08 November 2022
Your request
In homeless cases where temporary accommodation is provided in discharge of duties under s.193 Housing Act 1996 a homeless applicant is able to accept the offer and also seek a review of suitability. When making offers the council states in its offer letters:
“If you request a review, we may initially carry out a suitability assessment, and if you remain dissatisfied following this assessment you may then request a formal review under section 202(1A) of the Housing Act 1996. “
- please provide us with a copy of any policy/procedures for carrying out that initial suitability assessment.
Our response
- we don’t have a policy or procedure in relation to the informal suitability assessments. All reviews of temporary accommodation suitability are carried out in line with the legislation.
- where someone does not have a statutory right to request a review (for example, if someone has been residing in a temporary accommodation property for a number of years and a review request is therefore outside of the statutory 21 day timeframe) then we will carry out an informal assessment of suitability. Should the client disagree with the outcome of the informal assessment, they will then have a right to request a statutory review under s202 of the Housing Act.