Homelessness

We may consider someone to be intentionally homeless if they have become homeless as a result of something they have deliberately done, or failed to do.

We will take account of all the circumstances of your application before reaching a decision on intentionality, and each case will be decided on its merits.

In order to assess an application as being intentionally homeless the Council has to satisfy itself on 3 criteria:

1. That the homelessness is a result of the action of the applicant or their failure to take action,
2. That it was reasonable for the applicant to have remained in the accommodation from which they became homeless, and
3. That the applicant was aware of the facts in relation to their homelessness before taking or failing to take the action which led to homelessness.

We will not consider someone intentionally homeless if we decide that:

• It was not reasonable for them to stay in their last home or they left home because of violence or the fear of violence.
• Their home went with their job and they lost it through no fault of their own, or they gave it up for good reason.

Even if we assess an applicant as being intentionally homeless, s/he is still entitled to receive temporary accommodation (if required) until we have fully discharged our duties towards then). Your case officer will provide more advice on this and the services we can provide to assist you to secure accommodation.