months we only had x Council or
Housing Association homes become available and we have x thousand single people and
families on our housing register.
I can tell you about where in the Borough there might be a better chance of an offer of social
housing in the longer term but given the small number of social homes we have we will need to
talk to you about the help available to find them a property to rent from a landlord in the private
rented sector.
It is also important to let you know that the Council does not have a duty to find everyone
accommodation where a person is not in something called priority need or where we think the
person’s homelessness has resulted from something they may have deliberately did. We won’t
know if this applies to your son/daughter until we have fully assessed their case.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put
you off asking your son/daughter to leave. We have to tell you their housing prospects so you
are able to make your final decision on whether you want them to leave knowing what the likely
outcome will be for them.
If despite all our offers of help you still want them to leave we think it is best that we continue to
work with you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as this
is rarely the best outcome and as their parent, I know you will still want the best for them.
Discussion 4: Concluding the Home Visit. Summarise the actions and help that you are
going to give and to be clear to both the parent and the person what is going to happen
next.
19
If you have at the end of the visit reached a clear conclusion or have a clear way forward talk to
the person and the parent and set this out.
Be clear on any conclusions reached and communicate this to both the parent (as long as
there is consent) and the applicant including whether you have to make any further inquiries.
Communicate your initial conclusions sensitively to the applicant and parent/s. Broadly this will
be:
a)
There are problems at home that you can help with but the person isn’t homeless
b)
The applicant has a housing problem or would like social housing but is not homeless
and you are going to set out all the options to help them.
c)
The applicant may become homeless if the problems at home are not resolved and
set out the action plan you have developed to resolve these problems
d)
The applicant is likely to become homeless as the problems at home cannot be
resolved but all have agreed the best option is to carry on for now and to explore the
possibility of moving to extended family or a planned move into other suitable
accommodation when it becomes available.
e)
The person is likely to become homeless as the problems at home cannot be resolved
and there is no possibility of moving to extended family or arranging a planned move.
In which case explain the applicant what will happen next in terms of any on-going
homelessness, priority need and intentional homelessness inquiries.
20
Section 3:
The Resources Pack Toolkit for Housing
Options Officers for Parental/relative
exclusion cases
A set of letters and prevention resources to help the Housing Options Officer
find a resolution to any threatened homelessness problem with a
Parent/Relative case.
Each letter or resource has an introduction explaining what the letter or
resource is, when to use it and at what stage to use it.
Making an offer to the parent/relative to resolve the problem
This section contains a set of template letters and resources to help the officer put together
an offer to resolve the problem at home for parent/relative cases.
The Officer should be seeking to get to the stage where a formal ‘Offer to Resolve the
Problem at Home’ letter can be issued. The resources in this section may be used by one of
several teams that form part of your local authority Housing Options Service
21
Index of the useful letters and resources to help resolve the threat of homelessness.
Resource
Number
Description of the Letter of Resource
1
A request to the parent or relative for a period of reasonable notice and
explaining the person’s bare licence status
2
A letter/email requesting that the parent or relative provide details for why
they want the person to leave
3
Letter to the parent or relative of an applicant who has approached
claiming homeless or claiming that they are ‘threatened with
homelessness’ setting out the Council’s commitment to help resolve the
problem, the type of help available to resolve the problem and what will
happen next re any appointment time and need for reasonable notice.
4
A short commitment statement/agreement setting out the commitment of
the Council to help the parent/relative and person facing exclusion
5
This is a template letter to a parent or relative setting out the formal offer
to resolve the problem at home once you have obtained the facts on what
that problem is.
6
An agreement from the Council setting out the details of the offer to
resolve the problem at home
7
A factsheet for parents or relatives wishing to exclude on the chances of
their son or daughter obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing
Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to
remain living with you for now
8
A template “Licence agreement” between the parent/relative and the
person where there is a threat of exclusion setting out the rules and
behaviour that the person will be expected to follow in order to be given
permission to carry on living in the property
9
This is a “Promised Behaviour in the future” formal agreement that can
be used where there is a threat of exclusion. It sets out the rules and
behaviour that the person will be expected to follow in order to be given
permission to carry on living at home.
10
A letter to a parent/relative to set out in a non-confrontational way where
on the facts you don’t believe their son/daughter to be homeless or
threatened with homelessness but that you want to continue to offer help
to resolve any problems at home
22
11
A personal housing plan that can be used an applicant who is threatened
with homelessness from a parental or relative home. It is based on the
principle of the Welsh prevention model and the Bob Blackman Private
members Bill draft new duty requirements for England
12
A section 184 decision letter framed in non-confrontational way where on
the facts following your investigations you don’t believe the applicant to
be homeless or threatened with homelessness. The letter sets
recognises the tensions at home and still offers help to resolve any
problems
23
Resource 1: Letter to the parent/relative explaining bare licence status of the applicant and
requesting reasonable notice.
What is the resource?
A request to the parent or relative for a period of reasonable notice and explaining the person’s bare
licence status
When to use this resource?
1)
Use it when a person first contacts the Options Service claiming to be homeless or
threatened with homelessness
2)
Do not use where there is any information presented or obtained that might indicate there is
a threat of violence or abuse to the person presenting if they were to return home
3)
Ensure that where the letter has been issued and you have not been able to contact the
parent/relative that the person is aware of the out of hours contact number in case access
is denied despite the reasonable notice request
4)
The reasonable notice request is also contained in paragraphs in the ‘Letter to the parent or
relative of an applicant who has approached claiming homeless or claiming that they are
threatened with homelessness’ that sets out the Council’s commitment to help resolve the
problem. You may need to use this specific reasonable notice letter where on the facts
obtained when the applicant presents you feel there is a need to focus specifically on this
issue.
5)
Ensure you personalise the letter by adding the name or names of the parent and the first
name of the person who is being asked to leave
The letter/email requesting a period of reasonable notice:
Dear [name of parent/s]
Your [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] approached us today seeking
help because they claim you want them to leave home.
We understand that there may be problems at home and we want to do everything we can to help.
The first thing we have done is to take ‘an application for help’ because there is a risk of them
becoming homeless. However, I must let you know that they are not homeless today. This is
because in basic housing law the fact that they have lived with you, with your permission, does
mean they have held a licence to occupy your home. You are perfectly entitled to ask them to leave,
and please be assured you do not need to obtain a court order to exclude them from your home.
However, you do need to give them some time to leave. This is called in housing law ‘a period of
reasonable notice’. This is so they have time to seek help and allows us and other agencies a short
period of time to work out how best to help them.
I have looked at the facts so I am able to recommend to you what the period of reasonable notice
should sensibly be. I have considered the information we have about the reason you have asked
them to leave and I have considered any other circumstances and pressures at home, as well as the
length of time they have lived you. I have also considered whether there are issues of safety for both
of you that might mean they cannot return home for the reasonable notice period.
24
Having considered all of these things I think that a reasonable period of notice should be 28 days
from today’s date (reduce this period if the circumstances indicate a shorter notice period is
appropriate). I am happy to talk to you as to why a period of reasonable notice is requested and
discuss it with you if you think it should be for a shorter period of time.
Please be assured that we want to do everything we can to help sort out the problems between you
and [name of son/daughter] or if these problems cannot be sorted out we want to work with the
both of you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as this is rarely
the best outcome and I’m sure you want the best for them.
Can I confirm that we have made an appointment to come and see you and your [son/daughter] on
[date/time – or put in any other next steps or interview arrangements] and please have our
assurance that we are going to do everything we can to help.
If you need to discuss further the appointment time, the need for reasonable notice, or how we are
going to try and help, do not hesitate to contact me by telephone or email.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
25
Resource 2: Letter/email requesting that the parent/relative provide details for the reasons
they want them to leave
What is the resource?
A letter/email requesting that the parent or relative provide details for why they want the person to
leave.
When to use this resource?

Use it when a person first contacts the Options Service from the parental/relative home
claiming to be homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Use it to obtain the details of the problem to which will allow you to focus on the actions that
might best provide a resolution and help focus any discussion with the parent of home visit.

Remember to try and obtain email details for the parent/relative as a response is likely to be
faster by email.
The letter/email: Why you want your [son/daughter] to leave home?
Dear [name of parent/s]
Your [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] approached us today seeking
help because they claim you want them to leave home. We understand that there may be problems
at home and we want to do everything we can to help. The first thing we have done is to take ‘an
application for help’ because there is a risk of them becoming homeless.
The Council has to carry out a legal assessment of whether they are homeless and why and if
anything can be done to sort things out at home. These are questions that the housing laws require
us to answer.
We therefore need you to urgently fill out this form and preferably to e-mail it to add email address
as it will quicker if you send it by e-mail. If you don’t have an email please send it back to the name
and address at the top of this letter.
We will be in contact with you separately to tell you what is going to happen next.
We are very grateful for your help in this matter.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
26
1. Name of the person you may want to leave your home?
2. Please can you give us your name? (where there are 2 parents please give details for both)
3. What is your e-mail contact address?
4. What is your mobile telephone number?
5. What is your landline number?
6. What is your relationship to the person seeking help from the Council? e.g.
Mum/Dad/Relative
Questions about the reasons why you may want the person to leave
Now tell us below exactly the reason or reasons why you are you asking the person to leave – (We
have a legal duty to decide whether they are legally threatened with homelessness and why so we
need you to be very specific and to provide us with full details to allow us to assess the case
properly).
7. Not paying anything towards the rent or household bills
Details:
8. Not contributing to running of the home by e.g. – helping with household tasks
Details:
9. Not keeping their room and the home clean and tidy
Details:
10. Not following house rules e.g. not to smoke, drink, or take drugs in the home
Details:
11. Causing rows in the family – give reasons for the rows
Details:
12. Behaviour which is a nuisance to you or neighbours?
Details:
27
13. An unacceptable incident that led to them being asked to leave
Details:
14. Inviting visitors to the home without the parent/s permission
Details:
15. There are no rows – it’s just time they got their own place
Details of why this is the case:
16. There are too many people in the home – explain why
Details:
17. Other reasons for wanting to leave – be very specific and give full details here
Details:
18. How long have these problems being going on?
Details:
19. Have you spoken to your son/daughter about these problems – Yes/No
Details of when you have spoken to them and what happened
20. Have you ever warned you son/daughter as to what you expect them to do?
Details:
21. Did you warn them in the past about changing their behavior before the day you asked them
to leave?
Details:
22. If so were there warned by speaking to them or did you warn them in writing?
Details:
23. What was the final incident or problem that led to your decision on the day your son/daughter
came to see us to ask them to leave?
Details:
28
24. Describe in your own words exactly what happened in that incident?
Details:
25. Has it happened before and if so when?
Details:
26. If there was one thing that could be done by the Council to try and solve the problem what
would it be?
Details:
29
Resource 3: Letter to the parent or relative of an applicant who has approached claiming
homeless or claiming that they are ‘threatened with homelessness’ setting out the Council’s
commitment to help resolve the problem, the type of help available to resolve the problem
and what will happen next re any appointment time and need for reasonable notice.
What is the resource?
This is a template letter to the parent or relative of an applicant who has approached claiming
homeless or claiming that they are ‘threatened with homelessness’. The letter sets out the Council’s
commitment to help resolve the problem and the type of help available to resolve the problem.
When to use this resource?

Send on the day of contact from the person claiming to be excluded or threatened with
exclusion.

The aim of the letter is to give the parent/relative confidence of the Housing Options Service
Commitment to help. It does not formally set out an offer (there is a separate offer to resolve
template letter in this pack once you know the exact reasons for the problems at home). It is
an early intervention tool setting out the general ways that help can be provided.

There is also in the pack a short commitment to help agreement. Generally this personalised
letter is the best resource to use on initial approach
The letter/email:
Dear [name of parent/s]
Your [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] has approached us seeking help
because they claim you want them to leave home.
We are so sorry to hear that the problems at home have become so difficult that you may want them
to leave home and we want to do everything we can to help. The first thing we have done is to take
an application for help because they are at risk of becoming homeless because of the problems at
home.
Please let me reassure you that we are going to do everything we can to help sort out the problems
between you and, if despite our help, these problems cannot be sorted out we would look to work
with the both of you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as this
is rarely the best outcome and as their parent I know you will still want the best possible outcome for
them.
We understand how tough things must be at home for you to have reached the point where you are
asking your [son/daughter] to leave. You, like many parents we speak to, may have reached the
point where you feel you are having to try and cope with the problems on your own with no-one to
there to help sort things out. It is not surprising that many parents left to cope on their own reach the
end of their patience and think the only option is to ask their son/daughter to leave home. You are
not on your own and we can help. We are able to offer you real and practical support to help resolve
the problem you are having now and can offer long term help to make sure they don’t happen again.
30
Let me tell you the help we may be able to give you.
a) Practical help available from the Council – Sit down together and work through the
help pack we have given them and sent a copy to you where we have your email
We have given them a help pack for all of you to sit down and try and get things moving
towards a solution. There are a lot of ideas to try to get you all to work through some a way
forward. Please be assured that just because we have provided a help pack this doesn’t
mean we won’t provide any other help and support. It is just to get you all thinking about a
possible solution.
b) Practical help available from the Council – Consider using the “Promised Behaviour in
the future contract” or the “Licence to Live at Home agreement”
If the problem at home is that they don’t always follow the rules you expect for living in your
home we can meet with you all at home and help you to put together an agreement called a
“Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” so they are clear and commit to the
behaviour that you expect from them. We can also as an alternative, or additionally set up a
“Written Licence agreement” which is a legal document in housing law whereby you will
only give them permission to carry on living in your home if they abide by the rules. There
are examples of both of these agreements in the help pack.
We have also warned them that if they were to be made homeless the Council would have a
legal duty to consider whether this was caused by their deliberate behaviour and if so the
Housing Service would only be an accommodation duty for a few days.
c) Our offer of upfront mediation/support
If the problems are more complex and need longer term help we can make a referral to our
local mediation service or family conflict service and can arrange for your case to be dealt
with urgently.
d) Our offer of a support worker
If we think you all may need some extra support to help you sort out the things that are
leading to the tensions at home I can make a referral for support and they can interview your
son or daughter and talk to you to assess what support can be given.
e) Helping to resolve financial problems in the family that are contributing to these
tensions.
If there are financial problems at home you feel you can no longer afford to keep your
[son/daughter] there are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce or resolve
these financial problems. We may be willing to make a small payment to:
 Help with debts if it is these that are creating the problems at home
 Pay for a one-off item.
 To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to look for
other accommodation to move onto.
 Arrange debt and money management help for you to reduce financial pressures
f)
Help you all to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or friends or to
plan to find somewhere to rent.
We can look at supporting your [son/daughter] to move to safe alternative accommodation with
extended family or appropriate friends and may be able to offer some financial help to support a
move including help to find somewhere to rent.
31
One thing we think is important for you to consider are the facts about what their chances might be
of getting an offer of Council housing if they were to be made homeless compared to if you were to
decide to let them carry on living with you for now. (Where we use the term Council housing in this
factsheet this includes an offer of a Housing Association home).
I have attached the factsheet explaining their chances of obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing
Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain living with you for
now. There is also a copy of the factsheet in the ‘Help Pack’
I’m really sorry I know how much your [son/daughter] would like to receive a quick offer of a
Council home in an area of the Borough they would ideally like to live in. I’m sure that you want the
same thing for them too. We also agree that this would ideally be the best housing solution and
would allow them to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social housing. Indeed
not so long ago we were able to help the majority of single people and families by offering them a
council home. However, unfortunately there is no longer enough council homes available to help
everyone and many people who become homeless will not obtain an offer of a Council home and
those that do are unfortunately, due to the need to resolve their homelessness, likely to have less
choice about where this may be compared to people who are on the register who are not homeless.
The factsheet explains everything you need to know.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put you
off asking them to leave. We think it is important to tell you the facts about their prospects of
obtaining a Council or Housing Association Offer so you are able to make your final decision on
whether you want them to leave fully aware of the facts about the likely long term housing outcome
for them.
What you need to do if you do decide that you want them to leave home.
The need to give them some notice to leave your home
We know that you are seriously considering wanting them to leave and you can see that we want to
do everything to help. If our help doesn’t work or you still want them to leave despite the help we
can give you need to give them a little bit of notice to leave. They occupy your home because of
something in common law called permission, or sometimes called in housing law a ‘bare licence’ to
live at home. Although, the permission that you have given them to live with you doesn’t have to be
in writing and you don’t have to give them something called a written notice to leave you should in
common law still give them a period of reasonable notice to leave your home so they can seek help
and make other arrangements.
I have looked at the facts so I am able to recommend to you what the period of reasonable notice
should sensibly be. I have considered the information we have about the reason you have asked
them to leave and I have considered any other circumstances and pressures at home, as well as the
length of time they have lived you. I have also considered whether there are issues of safety for both
of you that might mean they cannot return home for the reasonable notice period.
Having considered all of these things I think that a reasonable period of notice should be 28 days
from today’s date (reduce this period if the circumstances indicate a shorter notice period is
appropriate). I am happy to talk to you as to why a period of reasonable notice is requested and
discuss it with you if you think it should be for a shorter period of time.
We have made an appointment to see you.
Can I confirm that we have made an appointment to come and see you and your [son/daughter] on
[date/time – amend if you are seeking an appointment, or where you are requesting that the
parent comes into the office to see you].
32
Please have our assurance that we are going to do everything we can to help.
If you need to discuss further the appointment time; the need for reasonable notice or how we are
going to try and help do not hesitate to contact me by telephone.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
33
Resource 4: Commitment of the council to resolve the problems at home
What is the resource?
A short commitment statement setting out the commitment of the Council to help the parent/relative
and person facing exclusion
When to use this resource?
Where on the day of contact from the person claiming to be excluded a conversation with the
parent/relative indicates that they feel there is no one there to help them or that the Council will not
genuinely help. The aim of the agreement is to give a parent/relative confidence of the Housing
Options Service Commitment to help. It does not set out the solution on offer but is an early
intervention tool setting out the general ways that help can be provided.
COMMITMENT OF THE COUNCIL TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS AT HOME
The Council’s Housing Options Service (insert name of the Council) agrees to provide all the help
we can to try and resolve any problems at home.
The Council can provide the following help. These are examples and the Council will do whatever it
can to help resolve problems at home. We can:
1) Help sort the problems out at home and help you to all to agree and write down the
solution in a “Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” between you and your
son/daughter, or if you would prefer, we can help put together a written license where you
give them permission to carry on occupying your home only for their agreement to abide by
your reasonable rules.
2) Provide mediation. We can arrange for mediation help or family conflict resolution help to
help you sort out the problems at home and reach a solution that can be sustained.
3) Provide a support worker. If we all agree that you may need some extra support to help
sort out the things out and make sure things can be sustained we can arrange for support
4) Help you to resolve any financial problems
If the reason that you may want the person to leave is a financial reason we can work with
you to try and find a solution to your financial problem.
5) Help to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or friends. If everyone
agrees that the long-term solution would be for the person to move out we can support their
move to accommodation with extended family or friends and may be able to offer some
financial help to find somewhere to rent.
6) Help to get your son or daughter engaged with Education, Employment and Training
(EET). We know that a common problem the leads to tensions at home is having someone
living there who is not engaging with education or training or looking for a job. If they are at
home all day it is inevitable that there are tensions. We can help get them engaged with
Education, Employment and Training.
This is our written commitment to you.
34
SIGNED _______________________________________ Housing Options Officer
DATE ________________________
35
Resource 5: Our formal offer to resolve the problems at home
What is the resource?
This is a template letter to a parent or relative setting out the formal offer to resolve the problem at
home once you have obtained the facts on what that problem is.
When to use this resource?

Use once you have gathered all of the facts from the parent and applicant. This may be
following a home visit or following a detailed conversation with the parent or relative.

The aim of the letter is to provide the parent/relative with confidence as to the solution
proposed. This is why it is titled ‘Our formal offer to resolve the problems at home’.

There is also an alternative resource (next one in the resource section) which is a formal
agreement from the Council setting out the details of the offer to resolve the problem at
home. However, this more personalised offer letter is the better resource to use

Don’t forget to attach the documents referred to in the letter which are 1) a draft “Promised
Behaviour in the future agreement” and 2) a factsheet on social housing prospects if made
homeless or if they remain at home and don’t forget to personalise the offer letter with the
names of the parent and applicant.
Our formal offer to resolve the problems at home
Dear [name of parent/s]
Can I thank you for your co-operation whilst we have looked into [enter the first name of son or
daughter here] application for help.
We understand how tough things must be at home for you to have reached the point where you
would ask them to leave. You, like many parents we speak to, may have reached the point where
you feel you are having to try and cope with the problems on your own with no-one to there to help
sort things out. It is not surprising that many parents left to cope on their own reach the end of their
patience and think the only option is to ask their son or daughter to leave home. You are not on your
own and we are determined to help.
This letter sets out our formal offer to help resolve the problem. We are able to provide real and
practical support to help resolve the problem you are having now and can offer long term help to
make sure they don’t happen again. Let me tell you about our formal offer:
We understand that you have become angry and frustrated that first name of son or daughter
doesn’t always follow the rules you expect for living in your home.
Formal offer of help 1: We are prepared to meet all of you at home and help you to put together an
agreement called “A Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” so they are clear and commit
to the behaviour that you expect from them. We can also as an alternative, or additionally set up a
“Written Licence agreement” which is a legal document in housing law whereby you will only give
them permission to carry on living in your home if they abide by the rules (we call them terms) set
out in the licence agreement.
36
I have drafted a “Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” suggesting some of the things
you might want to consider putting in it based on what I know to be the problems at home.
We have also warned them that if they were to be made homeless the Council would have a legal
duty to consider whether this was caused by their deliberate behaviour and if so the Housing
Service would only be an accommodation duty for a few days.
Where things are particularly bad at home we could consider offering some short stay
accommodation to allow time for “cooling off” whilst we work with you both to resolve the problem
and look to provide other support.
Formal offer of help 2: Our offer of some longer-term help and support
You might feel that getting them to sign a “Promised Behaviour in the future agreement” or a
“Licence agreement” would not be enough to sustain the situation at home. We understand and
can also offer help and support for a while through our put in exactly what service will provide this
e.g. a mediation service or family conflict service, or floating support service. I can arrange for an
assessment so longer term help can be provided.
Formal offer of help 3: Helping them to start to plan for moving out into accommodation with
extended family or friends or to look for somewhere to rent privately.
We would understand if you decided to keep them for a while but that it was time that they looked to
move out. We can help here by supporting them to move to safe alternative accommodation with
extended family or friends, or to look to rent somewhere. We may be able to offer some financial
help to support a move including help to find somewhere to rent. What we have done is to issue
them with a ‘How to find accommodation pack’ containing practical ideas and what the Council can
do to help. I can send or email a copy of that pack if it would be helpful and you could sit down with
them and go through it.
For the Housing Options Officer to note: Only include the next paragraph if there are financial
problems at home that you think are contributing to the threat of homelessness
Formal offer of help 4: Helping to resolve financial problems in the family that are
contributing to these tensions.
You have talked about there being financial pressures at home contributing to the problem of trying
to keep them at home. There are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce or resolve
these financial problems. We may be willing to make a small payment to:

Help with debts if it is these that are creating the problems at home

Pay for a one-off item.

To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to look for other
accommodation to move onto.

Arrange debt and money management help for you to reduce financial pressures
One final thing we think is important for you to consider are the facts about what their chances might
be of getting an offer of Council housing if they were to be made homeless compared to if you were
to decide to let them carry on living with you for now. (Where we use the term Council housing in
this factsheet this includes an offer of a Housing Association home).
37
I have attached the factsheet explaining their chances of obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing
Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain living with you for
now.
I’m really sorry. I know how much your [son/daughter] would like to receive a quick offer of a
Council home in an area of the Borough they would ideally like to live in. I’m sure that you want the
same thing for them too. We also agree that this would ideally be the best housing solution and
would allow them to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social housing. Indeed
not so long ago we were able to help the majority of single people and families by offering them a
council home. However, unfortunately there is no longer enough council homes available to help
everyone and many people wanting help are unable to obtain an offer of a Council home.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put you
off asking them to leave. We think it is important to tell you the facts about their prospects of
obtaining a Council or Housing Association Offer so you are able to make your final decision on
whether you want them to leave fully aware of the facts about the likely long term housing outcome
for them.
We know that despite all the things we can do to help you are going to need a bit of time to think
about our offer to resolve the problems at home. At least you have the facts about what can be done
to help and what is likely to happen if they were to become homeless. We hope this will help you
when you make your final decision. If you need to discuss this offer, or if there is anything in this
offer letter that is unclear, or indeed if there is anything else you would like us to consider offering,
don’t hesitate to contact me. It is always better where you can to email me as if you ring up I may be
on duty and unable to immediately take your call. You can email me on xx@xx
I will be in touch within a week if I have not heard from you by then.
Best wishes
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
For the options officer to remember
1) Make sure you attach a draft ‘Promised Behaviour in the future agreement’ with the
suggested behaviour actions set out for the facts as you know them
2) Include a copy of the Factsheet explaining their chances of obtaining an offer of a Council or
Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain
living with you for now
3) Make sure that the letter is personal to the family by including the first name of the person
facing exclusion and of course the full name of the parent/relative
4) If it is a relative exclusion and not a parent exclusion change the wording slightly to reflect
this.
38
Resource 6: Agreement setting out the promise of help from the Council to resolve the
problems at home
What is the resource?
An agreement from the Council setting out the details of the offer to resolve the problem at home
When to use this resource?

This should be used when you have obtained the details for the problem at home and want
to make a specific offer of help to resolve the problem.

Alternatively, you can use an ‘offer of help to resolve the problem’ letter (templates in this
section) which is more personal or you could attach the commitment agreement to that letter.

Some parents/relatives may be more receptive to what they see as a formal agreement and
some more receptive to a more personalised letter. It is for the officer to judge what the best
offer to resolve approach is for their case.
AGREEMENT SETTING OUT THE PROMISE OF HELP FROM THE COUNCIL TO RESOLVE
THE PROBLEMS AT HOME
The Council’s Housing Options Service (insert name of the Council) agrees to provide the
following help to resolve the problems at home. We will (there may be several actions you need to
list – examples below):
1) We understand what the problems are at home and we will help sort them out. We will
help you all to work through and agree what behaviour is needed from your son and
daughter in the future and will help you to write down the solution in a “Promised
Behaviour in the future agreement” between you and your [son/daughter]. If you would
prefer we can help put together a written license where you give them permission to carry
on occupying your home only for their agreement to abide by your reasonable rules.
2) Provide mediation. We will arrange for mediation help or family conflict resolution help to
help you sort out the problems at home and reach a solution that can be sustained.
Delete amend the following as required:

A referral has been made to details

An appointment has been made with details

[xxxxx name of agency] will contact you within [xxxx period]
3) Provide a support worker. We agree that you may need some extra support to help sort
out the things out and make sure things can be sustained.
Delete amend the following as required:

A referral has been made to details

An appointment has been made with details

[xxxxx name of agency] will contact you within [xxxx period]
39
4) Help you to resolve any financial problems
If the reason that you may want the person to leave is a financial reason we can work with
you to try and find a solution to your financial problem. Put in details such as referral to
money/debt advice or offer of a payment from prevention fund or help with an
application for DHP.
5) Help to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or friends. We agree
that the long-term solution would be for the person to move out we can support their move to
accommodation with extended family or friends and will offer practical and financial help to
help them find somewhere to rent.
6) Help to get your son or daughter engaged with Education, Employment and Training
(EET). We can see that tensions at home are partly as a result of your [son/daughter] not
engaging with education or training or looking for a job. We will provide help to get them
engaged with Education, Employment and Training add details of how this will be done
This is our written commitment to you
SIGNED _______________________________________ Housing Options Officer
DATE ________________________
40
Resource 7: Factsheet for parent/s/relative about a person’s chances of obtaining an offer of
a Council or Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to
remain living with you for now
What is the resource?
A factsheet for parent’s or relatives wishing to exclude on the chances of their son or daughter
obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if
they were to remain living with you for now
When to use this resource?

This is an important resource. A copy will already be in the self-help pack but it should be
sent/emailed as early as possible when a parent/relative exclusion case contacts the Options
Service. Where the person seeking to exclude has the full facts this may result in the offer to
resolve problems at home being better received

There are some parental/relative exclusion cases where the person seeking to exclude
believes this:
a) Is the only way to obtain an offer of Council housing, or
b) Believes this will entitle the person excluded to the highest priority to receive an offer of
Council housing in anywhere area they wish to live
Facts about your son or daughter or family member’s chances of obtaining an offer of a
Council or Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to
remain living with you for now
Your [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] approached us today seeking
help because they claim you want them to leave home. We understand that there may be problems
at home and we want to do everything we can to help resolve them. We will be in touch to explore
ways we can help.
However, before you decide whether to exclude your son or daughter we would like you to consider
the facts about what their chances might be of getting an offer of Council housing if they were to be
made homeless compared to if you were to decide to let them carry on living with you for now.
(Where we use the term Council housing in this factsheet this includes an offer of a Housing
Association home)
I’m really sorry I know how much your [son/daughter] would like to receive a quick offer of a
Council home in an area of the Borough they would ideally like to live in. I’m sure that you want the
same thing for them too. We also agree that this would ideally be the best housing solution and
would allow them to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social housing.
Indeed, not so long ago we were able to help the majority of single people and families by offering
them a council home. However, unfortunately there are no longer enough council homes available
to help everyone and many people wanting help are unable to obtain an offer of a Council home.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put you
off asking your family member to leave. We think it is important to tell you the facts about their
prospects of obtaining a Council or Housing Association Offer so you are able to make your final
decision on whether you want them to leave fully aware of the facts about the likely long term
housing outcome for them.
41
If despite all our best efforts to help sort things out at home you still want them to leave we would
prefer to work with you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as
this is rarely the best outcome and as their parent, I know you will still want the best for them. We
can discuss this if our offer to solve problems at home is unsuccessful.
What are your son or daughter’s chances of getting an offer of a Council home if they were
to become homeless?
Facts
Fact 1: It is important to let you know that the Council does not have a duty to find everyone
accommodation. Where a person is not in something called priority need or where we think the
person’s homelessness has resulted from something they may have deliberately did there is no duty
to give them accommodation even temporary accommodation. We won’t know what duty, if any, we
owe your son or daughter until we have fully assessed their case.
Fact 2: If you make your son or daughter homeless and if they pass all the tests so that we owe
them a duty to give them accommodation this will very likely be a temporary home where they would
need to live until they had enough priority on the housing register to be offered a Council home.
Fact 3: If they were to be granted priority homeless status it is possible that we would not be able to
give them a Council home or let you wait in temporary accommodation for a Council home. Because
of the shortage of Council homes if a person is homeless and owed an accommodation duty the
Council will be forced to meet and end that duty for many households by offering private rented
accommodation.
Fact 4: If they are eventually made an offer of a Council home we will not be able to give them a lot
of choice over where this might be. Unless there are exceptional reasons why they have to remain
in an area of the Borough any Council home offered will be anywhere in the Borough where there is
vacant accommodation that we are satisfied is suitable. They would receive just one offer of
accommodation.
Fact 5: If they only want to be offered a Council property there is an increased risk that this would
not happen if they were to be made homeless. If they did pass all of the tests so we owed them an
accommodation duty it is increasingly more common that we will have to meet and end that duty
with an offer of a private rented property. Again, we may not be able to give them a lot of choice
over where that private rented offer would be in the Borough. They would receive just one offer
Fact 6: If they were accepted as priority homeless we would initially look for a temporary home
anywhere in the Borough that was suitable and they would be required to take the offer otherwise
their homeless priority would be removed and the Council would no longer be under any duty to
provide temporary accommodation
Fact 7: If they only want the most popular estates of areas in the Borough being made homeless will
not help. Very few people on the register who want the most popular areas are able to receive an
offer because there are just too many households with high priority chasing the small number of
vacancies that come up. If they only want to live in a very popular area they would be better to
remain at home if they can and we can help them look for privately rented accommodation in the
areas where they want to live, as long as it is affordable for them.
42
What are their chances of getting an offer of a Council home if they were to remain living at
home with you?
Now let me tell you the facts about the help they might be able to receive if they are not made
homeless.
Fact 1: We would still look into the problems at home and if we were satisfied that they were
genuine and that meant your son or daughter had a housing need we may be able to give them a
high level of priority on the Council’s Housing Register as long as they qualified for the List. We
would be able to assess this and let you know if they qualified and what Priority they might be
awarded before you made any final decision on whether you wanted them to leave
Fact 2: Depending on their housing need and circumstances in some cases where there is, for
example, severe overcrowding at home they may be granted a higher priority or the same priority on
the Housing Register as they would be granted if they were tan accepted priority homeless case
Fact 3: They would have more choice over the areas that they could put down as areas where they
want to live in the Borough compared to if they were to be made homeless and granted accepted
homeless priority
Fact 4: If they have a high enough housing priority to receive an offer they would be entitled to 2
offers of accommodation before any refusal would result in being removed from the Register for 12
months. If they were an accepted homeless case they would only receive 1 offer and that could be
anywhere in the Borough that we think would be suitable. If that offer was refused they would lose
their priority status and may be removed from the register as only applicants with a housing priority
are allowed to be registered.
Fact 5: If they were granted ‘accepted homeless priority’ they may be housed faster than if they
were not but would have less choice over where that property might be and may not receive an offer
if the Council is able to secure a 12-month tenancy in the private rented sector. We can’t give you
an estimate for how long different waiting times might be in this leaflet as it depends on the size of
household and where a person who has a high priority but is not homeless might wish to live.
However, we can discuss this with you and give you an estimate based on your son or daughter’s
circumstances.
We can also talk to you all about where in the Borough there might be a better chance of an offer of
social housing as some areas are less popular than others
What we would like you to do
Please think carefully about the facts and discuss this with the officer responsible for your son or
daughter’s case when we come to visit, or arrange to see or speak to you.
If they are not yet on the Council’s Housing Register we can advise them on how to register and
estimate what priority they might receive pending their application being fully assessed. Remember
a person does not need a homeless application to have their current housing problems recognised
as long as they have a housing need and meet the new qualification rules to be included on the
Housing List.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important information leaflet
43
Resource 8: “Licence agreement” between a Parent/s and an applicant confirming the terms
upon which the son or daughter will be given permission to continue to live at the Parent/s
address.
What is the resource?
A template “Licence Agreement” between the parent/relative and the person where there is a
threat of exclusion setting out the rules and behaviour that the person will be expected to follow in
order to be given permission to carry on living in the property
The “Licence agreement” is to give parents/relatives and the person threatened with exclusion
clarity on what is expected of that person in order to carry on living at home. Having the solution set
out in writing gives that solution more chance of being sustained and sets out what to do and where
to go for help if any of the promises are breached.
When to use this resource?

Use the resource when you have identified the problem through a home visit of conversation
with the parent.

You can use it when a solution has been verbally agreed and now needs to be put in writing.

You can also use it when you have identified the problem and want to suggest a solution to
the parent. By attaching to your solution offer a draft “Licence agreement” stating that
permission to continue to live at home will only be allowed if the person threatened with
exclusion agrees to the following it may help give the parent confidence to accept the offer of
help made

There is an alternative resource in this resource pack which is the “Promised Behaviour in
the future agreement”. Use whichever resource you feel would best give the excluder
confidence in allowing the person to carry on living at home.

You could also use an adapted version of this agreement where you have helped the person
threatened with homelessness to move in with relatives or friends. The “Licence
agreement” might be give more confidence in the arrangement to the relative or friend who
has agreed for the person to move in.
Licence agreement between a Parent/s/relative and an applicant confirming the terms upon
which the son or daughter will be given permission to continue to live at home.
Advice on completing this licence agreement: The parent/s/relative and the person threatened with
exclusion should both agree and complete the agreement. The terms of the licence and what will be
expected in the future should be clearly explained to the person and they should indicate they
understand it and agree to it. Print two copies and have both copies signed by both parties who
should have their own copy.
Advise that it may be sensible to sit down once a month a go through the licence terms to make
sure everything is being followed and there are no concerns that need to be discussed.
44
1) The property address is
(Address)____________________________________________________________
2) The name of the Parent/parents/relative that live in the property and have the right to decide who
else will live in that property:
(Name) ______________________________________________________________
3) The name of the son/daughter or person who has been granted permission (a Licence) to live at
the property.
(Name)_____________________________________________________________
4) This is a periodic excluded licence where permission has been given by the parent for the person
named in this agreement to live in their home. The parent/s/relative named in this agreement can
withdraw the permission (terminate the licence) at any time and will give the person named a period
of reasonable notice to leave.
5) Permission is given to occupy the accommodation subject to the following conditions. The person
named in this agreement should note that if these are not complied with the parent/s/relative reserve
the right to withdraw the person’s permission to live in the home thereby terminating this licence.
Advice for the parent/parents/relative completing this agreement - here is where you need to set
down in writing details of the actions or behaviour required of the person in order for permission to
be given to live, or to continue to live, in the home. The following is illustrative only and each
agreement should be specific to the behaviour expected.
The person named in this agreement agrees to the following:
a) There is no rent to be paid in return for that permission; or
b) There is a rent, or a contribution to running of the home, to be paid of £xx.00 per week to
cover the following items (list e.g. – room, food, contribution to utilities, washing).
c) To make any non-financial contribution to the running of the home by e.g. – helping with
household tasks (it is best to be as specific as you can)
d) To keep their room and the home clean
e) Not to smoke, drink or take drugs in the home
f)
Not to cause or permit any behaviour that is a nuisance to the persons named, other family
members living in the home or neighbours and not to engage in activities which are criminal.
g) Not to invite visitors to the home without permission
h) To cooperate with any support provided to the family by (list any support provided by the
council or another agency or charity if this has been set up).
45
The Parent/relative agrees to:
a) Discuss with the person named in this agreement any issues of concern and both parties
agree to try and resolve any problems that occur in a reasonable manner.
b) Add in anything else the parent has agreed to do – could be ways they want to support the
person or regular meetings to discuss things
6) How any breach of this “Licence agreement” will be dealt with:
Unless there is a very serious incident all parties agree to follow the procedure set out below:
a) Where the person/s who has granted this licence has a concern they will sit down and
discuss that concern Where there is no improvement they will issue a verbal warning
b) Where there is no improvement in behaviour or the incident is considered by person/s who
has granted this licence to be more serious a written warning will be given
c) At any time either party named in this agreement can ask to call a meeting to discuss any
problems or concerns.
d) Where the situation may lead to the person/s who has granted this licence asking the person
to leave either party may call on help from any agency who have agreed to support them or
can contact the Council Housing Options Team by telephone or e-mail (for the Council to
insert here the name and contact details of the case officer that dealt with the case or any
specialist officer), or contact any agency providing support to see what help can be given
e) Finally, if the situation cannot be resolved a written note will be given to the person named
giving reasonable notice that they must leave the property and by when.
Signature of the Person granting this Licence agreement
Date
Signature of the person they are giving permission to carry on living at home only if the rules set out
are kept
Date
46
Resource 9: Promised behavior in the future agreement
What is the resource?
This is a ‘Promised Behaviour in the future’ formal agreement that can be used where there is a
threat of exclusion. It sets out the rules and behaviour that the person will be expected to follow in
order to be given permission to carry on living at home.
The agreement is to give parents/relatives and the person threatened with exclusion clarity on what
is expected of that person in order to carry on living at home. Having the solution set out formally in
writing gives that solution more chance of being sustained and sets out what to do and where to go
for help if any of the promises are breached.
When to use this resource?

Use the resource when you have been able to identify the problem following a home visit of
conversation with the parent.

You can use it when a solution has been verbally agreed and now needs to be put in writing.

You can also use it when you are clear about the problem and want to suggest or offer a
solution to the parent/relative. By attaching to your solution offer a promised behaviour in the
future draft agreement setting out that permission to continue to live at home will only be
allowed if the person threatened with exclusion agrees to the following, it may help give the
parent/relative confidence to accept the offer of help made

There is an alternative resource in this resource pack that you can use instead. This is the
‘Licence Agreement’ which sets out the terms under which permission will be given for the
person to remain at home as a resolution to the problem. Use whichever resource you feel
would best give the excluder confidence in allowing the person to carry on living at home
PROMISED BEHAVIOUR IN THE FUTURE AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made on the [date]
BETWEEN [name and address of Parent/Parents/relative] AND [name of individual]
The [name of individual] AGREES the following in respect of their future conduct
Housing Options Officer to note: set out below are examples. Add, amend as appropriate to the
situation of your case
1) I will make a non financial contribution to the running of the home by e.g. – helping with
household tasks (it is best to be as specific as you can)
2) I will keep my room and the home clean
3) I will not smoke, drink or take drugs in the home
4) I will not cause or permit any behaviour that is a nuisance to the parent/s/relative or
neighbours and not to engage in activities which are criminal.
5) I will not act in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to
anyone living in the same home as me.
47
6) I will not bring visitors to the home without permission
7) I will cooperate with any support provided to myself and my family (list any support provided
by the council or another agency or charity if this has been set up).
8) I will not take part in any antisocial behaviour on the estate that I live or in any other named
area.
(Add point 9 below if rent is required to be paid)
9) I will pay rent or a weekly contribution to the running of the home of £xx.00 per week.
Add more detail if required This will cover the following items (list e.g. – room, food, contribution to utilities, washing).
This will be paid every put in the day of the week it is to be paid
Breach
If [name of individual] does anything which he/she has agreed not to do under this contract the
following actions will occur:
Unless there is a very serious incident all parties agree to follow the procedure set out below:
a) Where the person/s who has granted permission for the person to carry on living at home if
they sign this agreement has a concern they will sit down and discuss that concern Where
there is no improvement they will issue a verbal warning
b) Where there is no improvement in behaviour or the incident is considered by the person/s to
be more serious a written warning will be given
c) At any time either party named in this agreement can ask to call a meeting to discuss any
problems or concerns.
d) Where the situation may lead to the person/s who has been granted permission to carry on
living at home being asked to leave either party may call on help from any agency who have
agreed to support them or can contact the Council Housing Options Team by telephone or email (for the Council to insert here the name and contact details of the case officer that dealt
with the case or any specialist officer), or contact any agency providing support to see what
help can be given
e) Finally if the situation cannot be resolved a written note will be given to the person named
giving reasonable notice that they must leave the property and by when.
DECLARATION
I confirm that I understand the meaning of this agreement and that the consequences of breach of
the contract have been explained to me.
SIGNED ________________________________________
[signature of individual]
DATE..................
SIGNED ________________________________________Parent
[signature of parent/s/relative]
DATE..................
48
WITNESSED
SIGNED ________________________________________ Officer
[name of Council housing Options Officer or support worker/agency]
DATE..................
49
Resource 10: Letter to the parent/s/relative about your section 184 decision to their
son/daughter that they are not homeless.
What is the Resource?
It is a letter to a parent/relative to set out in a non-confrontational way where on the facts you don’t
believe their son/daughter to be homeless or threatened with homelessness but that you want to
continue to offer help to resolve any problems at home
When should the Resource be used?

You should use it where on the facts you have gathered through your conversations with the
parent/relative and applicant that you are satisfied that there is not an intention to carry
through the threat of exclusion. The letter still recognises that on the day they came to see
you they were so angry and frustrated that they may have wanted them to leave home but
the facts obtained indicate that where things have calmed down there is no intention to
exclude.

You should still proceed with your prevention help and issue an offer to resolve things at
home letter so that tensions do not result in things getting to the stage where they are likely
to be made homeless

Remember this is an information letter to the parent. The applicant needs to receive a
section 184 ‘not homeless’ notification. There is a template for these circumstances in the
2016 section 184 template letters pack.
Some information for you about our decision on the application for help from full name of the
applicant because they may have been threatened with homelessness and how we want to
continue to try and help you all resolve problems at home.
Dear [name of parent/s]
You [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] approached us for help because
there was a risk that they might have to leave home. They gave us permission when they
approached us to contact you about their case.
In any family that live together there will be tensions and rows. We understand how tough things
must be at home for you to have reached the point where, on the day they came to see us, you
were so angry and frustrated that you said that you wanted them to leave home.
We wrote to you to say that we wanted to do everything we can to help. The first thing we did was to
take ‘an application for help’ because they may be at risk of becoming homeless. We then had to
carry out a legal assessment of whether they will become homeless and why and if anything can be
done to sort things out at home. These are questions that the housing laws require us to answer.
I have spoken to you at length and fully understand your frustrations and your wish that first name of
applicant had their own place. I fully understand that your frustrations but from the conversation we
have had I don’t think you want to carry out your original threat to make them homeless.
Please be assured that this doesn’t mean we didn’t believe that this might have been the case when
they came to see us, nor are we dismissing the problems at home.
50
We want to do all we can to provide practical help to all of you because we know that if we don’t
offer to help thing might well get to the stage where you carry out your threat to exclude them.
We don’t want things to reach the stage where they are made homeless. We can help here by
helping you all to sort things out at home and provide any help we can for them to explore the option
of looking for accommodation to rent or with family or friends. We may be able to offer some
financial help to support a move including help to find somewhere to rent.
I have written to you separately with our formal offer of help to resolve things at home. What we also
done is to issue a ‘How to find accommodation pack’ containing practical ideas and what the Council
can do to help. I can send or email a copy of that pack if it would be helpful and you could sit down
with them and go through it.
I have let first name of applicant know of my decision and he/she is able to ask for a review of it.
If you need to discuss my letter or our offer of help to make things easier for all of you at home do
not hesitate to contact me by telephone or email. Alternatively, if you would like to move forward
with the actions set out in our offer of help letter let me know as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
51
Resource 11: Personal Housing Plan to be issued to all applicants who are threatened with
homelessness from a parental or relative home
What is the Resource?
It is a personal housing plan that can be used an applicant who is threatened with homelessness
from a parental or relative home. It is based on the principle of the Welsh prevention model and the
Bob Blackman Private members Bill draft new duty requirements for England
When to use the Resource

Issue a Personal Housing Plan ideally at the end of the Housing Options Interview when you
have been able to identify what the problems are so it is clear what actions the Council will
seek to take and what actions are expected from the applicant

The Plan refers to 1) The ‘Help Pack’ for the applicant and their parent/s to use so make
sure the Help Pack has been issued and 2) Refers to the ‘How to find accommodation pack’
so make sure the correct how to find accommodation pack has been issued. There is a pack
for single people and a pack for family households
This is your Personal Housing Plan explaining the things that you and the Council need to do
to help you from becoming homeless
Your Housing problem – There are problems at home that mean there is a risk you could be
made homeless.
Actions
we have
taken
The Council have taken the following actions or will take them to try and
help you to from becoming homeless
1
We will do everything we can to help sort things out at home. This will involve us
contacting your parent/s to try and find out what solution they may be willing to
accept.
2
We will help sort the problems out at home and help you to all to agree and write
down the solution in a “Promised Behaviour in the Future agreement” between
you and your parent, or if they would prefer, we can help put together a written
licence agreement where they agree to give you permission to carry on occupying
their home in return for following their reasonable rules.
3
We can arrange for mediation help or arrange for a support worker to help sort out
the problems at home and reach a solution that can be kept to.
4
If the reason that they may want you to leave is a financial problem at home we
can try and find a solution to their financial problem.
52
5
We will formally write to your parent with an offer to try and reach an agreement
once we are clear on what the problem is at home.
6
We have issued you and your parent a ‘Help Pack’ containing a series of actions
we think you should take as soon as possible to try and resolve the problem
yourself so you are able to demonstrate to your parent your commitment to try
and find a way of making things work better at home.
7
If, despite our help, these problems cannot be sorted out we will work with you all
to try to help you plan a move into accommodation with extended family or
friends.
If everyone agrees that the long-term solution would be for you to move out we
can support any move to accommodation with extended family or friends and may
be able to offer some financial help to find somewhere to rent.
8
We have issued you with your “How to find accommodation help pack” in case
the actions we take together to resolve the problem don’t work
9
If you have passed the legal tests that require the Council to take a homeless
application we will process and assess that application. We will have told you
verbally if we have taken a homeless application and what will happen next. Any
application will have to look at the reasons why your Parent/s want you to leave
10
We have advised you how to apply to the Council’s Housing Register or if you are
already registered we have advised you about your prospects and likely waiting
time for social housing.
We have also advised you of any areas you should put down or bid for where
there is a better chance of obtaining an offer of housing
11
Add in any other actions:
53
THE ACTIONS WE NEED YOU TO TAKE NOW
Remember to record how you have carried out each action in the spaces below where
it asks you to do so. This is so you will have a record for yourself and to show the
Council or any other agencies helping you.
Also tick to record you have completed each action.
Action 1 - You need to take immediate steps to change anything that is
upsetting your parent/s at home and reassure them that there will be no
further problems. These are the things you need to do immediately.
Tick
For the Housing Options Officer - Where the facts about anything that the person
is allegedly doing at home are known you need to bullet point below exactly what
the person needs to do to resolve it or stop that behavior.
For example set out what they need to do to sort out minor misbehavior, or
persistent small problems, or complaints from the family or neighbours.
Action 2: Carefully read the ‘Help Pack’ we have given you or emailed you so
you and your parent/s know exactly what actions we want you all to take
Tick
The first thing to do is to carefully read this Help Pack so you fully understand how
you can use it to help you and what we want you to do next.
Action 3: Go home and show your parent/s the following important
documents in your Help Pack.
1.
Show them the letter at the start of the pack that acknowledges that you are
‘threatened with homelessness’ and setting out the Council’s commitment to
help resolve the problem.
The letter sets out the type of help available to resolve the problem and what
will happen next such as the details of any appointment to see or speak to
them.
2.
Shown them the factsheet on your prospects of obtaining an offer of a Council
or Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if you
were able to remain living at home for now.
3.
Show them the example “Licence agreement” that can be arranged between
you and your parent/s setting out the rules and behaviour that you will be
expected to follow in order to be given permission to carry on living at home.
4.
Show them the example “Promised Behaviour in the Future agreement”. It
sets out examples of the rules and behaviour that you may be asked to agree
and be expected to follow in order to be given permission to carry on living at
home.
54
Tick
Action 4: Sit down a soon as possible with your parent/s to talk through the
problems at home and what they want you to change
Tick
You should try to sit down and speak to your parent’s within 24 hours of receiving
your Help Pack to ‘test the water’ on whether they will be willing to carry on living at
home and under what conditions. Follow all of the actions set out in your pack for
you to all to take and record what happened.
Action 5: When we have made contact with your parent/s and have worked
out a plan to solve the problems at home you will be expected to agree to the
reasonable actions for you to take in that plan. For example:
Tick
If we are able to persuade your parent/s to let you stay you are likely to have to
agree to change your behavior or what you do to contribute to helping around the
home.
We may expect you to agree to cooperate with any support we can arrange to help
sustain things at home.
Action 6: Taking the actions set out in the “How to find accommodation pack”
we have given you or emailed you
Tick
We have given or emailed you a pack to help you to find accommodation to rent.
Go through this pack carefully as again we will want to see what you have done
when we see you. The pack has a lot of practical suggestions and actions for you
to take to try and find somewhere else to live. We expect you to carefully go
through this pack and take the actions set out.
Action 7: Apply to go on the Council’s Housing Register to be considered
for Council housing if you haven’t already done so.
Tick
If you are not already on the Housing Register you need to complete a form to
apply to go on it and you need to be realistic about the areas where you have the
best chance of being housed
To be on the Housing Register and able to use the [name of choice scheme if
CBL you need to register].
You can get a copy of the housing application form by [details here]
You can register on-line by following this link:
[www.xxxxxx. – enter details here]
If you need assistance in completing this form, please call/contact:
[name/email/telephone number - enter details here].
You can find out more information about how to register on the Council’s website at
[www/xxxxxx – enter details here]
Action 8: Choose realistic areas or amend your areas of choice to improve
your chances of being offered a social housing home
55
Tick
If you qualify for the register or are already on the register look at the factsheet in
the “How to find accommodation help pack” which sets out where in the area it
might be a little bit easier to be offered a Council or Housing Association home
and estimated waiting times depending on the size of accommodation you need.
You should amend your areas of choice to improve your chances of being offered
a social housing home. We can advise you of what these areas are if you haven’t
already been told or have forgotten.
56
Resource 12: Section 184 decision to the applicant that your decision is they are not homeless
or threatened with homelessness.
What is the Resource?
It is a section 184 decision letter set out in a non-confrontational way where on the facts you don’t
believe the applicant to be homeless or threatened with homelessness. The letter sets recognises
the tensions at home and still offers help to resolve any problems
When should the Resource be used?

You should use it where on the facts you have gathered through your conversations with the
parent/relative and applicant that you are satisfied that there is not an intention to carry
through the threat of exclusion. The letter still recognises that on the day the applicant came
to see you the parent/s were so angry and frustrated that they may have wanted the
applicant to leave home but on the facts you have obtained you are satisfied things have
calmed down sufficiently for you to make a decision that there is no current intention to
exclude.

You should still proceed with your prevention help and issue a formal ‘offer to resolve things
at home’ letter to the parent/s so that tensions do not result in things getting to the stage
where the applicant is likely to be made homeless. You should also make sure the applicant
has received their Personal Housing Plan and their ‘How to find accommodation’ pack

Remember to send the parent/s the notification letter resource 10 at the same time as you
issue the section 184 letter to the applicant.

Remember to change the term parent/s to family if the applicant lives with extended family
not parents
Dear
Our decision on your application for help because you may have been at risk of becoming
homeless. (This is a decision under the Housing Act 1996 Part 7: A Section 184 Decision)
You approached us for help because there was a risk that you might have to leave home.
The first thing we did was to take ‘an application for help’ because we decided that you might be at
risk of becoming homeless. We then had to carry out a legal assessment of whether you will
become homeless and why. We also offered to do everything we can to try and sort things out at
home.
We have finished our assessment and need to let you know that we don’t think you are homeless or
threatened with homelessness. Please be assured that this decision doesn’t mean we didn’t believe
that this might have been the case when you came to see us, nor are we dismissing the fact that
there are tensions at home mainly caused by everyone having to live together.
In any family that live together there will be tensions and rows. We understand how hard things must
be at home for your parent/s to have reached the point where, on the day you came to see us, they
were so angry or frustrated that they said they wanted you to leave.
I have spoken to your parent/s at length and fully understand the tensions at home and the
frustration that it is time you had your own place. I fully understand all these frustrations but from the
conversation I have had and the investigations I have made I don’t think your parent/s now wish to
carry out their original threat to make you homeless.
57
Regardless of this decision we want to carry on offering practical help to you and your family
because, we know that if we don’t the tensions at home might get to the point where you do need to
leave home. We can help in a number of ways to reduce the pressures at home and can also help
you explore the option of planning to move out when you are ready to do so. We can offer practical
help to look for accommodation to rent, or with other family or friends, and we may be able to offer
some financial help if you need to find somewhere to rent.
I am also sorry that the rest of this letter is written in a legal way. Unfortunately, as this is a legal
decision under the homeless legislation the Courts who consider homeless cases require me to
show that I have made my decision by applying the correct law and tests set by caselaw. This
means that the rest of this letter has to be written in a legal and technical way and this can make my
decision sound very formal. Please accept my apologies and do not hesitate to contact me if you are
not sure what the decision means or you need me to explain any part of it.
Confirming the decision
This is a decision under the Housing Act 1996 Part 7: A Section 184 Decision. It is to notify you that
the Council is satisfied that you are not homeless or threatened with homelessness within 28 days.
The reason for my decision is that I am satisfied that you have accommodation that you still have
permission to occupy, and is available to you and any other relevant persons, is affordable, and is
reasonable for you to carry on living at.
I made the following inquiries and took into account the information and facts I obtained to make my
decision.
Housing Officer should amend and add/delete from the list of enquiries below

The interview/s held with you in person or by phone on add dates the applicant was
interviewed or spoken to

Any information obtained when the Council visited your home – add date if a home visit took
place

Any issues that might mean it would not be reasonable for you to continue to live at home
including any medical information or reports – detail if relevant

Any letters/representations from applicant’s solicitor or voluntary sector organisation - detail

Information obtained from speaking or contacting your parent or family - dates
Housing Options Officer to note: Add in here any additional reasons for the decision based on the
assessment of the facts and evidence obtained. If the applicant has raised any issues to indicate
that their accommodation may not be reasonable to occupy or during your inquiries this has
emerged as an issue you should include specific reference to why you are satisfied it is reasonable
to occupy here below
I have written to your parent/s separately with our formal offer of help to resolve things at home and
have also provided you with a Personal Housing Plan and our ‘How to find accommodation pack’
containing practical ideas and setting out what the Council can do to help. I can send or email a
58
copy of that pack, if it would be helpful, to your parent/s and you could sit down with them and talk
through the options it suggests.
If you need to discuss my letter or our offer of help to make things easier for all of you at home do
not hesitate to contact me by email. It is always best to contact me by email as telephone calls can
sometimes be missed. If you and your parent/s would like to move forward with the actions set out in
our offer of help letter let me know as soon as possible.
I have made my decision having considered 8.9 to 8.12 of the Allocations and Homelessness Code
of Guidance 2006 as it provides me with statutory advice on how to assess cases where a person
has been asked to leave by their family. I am satisfied that the decision I have reached is not at
odds with the guidance.
I must let you know that you have the right to request a review of my decision. Any such request for
a review must be before the end of 21 days beginning from the date we notified you of this decision.
If you have any questions regarding this decision don’t hesitate to email me. You can also seek
independent legal advice.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
59
Section 4:
This section contains the ‘Self Help Pack’
to be issued to help the applicant and
their parent/extended family to start to
work towards a solution.
Note – Not to be issued if there is any accusation from the applicant of any threat of
violence or abuse at home.
60
[Name of Council]
Housing
Option Service
Problems at home? This is a pack to help you and the
Parent/s or Family you live with. It contains practical
ideas to help you all to try and work out a solution so
you don’t have to leave home.
Note: The Council will also provide all the help and support it can to help
you all try to find a solution. The pack contains actions for you all to start
to work on now whilst we work out what help we can give you.
Name of Housing Options Officer Issuing this pack
Contact E-Mail [email protected]
61
Sorting out the problems at home - this is your
‘Help Pack’ full of practical ideas to help you and
your parents solve problems that may mean they
want you to leave home
You have got in touch with the Council seeking help because you claim that your parent or parents
may want you to leave home.
The pack is also intended to be used for people who are at risk of being excluded from the home of a
family member so all reference in the ‘Help Pack’ to parents are also meant to apply to any extended
family situation.
We want to do everything we can to help and the next action we are going to take is:
(For the Council officer to fill in one of the following):
1. We have sent or emailed your parents a letter letting them know we have seen you and of our
commitment to help sort thing out.
2. We have issued this ‘Help Pack’ to try and help you and your parents sort things out at home
Housing Options Officer should choose the correct next contact with parents and applicant
option from the 4 below and delete/amend as required
1. We have made an appointment for you to come in on date and time
2. We have arranged to come and see you and your parent/s at your home on date and time
3. We are going to come and see you at home with your parent/s and will arrange the
appointment shortly
4. We do not yet need to arrange to come and see you and we want you first to work through the
help pack to see if you can all resolve the problems at home you have told us about.
Being asked to leave home and becoming homeless is a very big problem so the first thing we want to
tell you and your parents is that the Council will do everything we can to help sort out problems, or if
they cannot be sorted out, we want to work with everyone to plan the best way you can leave home
without being made homeless, as this is rarely going to be the best outcome for you and I’m sure your
parents will want the best for you.
In the time before we see you next we want you and your parents to take some time to sit down and
work through the problems at home and the possible solutions. We ask everyone to try and solve their
problems first as a family unless there has been violence or abuse at home or a threat of violence or
abuse.
We want to let everyone know that they are not on their own and that we will do everything we can to
help.
62
This is what we want you all to do next.
Go through the simple actions set out in this pack and record what you have done in the section 1
summary sheet of actions where it asks you to do so.
That way when we meet next we can see the things you are all thinking about to try and prevent you
from having to leave home.
Step 1 – When you go back show your parents this ‘Help Pack’ you have been given and show
them straight away the letter we have written to them – this letter is at the front of the ‘Help
Pack’ or has been attached to the front of the pack.
The letter tells them of the Council’s commitment to do everything we can to help solve the problems
at home and about the need for them to give you reasonable notice (meaning a few weeks) if they
want you to leave. Where we have an e-mail address for your parents we will have also e-mailed
them the same letter but they may not have yet opened the email so show them the copy in the pack.
Step 2 – Sit down together and talk so everyone is clear on what the problems are and then
talk through what can be done to find a way forward to resolve the problem. Use the actions
set out in section 2 of this pack to help you all.
We think it is important that when you get home you should all sit down and talk things through as
quickly as possible. This could be straight away when you get back home or, if parents are very busy
or still too angry or upset about the problem, it may be best to sort out a time later that day or week.
Please don’t leave it too long to sit down and talk things out.
If you would all prefer for someone from the Council to be present when you sit down and talk we can
arrange this. Just email me using the email address on the front cover of this ‘Help Pack’.
Some things we suggest you all think about and actions to consider
taking at the meeting to talk about the problems that have led to them
possibly wanting you to leave.
Action we suggest for your parents to take before the meeting - We think the meeting will have a
much better chance of helping if you write down all the things you are unhappy about before the
meeting. It is best to write them down even if you have spoken about them before. This is so the
things you all need to talk about at the meeting are absolutely clear and allows the meeting to focus
on these issues.
Action we suggest for the parents at the meeting - Begin the meeting by reading out the things
you are unhappy about and want to discuss. Everyone should agree at the start of the meeting that
everyone present will be able to say what they need to say without anyone else interrupting otherwise
people are just going to get upset and it may reduce the chances of finding a solution.
If you have not had time to write things down before the meeting don’t worry. Start the meeting by
explaining all the things you are unhappy about.
Advice for the person at risk of homelessness - Try to understand how the problem is having an
impact on your parents and possibly other members of your family who live with you. Listen to what
they are saying about their feelings and how unhappy or upset they are. Try and be grown up about
the things your parents are unhappy about and understand things from their point of view. Don’t be
angry yourself or abusive.
63
Some advice for everyone present – Try and listen to what the other person is saying and try not to
talk over them. Everyone should have a chance to speak but it is always best to say what you want
without shouting. Living together is difficult for any family and everyone has to compromise a bit and
at times will feel very unhappy or upset. It is important that you all begin to agree ground rules
together and to make decisions about some of the common problems like privacy and personal
space. Try to negotiate rather than argue. Be prepared to compromise and don’t be afraid to admit
you were wrong and say you’re sorry. Remember it is your parents home so try to listen to what they
have to say and try to see their point of view
Remember you may need more than one meeting and as we have said if you feel it would be better to
have someone from the Council along for the first or a second meeting just email us to let us know
and we will arrange it.
Once you have all talked through the problems you should move onto trying to agree clear actions to
resolve these. We have set out below a number of suggested actions for you all to consider taking.
Action – It will be best to agree a written commitment to change behaviour or sort things out
so parents can have confidence that their concerns have been addressed
In any family that live together there will be tensions and occasional rows. We don’t expect that just by
having a meeting and talking through problems and concerns everything will be perfect, but by being
clear about the problems and setting down in writing the actions and promises that have been agreed
together to try and sort these out there is a better chance of everyone being able to live together with
fewer problems.
So what we have done is set out in the pack the most common problems or concerns we see when
someone comes to see us saying their parents want them to leave and we have also set out the best
way to express promises to address these concerns. Work your way through the sheet in section 2. If
some of the suggested promised actions set out don’t apply to your particular circumstances at home
then just write in N/A (not apply) to show it doesn’t apply.
64
Help Pack Section 1:
Complete this Action Plan Checklist
The person threatened with being asked
to leave should record here what they
have done to carry out the action listed
for them to take
The Action we want you to take
Action 1: Read the help pack
The first thing to do is to carefully read this Help
Pack so you fully understand how you can use it
to help you and what we want you to do next
Action 2: Sitting down with the
parent/s/extended family that you live with.
1. You should go home and show your
parent/extended family that you live with the
letter for them at the front of this pack. The
letter explains what the Council has done
and will do to help.
2. You should arrange to sit down and discuss
things with your parent/family as soon as
you get home or within 24 hours of going
home to ‘test the water’ on the chances of
sorting the problem out
3. You should be clear that you want to sort
things out.
Action 3: Record the initial response from
your parent/extended family
Write down in the column opposite what
happened when you all sat down together and
what the possible solutions are you want the
council to help you all to explore further.
65
Action 4: Start to think about where else you
could possibly live or afford to rent in case
the actions don’t work.
We want you to take these actions regardless of
any steps being taken to help keep you at
home. A back up of trying to find somewhere
else to rent is needed in case these actions fail
How to work out where you can afford to
rent:
Given the small number of Council or Housing
Association homes available if you have to
leave your tenancy you will almost certainly
have to consider renting from a landlord in the
private rented sector.
Take these actions:
 Sit down and work out where you will be
able to afford to rent
 Fill out the form in this pack “How much rent
can I afford to pay” so you know exactly
where you can afford to look for
accommodation
 If you have relatives or close friends in the
area or any other towns it might be best to
look at the rents for these areas first. We
can offer a service to find somewhere to rent
in any part of the region or country we agree
is affordable for you to look.
Action 5: Start to take the actions set out in
the ‘How to find accommodation pack’ we
have given you or emailed you.
We have given or emailed you a pack to help
you to find accommodation to rent. Go through
this pack carefully as again we will want to see
what you have done when we see you.
66
Important letter to the parent or extended family
you live with
Dear [name of parent/s]
Your [son/daughter – delete as appropriate and add first name] has approached us seeking help
because they claim you want them to leave home.
We are so sorry to hear that the problems at home have become so difficult that you may want them
to leave home and we want to do everything we can to help. The first thing we have done is to take an
application for help because they are at risk of becoming homeless because of the problems at home.
Please let me reassure you that we are going to do everything we can to help sort out the problems
between you and, if despite our help, these problems cannot be sorted out we would look to work with
the both of you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as this is
rarely the best outcome and as their parent I know you will still want the best possible outcome for
them.
We understand how tough things must be at home for you to have reached the point where you are
asking your son/daughter to leave. You, like many parents we speak to, may have reached the point
where you feel you are having to try and cope with the problems on your own with no-one to there to
help sort things out. It is not surprising that many parents left to cope on their own reach the end of
their patience and think the only option is to ask their son/daughter to leave home. You are not on
your own and we can help. We are able to offer you real and practical support to help resolve the
problem you are having now and can offer long term help to make sure they don’t happen again. Let
me tell you the help we may be able to give you.
a) Practical help available from the Council – Sit down together and work through the help
pack we have given them and sent a copy to you where we have your email
We have given them a help pack for all of you to sit down and try and get things moving towards a
solution. There are a lot of ideas to try to get you all to work through some a way forward. Please be
assured that just because we have provided a help pack this doesn’t mean we won’t provide any
other help and support. It is just to get you all thinking about a possible solution.
b) Practical help available from the Council – Consider using the “Promised behaviour in the
future contract” or the “Licence to Live at Home Agreement”
If the problem at home is that they don’t always follow the rules you expect for living in your home we
can meet with you all at home and help you to put together an agreement called “A Promised
behaviour in the future agreement” so they are clear and commit to the behaviour that you expect
from them. We can also as an alternative, or additionally set up a “written licence agreement” which
is a legal document in housing law whereby you will only give them permission to carry on living in
your home if they abide by the rules. There are examples of both of these agreements in the help
pack.
We have also warned them that if they were to be made homeless the Council would have a legal
duty to consider whether this was caused by their deliberate behaviour and if so the Housing Service
would only be an accommodation duty for a few days.
67
c) Our offer of upfront mediation/support
If the problems are more complex and need longer term help we can make a referral to our local
mediation service or family conflict service and can arrange for your case to be dealt with urgently.
d) Our offer of a support worker
If we think you all may need some extra support to help you sort out the things that are leading to the
tensions at home I can make a referral for support and they can interview your son or daughter and
talk to you to assess what support can be given.
e) Helping to resolve financial problems in the family that are contributing to these tensions.
If there are financial problems at home you feel you can no longer afford to keep your son/daughter
there are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce or resolve these financial problems.
We may be willing to make a small payment to:
 Help with debts if it is these that are creating the problems at home
 Pay for a one off item.
 To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to look for other
accommodation to move onto.
 Arrange debt and money management help for you to reduce financial pressures
f) Help you all to plan a move into accommodation with extended family or friends or to plan to
find somewhere to rent.
We can look at supporting your son/daughter to move to safe alternative accommodation with
extended family or appropriate friends and may be able to offer some financial help to support a move
including help to find somewhere to rent.
One thing we think is important for you to consider are the facts about what their chances might be of
getting an offer of Council housing if they were to be made homeless compared to if you were to
decide to let them carry on living with you for now. (Where we use the term Council housing in this
factsheet this includes an offer of a Housing Association home).
I have attached the factsheet explaining their chances of obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing
Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain living with you for now.
There is also a copy of the factsheet in the ‘Help Pack’
I’m really sorry I know how much your son/daughter would like to receive a quick offer of a Council
home in an area of the District they would ideally like to live in. I’m sure that you want the same thing
for them too. We also agree that this would ideally be the best housing solution and would allow them
to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social housing. Indeed not so long ago we
were able to help the majority of single people and families by offering them a council home.
However, unfortunately there is no longer enough council homes available to help everyone and
many people who become homeless will not obtain an offer of a Council home and those that do are
unfortunately, due to the need to resolve their homelessness, likely to have less choice about where
this may be compared to people who are on the register who are not homeless.
The factsheet explains everything you need to know.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put you off
asking them to leave. We think it is important to tell you the facts about their prospects of obtaining a
Council or Housing Association Offer so you are able to make your final decision on whether you want
them to leave fully aware of the facts about the likely long term housing outcome for them.
68
What you need to do if you do decide that you want them to leave home.
The need to give them some notice to leave your home
We know that you are seriously considering wanting them to leave and you can see that we want to
do everything to help. If our help doesn’t work or you still want them to leave despite the help we can
give you need to give them a little bit of notice to leave. They occupy your home because of
something in common law called a “permission”, or sometimes called in housing law a “bare
licence” to live at home. Although, the permission that you have given them to live with you doesn’t
have to be in writing and you don’t have to give them something called a written notice to leave you
should in common law still give them a period of reasonable notice to leave your home so they can
seek help and make other arrangements.
I have looked at the facts so I am able to recommend to you what the period of reasonable notice
should sensibly be. I have considered the information we have about the reason you have asked
them to leave and I have considered any other circumstances and pressures at home, as well as the
length of time they have lived you. I have also considered whether there are issues of safety for both
of you that might mean they cannot return home for the reasonable notice period.
Having considered all of these things I think that a reasonable period of notice should be 28 days from
today’s date (reduce this period if the circumstances indicate a shorter notice period is appropriate). I
am happy to talk to you as to why a period of reasonable notice is requested and discuss it with you if
you think it should be for a shorter period of time.
We have made an appointment to see you
Can I confirm that we have made an appointment to come and see you and your [son/daughter] on
[date/time – amend if you are seeking an appointment, or where you are requesting that the
parent comes into the office to see you].
Please have our assurance that we are going to do everything we can to help.
If you need to discuss further the appointment time; the need for reasonable notice or how we are
going to try and help do not hesitate to contact me by telephone.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
Housing Options Officer
69
Help Pack Section 2:
Trying to find a solution: Actions for you
all to take
Trying to find a solution - Action 1:
The first action you all need to take to get to a written agreement that you
are all happy with.
Start by getting the parents and you to write down here what the problems are or concerns
that have led to them wanting you to leave home. Why don’t you both write them down so the
person at risk of being excluded is able to show the parent what they think the problems are?
This allows you both to compare your lists and makes sure nothing has been missed
The problems or concerns the parents have are: (Here are some of the common examples of
problems for people who come to the Council at risk of having to leave their parent/s home. Tick the
box and add any other reasons not covered below in the other section).
 Not paying anything towards the rent or household bills
 Not contributing to running of the home by e.g. – helping with household tasks
 Not keeping their room and the home clean and tidy
 Not following house rules not to smoke, drink, or take drugs in the home
 Causing rows in the family – give reasons for the rows
 Behaviour which is a nuisance to the parents or neighbours
 Inviting visitors to the home without the parents’ permission
 There was an unacceptable incident that led to them being asked to leave
 There are no rows – it’s just time they got their own place
 There are too many people in the home
 There are financial problems at home and this is the reason the parents feel they can no
longer afford to keep their son/daughter. (See offer of help from the Council to sort out
financial problems or debts below)
 Other reasons – be specific what these are and write them down here.
70
Trying to find a solution - Action 2:
Now discuss these problems set out in the list. If there is some agreement
on a way forward, write down what the person has promised to change or
do in the future.
(There are some examples written below of the types of things that most often cause tensions at
home and are written in a way so it is clear what the person has agreed to do or change in the future.
Be as specific as you can when you write down these new ‘promises’. There is likely to be more than
one commitment so make sure you write them all down.)
1. I will pay [£xxx.00] a week towards my keep.
2. I will make a non financial contribution to the running of the home by e.g. – helping with
household tasks (Be as specific as you can – will do the washing up after every meal.
3. I will keep my room and the home clean
4. I will not smoke, drink or take drugs in the home
5. I will not carry out any behaviour that is a nuisance to the parent/s or neighbours and will not
do anything that might be criminal.
6. I will treat my brothers or sisters with respect and not argue with them.
7. I will not bring my friends to the home without my parent/s permission
8. I will cooperate with any support if it is provided to me and my family
9. I will not cause or take part in any anti social behaviour in the area that we live or in any other
named area.
10. I will look to find somewhere else to live within the next 3 months, 6 months, 12 months (Be
specific and remember the Council may be able to help you with this)
Write down what the problems are. Use the examples above to help you
71
Trying to find a solution - Action 3:
When you have written down the commitments for what needs to change
to sort things out it is best now to put these into a formal agreement.
This is so everyone is totally clear about the actions or new behaviour required by the son or daughter
in the future. We suggest that you put these into either:
1) A “Promised Behaviour in the Future agreement”; or
2) A “Licence agreement” setting out the rules to be followed and the behaviour required in return
for which the parent/s will agree to the son or daughter continuing to live at home.
It doesn’t matter which one you use it is down to what you prefer. There are examples of both of these
agreements in this ‘Help Pack’. You don’t have to use them but they are really useful as they set
everything out so everyone is clear on the solution that has been agreed and what will happen if any
of the promises are broken
If you all think it would help to put the commitments to change in writing which agreement would you
like to use? We can help you to prepare a ‘Promised Behaviour in the Future Agreement’ or a
‘Licence Agreement’ depending on whether you want to use one of these agreements
72
Trying to find a solution - Action 4:
The offer of extra help and support:
You may have agreed a way forward and written it all down but if you think as a family you might need
a bit of support to make sure what has been agreed is kept to, then consider the following help that
might be available.
Below are examples of the support that we may be able to arrange for you and if you want to be
considered for some extra support again e-mail us using the contact e-mail on the front sheet of this
‘Help Pack’
So as a family sit discuss whether you think you might benefit from:
A. Some extra support
B. Some help with financial problems that are directly contributing to the risk of exclusion
A. Some extra support options
1. Mediation help - If you think you would benefit from someone to meet with you and help
mediate and support you all we may be able to help arrange this. Between you then mediation
might help.
For example, if you haven’t fully worked out a solution or are worried that there are still things
to resolve.
2. Some family support – we call this ‘floating support’ where someone can support a person
who has problems to avoid the risk of them becoming homeless.
Support could be to help tackle for example, drug or alcohol abuse or to support someone with
depression.
Just a bit of extra help and support may well make all the difference in solving problems.
3. Family Support Services - Where there are on-going and significant conflict in the family we
may be able to refer for more formal and structured family support.
They can work more intensively with the whole family and provide help and support for a
longer period.
If you do think as a family you might need a bit of support to make sure what has been agreed is kept
to then tick or record what support you would like below and email tell us that you would like to be
considered for some extra help and support:
We think we need some support to make sure what has been agreed is kept to. We would like to be
considered for:
a) Mediation Y/N
b) Some family support through floating support Y/N
c) A referral for Family Support Service Y/N
73
B) Offer of some extra help sorting out financial problems and debts
If there are financial problems at home and this is the reason parents feel they can no longer afford
to keep their son or daughter at home there are a number of actions that can be taken to help reduce
or resolve these financial problems. We may be willing to make a small payment to:
a) Help with a one off item or housing debts if we are convinced are creating the problems at
home.
b) To offer a deposit Bond or rent in advance to allow your son or daughter to look for other
accommodation to move onto.
c) Arrange debt and money management help to reduce financial pressures.
Again, if it is financial problems then email us using the contact e-mail on the front sheet of this Help
Pack and we can arrange to talk to you more about possible financial or debt help.
Write down here details of any financial problems:
74
Trying to find a solution - Action 5:
Looking to find somewhere else to live with a private landlord or with
extended family or friends.
Only use this solution section where everyone agrees that the solution is only likely to hold things for
a short period of time. This section helps you all to plan how the son or daughter can look for
something else to live without needing to be made homeless. We can look at supporting them to find
something to rent, or if there are extended family or friends willing to accommodate them.
We have a ‘How to Find Accommodation Pack’. This may well have been issued when they contacted
us and sit down together and go through the advice it gives on how to find somewhere else to live.
Do also read the factsheet explaining their chances of obtaining an offer of a Council or Housing
Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain living with you for now.
Given the small number of Council or Housing Association homes available your son or daughter will
almost certainly have to consider renting from a landlord in the private rented sector.
Given the small number of Council or Housing Association homes available if you have to leave your
tenancy you will almost certainly have to consider renting from a landlord in the private rented sector.
Take these actions:
1) Sit down and work out where you will be able to afford to rent
2) Fill out the form in this pack “How much rent can I afford to pay” so you know exactly where you
can afford to look for accommodation
3) If you have relatives or close friends in the area or any other towns it might be best to look at the
rents for these areas first. We can offer a service to find somewhere to rent in any part of the
region or country we agree is affordable for you to look.
4) Start to take the actions set out in the ‘How to find accommodation pack’ we have given you or
emailed you. Go through this pack carefully and we can discuss what realistic options you would
prefer when we see you.
If you don’t have a ‘How to find accommodation pack’ email us or contact us to let us know and we
will send you a pack straight away
75
Help sheet 1
Factsheet to tell you about your son or daughter or family members’ chances of obtaining an offer of a
Council or Housing Association property if they were homeless compared to if they were to remain
living with you for now.
Before you decide whether to exclude your son or daughter we would like you to consider the facts
about what their chances might be of getting an offer of Council housing if they were to be made
homeless compared to if you were to decide to let them carry on living with you for now. (Where we
use the term Council housing in this factsheet this includes an offer of a Housing Association home)
I’m really sorry I know how much you would all like them to receive a quick offer of a Council home in
an area they would ideally like to live in. We also agree that this would ideally be the best housing
solution and would allow them to settle and plan their future from the security of long-term social
housing. Indeed, not so long ago we were able to help the majority of single people and families by
offering them a council home. However, unfortunately there are no longer enough council homes
available to help everyone and many people wanting help are unable to obtain an offer of a Council
home.
Please understand that we are not telling you these difficult facts because we are trying to put you off
asking your family member to leave. We think it is important to tell you the facts about their prospects
of obtaining a Council or Housing Association Offer so you are able to make your final decision on
whether you want them to leave fully aware of the facts about the likely long term housing outcome for
them.
If despite all our best efforts to help sort things out at home you still want them to leave we would
prefer to work with you to plan the best way they can leave home without being made homeless, as
this is rarely the best outcome and as their parent, I know you will still want the best for them. We can
discuss this if our offer to solve problems at home is unsuccessful.
What are your son or daughter’s chances of getting an offer of a Council home if they were to become
homeless?
Fact 1: It is important to let you know that the Council does not have a duty to find everyone
accommodation.
Where a person is not in something called priority need or where we think the person’s
homelessness has resulted from something they may have deliberately did there is no duty to
give them accommodation even temporary accommodation.
We won’t know if we owe your son or daughter any duty until we have fully assessed their
case.
Fact 2: If you make your son or daughter homeless and if they pass all the tests so that we
owe them a duty to give them accommodation this will very likely be a temporary home where
they would need to live until they had enough priority on the housing register to be offered a
Council home.
Fact 3: If they were to be granted priority homeless status it is possible that we would not be
able to give them a Council home or let you wait in temporary accommodation for a Council
home.
Because of the shortage of Council homes if a person is homeless and owed an
accommodation duty the Council will be forced to meet and end that duty for many households
by offering private rented accommodation.
Fact 4: If they are eventually made an offer of a Council home we will not be able to give them
a lot of choice over where this might be.
Unless there are exceptional reasons why they have to remain in an area of the District any
Council home offered will be anywhere in the District where there is vacant accommodation
that we are satisfied is suitable.
76
They would receive just one offer of accommodation.
Fact 5: If they only want to be offered a Council property there is an increased risk that this
would not happen if they were to be made homeless.
If they did pass all of the tests so we owed them an accommodation duty it is increasingly
more common that we will have to meet and end that duty with an offer of a private rented
property.
Again, we may not be able to give them a lot of choice over where that private rented offer
would be in the District.
They would receive just one offer
Fact 6: If they were accepted as priority homeless we would initially look for a temporary
home anywhere in the District that was suitable and they would be required to take the offer
otherwise their homeless priority would be removed and the Council would no longer be under
any duty to provide temporary accommodation
Fact 7: If they only want the most popular estates of areas in the District being made
homeless will not help. Very few people on the register who want the most popular areas are
able to receive an offer because there are just too many households with high priority chasing
the small number of vacancies that come up. If they only want to live in a very popular area
they would be better to remain at home if they can and we can help them look for privately
rented accommodation in the areas where they want to live, as long as it is affordable for
them.
What are their chances of getting an offer of a Council home if they were to remain living at home with
you?
Now let me tell you the facts about the help they might be able to receive if they are not made
homeless.
Fact 1: We would still look into the problems at home and if we were satisfied that they were
genuine and that meant your son or daughter had a housing need we may be able to give
them a high level of priority on the Council’s Housing Register as long as they qualified for the
List.
We would be able to assess this and let you know if they qualified and what Priority they might
be awarded before you made any final decision on whether you wanted them to leave
Fact 2: Depending on their housing need and circumstances in some cases where there is, for
example, severe overcrowding at home they may be granted a higher priority or the same
priority on the Housing Register as they would be granted if they were tan accepted priority
homeless case.
Fact 3: They would have more choice over the areas that they could put down as areas where
they want to live in the District compared to if they were to be made homeless and granted
accepted homeless priority
Fact 4: If they have a high enough housing priority to receive an offer they would be entitled to
2 offers of accommodation before any refusal would result in being removed from the Register
for 12 months.
If they were an accepted homeless case they would only receive 1 offer and that could be
anywhere in the District that we think would be suitable.
If that offer is refused they would lose their priority status and may be removed from the
register as only applicants with a housing priority are allowed to be registered.
Fact 5: If they were granted ‘accepted homeless priority’ they may be housed faster than if
they were not but would have less choice over where that property might be and may not
77
receive an offer if the Council is able to secure a 12-month tenancy in the private rented
sector.
We can’t give you an estimate for how long different waiting times might be in this leaflet as it
depends on the size of household and where a person who has a high priority but is not
homeless might wish to live.
However, we can discuss this with you and give you an estimate based on your son or
daughter’s circumstances.
We can also talk to you all about where in the District there might be a better chance of an
offer of social housing as some areas are less popular than others
What we would like you to do
Please think carefully about the facts and discuss this with the officer responsible for your son or
daughter’s case when we come to visit, or arrange to see or speak to you.
If they are not yet on the Council’s Housing Register we can advise them on how to register and
estimate what priority they might receive pending their application being fully assessed. Remember a
person does not need a homeless application to have their current housing problems recognised as
long as they have a housing need and meet the new qualification rules to be included on the Housing
List.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important help sheet. If you have any questions about any
of the facts in the help sheet please email or contact us.
78
Help sheet 2
Example of a ‘Licence agreement’ between a Parent and an applicant confirming the
terms upon which their son or daughter will be given permission to continue to live at
home.
Advice on completing this “Licence agreement”: The parent/s/relative and the person
threatened with exclusion should both agree and complete the agreement. The terms of the
licence and what will be expected in the future should be clearly explained to the person and
they should indicate they understand it and agree to it. Print two copies and have both copies
signed by both parties who should have their own copy.
Advise that it may be sensible to sit down once a month a go through the licence terms to
make sure everything is being followed and there are no concerns that need to be discussed.
1) The property address is:
(Address) ____________________________________________________________
2) The name of the Parent/parents/relative that live in the property and have the right to decide who
else will live in that property:
(Name) ______________________________________________________________
3) The name of the son/daughter or person who has been granted permission (a Licence) to live at
the property.
(Name)_____________________________________________________________
4) This is a periodic excluded licence where permission has been given by the parent for the person
named in this agreement to live in their home. The parent/s/relative named in this agreement can
withdraw the permission (terminate the licence) at any time and will give the person named a period
of reasonable notice to leave.
5) Permission is given to occupy the accommodation subject to the following conditions. The person
named in this agreement should note that if these are not complied with the parent/s/relative reserve
the right to withdraw the person’s permission to live in the home thereby terminating this licence.
Advice for the parent/parents/relative completing this agreement - here is where you need to
set down in writing details of the actions or behaviour required of the person in order for
permission to be given to live or to continue to live, in the home.
The following is illustrative only and each agreement should be specific to the behaviour
expected.
The person named in this agreement agrees to the following:
a) There is no rent to be paid in return for that permission; or
b) There is a rent, or a contribution to running of the home, to be paid of £xx.00 per week to
79
cover the following items (list e.g. – room, food, contribution to utilities, washing).
c) To make any non financial contribution to the running of the home by e.g. – helping with
household tasks (it is best to be as specific as you can).
d) To keep their room and the home clean
e) Not to smoke, drink or take drugs in the home
f)
Not to cause or permit any behaviour that is a nuisance to the persons named, other family
members living in the home or neighbours and not to engage in activities which are criminal.
g) Not to invite visitors to the home without permission
h) To cooperate with any support provided to the family by (list any support provided by the
council or another agency or charity if this has been set up).
The Parent/relative agrees to:
Discuss with the person named in this agreement any issues of concern and both parties agree to try
and resolve any problems that occur in a reasonable manner.
Add in anything else the parent has agreed to do – could be ways they want to support the person or
regular meetings to discuss things
6) How any breach of this “Licence agreement” will be dealt with:
Unless there is a very serious incident all parties agree to follow the procedure set out below:
a) Where the person/s who has granted this licence has a concern they will sit down and discuss
that concern Where there is no improvement they will issue a verbal warning
b) Where there is no improvement in behaviour or the incident is considered by person/s who
has granted this licence to be more serious a written warning will be given
c) At any time either party named in this agreement can ask to call a meeting to discuss any
problems or concerns.
d) Where the situation may lead to the person/s who has granted this licence asking the person
to leave either party may call on help from any agency who have agreed to support them or
can contact the Council Housing Options Team by telephone or e-mail (for the Council to
insert here the name and contact details of the case officer that dealt with the case or any
specialist officer), or contact any agency providing support to see what help can be given
e) Finally if the situation cannot be resolved a written note will be given to the person named
giving reasonable notice that they must leave the property and by when.
Signature of the Person granting this Licence agreement:
Date
Signature of the person they are giving permission to carry on living at home only if the rules set out
are kept:
Date
80
Help Sheet 3
Example of a “Promised Behaviour in the Future agreement” between the Parent and the
person at risk of being excluded setting out the terms under which they will be given
permission to continue to live at home.
PROMISED BEHAVIOUR IN THE FUTURE AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made on the [date]
BETWEEN [name and address of Parent/Parents/relative] AND [name of individual]
The [name of individual] AGREES the following in respect of their future conduct
Housing Options Officer to note: set out below are examples. Add, amend as appropriate to the
situation of your case:
1) I will make a non financial contribution to the running of the home by e.g. – helping with
household tasks (it is best to be as specific as you can)
2) I will keep my room and the home clean
3) I will not smoke, drink or take drugs in the home
4) I will not cause or permit any behaviour that is a nuisance to the parent/s/relative or
neighbours and not to engage in activities which are criminal.
5) I will not act in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to
anyone living in the same home as me.
6) I will not bring visitors to the home without permission
7) I will cooperate with any support provided to myself and my family (list any support provided
by the council or another agency or charity if this has been set up).
8) I will not take part in any anti social behaviour on the estate that I live or in any other named
area.
(Add point 9 below if rent is required to be paid)
I will pay rent or a weekly contribution to the running of the home of £xx.00 per week.
Add more detail if required This will cover the following items (list e.g. – room, food, contribution to utilities, washing).
This will be paid every put in the day of the week it is to be paid.
Breach
If [name of individual] does anything which he/she has agreed not to do under this contract the
following actions will occur:
Unless there is a very serious incident all parties agree to follow the procedure set out below:
a) Where the person/s who has granted permission for the person to carry on living at home if
they sign this agreement has a concern they will sit down and discuss that concern. Where
81
there is no improvement they will issue a verbal warning.
b) Where there is no improvement in behaviour or the incident is considered by the person/s to
be more serious a written warning will be given.
c) At any time either party named in this agreement can ask to call a meeting to discuss any
problems or concerns.
d) Where the situation may lead to the person/s who has been granted permission to carry on
living at home being asked to leave either party may call on help from any agency who have
agreed to support them or can contact the Council Housing Options Team by telephone or email (for the Council to insert here the name and contact details of the case officer that dealt
with the case or any specialist officer), or contact any agency providing support to see what
help can be given.
e) Finally if the situation cannot be resolved a written note will be given to the person named
giving reasonable notice that they must leave the property and by when.
DECLARATION
I confirm that I understand the meaning of this agreement and that the consequences of breach of
the contract have been explained to me.
SIGNED ________________________________________
[Signature of individual]
DATE..................
SIGNED ________________________________________Parent
[Signature of parent/s/relative]
DATE..................
WITNESSED
SIGNED ________________________________________ Officer
[Name of Council housing Options Officer or support worker/agency]
DATE..................
82
Help Pack Section 3:
Working out how much I can afford to pay in rent
Fill out this form as best you can so we have an initial estimate of what you may be able to
afford in rent. We can discuss this when we see you next.
The Item I spend my Money on
What I would need to spend on gas and electric
every week
Estimate of what I need to spend on food for
myself and my family that would live with me
Estimate of what I need to spend on essential
clothing for myself and my family that would live
with me.
(When you are estimating what you could reduce
this there is some guidance that show people on
benefits or a low income should look to spend no
more than £5.00 a week per person on clothes)
Weekly water rate costs for the property.
Weekly Council tax cost or if you are on benefits
the weekly contribution you have to pay towards
the Council tax on the property.
Weekly estimate of how much you spend on
public transport costs every week
83
Your estimate of
the total weekly
amount that you
spend on this item
now
(Enter as a weekly
amount for the
whole household
who would be
living with you in
any rented home)
Your estimate of
what you could
reduce the
figure to.
(Enter as a
weekly amount
for the whole
household who
would be living
with you in any
rented home)
£
£
£20 a week is the
average for a
small family
£23 a week per
person is the
average estimate
a person on
benefits or a low
income may
need.
£5 per person per
week.
£10 a week is the
average cost of
water.
£10 a week is the
average Council
tax contribution
charged if the
person is only on
benefits. It is
likely to be more
if you work.
Then record a weekly estimate of what you spend
on any of the items below:
1.
TV cable/Sky costs
2.
TV Licence
3.
Maintenance payments/CSA
4.
Council tax
5.
Travelling expenses for leisure
6.
Travelling and meal costs if working.
(Check whether the applicant receives travel
expenses)
7.
Child care costs if working or at college
8.
School meal costs
9.
Car costs Insurance, Road Tax, petrol per week
and annual general Maintenance
(break down into a weekly estimated cost)
10. Credit cards/catalogue/store card.
11. Toiletries
12. Meals out
13. Laundrette if no washing machine
14. Mobile Phone
15. Mobile Phone insurance
16. Life insurance/private pension/endowment
policy/health insurance.
17. Repayments on any finance or loans whether
official loans/money lenders or family or friends
(state which)
18. Prescriptions, dentist and glasses costs
19. Pension payments
20. Pet costs
21. Leisure expenditure such as the cost of trips to
the Cinema
22. Alcohol
23. Cigarettes
24. Court Fines
Other (List)
84
£
£
Final assessment
The estimate of
what I and the
family members
who would live
with me in a rented
home currently
spend on
everything above
My estimate of
what I could
reduce this
figure to
£
£
Totals and calculation of affordability Record this
as a weekly amount)
The right hand column figure is the initial estimate of what you think you can afford to pay on top of
any housing benefit you may receive towards paying the rent
85