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Homelessness frequently asked questions

I'm homeless - what do I do?

If you are homeless, or if you think you may become homeless in the near future, contact the Homeless Prevention Team at the KHT offices situated in the Council’s One Stop Shops (during office hours 9:00am to 5:00pm) or via the telephone, 0800 694 0280 (this number is available 24 hours a day).

What can the council do for me?

Knowsley Council’s service standard is to offer you an appointment at your current point of residence for a homeless interview within 3 working days of your request.

Will the council provide me with emergency accommodation?

If, it is established that you are homeless and in priority need, we will provide you (and your family if required) emergency accommodation. Temporary accommodation will also be available whilst we investigate your application.

If the outcome of your application finds the Council has no duty to provide you with accommodation, you will be given notice to leave the temporary accommodation. In this case we will offer you advice and assistance to secure your own accommodation.

What happens at the homeless assessment interview?

The Homeless Prevention Officer (HPO) will conduct an initial interview and will consider if your homelessness situation can be prevented. If the HPO believes that your homelessness can be prevented, your case will remain with the prevention team who will assist you to prevent your homelessness and stay in contact with you throughout the process. If the HPO feels that your homelessness cannot be prevented, your case will be passed to a Case Assessment Officer (CAO) who will take a homeless declaration from you and start investigations.

The Homeless Prevention Officer will ask you:

  • About current accommodation and where you have lived for the last five years.
  • About you and the people who are moving with you.
  • About health problems.
  • About the cause of you becoming homeless (or threatened with homelessness).
  • About what type of housing you need etc
It will be helpful if you can bring along any documents relevant to your case for instance, letters from relatives or landlord asking you to leave, crime incident numbers if you are being harassed, letters from Doctors or Social Workers.

Don't worry if you don't have these immediately, you can provide any relevant information at a later date or your HPO can assist you to obtain it. You will be asked to sign to say you have told the truth and that you will tell us if your circumstances change at all during the investigation.

NOTE: It is unlikely that your Homelessness Prevention Officer will be able to tell you at the interview whether you will be offered accommodation or not. They need to consider if your homelessness can be prevented and if not, pass your case to a Case Assessment Officer who is required to investigate your case carefully. Please be patient.

What happens after the homeless assessment interview

If your case is passesed to a Case Assessment Officer, your Caseworker has 30 working days to consider the facts you provided and make a decision on what duty the Council has to assist you. They must make the following decisions:

  • Are you eligible for homeless assistance? (The law says that some people cannot be helped, for example people from abroad or who are subject to immigration control).
  • Are you homeless? (You may be classed as homeless if you have no home; if you have a home but can't live in it; if you will lose your home in less than one month, or if it is unreasonable for you to live in your home, for example if you would be at risk of violence).
  • Are you in priority need? You may be classed as "in priority need" if for example:
  1. You have dependent children or are pregnant
  2. You are very young (16 or 17 years old)
  3. You are or have been in care
  4. You are vulnerable because of a physical or mental illness or disability
  5. You can't live in your home because of a serious fire or flood or other disaster
  6. You are vulnerable because you are coming out of prison, armed forces, hospital etc. and as a result are less able to sort out your own housing
  7. Or if you lost your home because of violence or threat of violence likely to be carried out; or because of old age.
Are you intentionally homeless? (If you have lost your last settled home because of something you deliberately did or failed to do you may be classed as intentionally homeless and our duty to assist you will be much more limited. For example, if you were evicted because:

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