Homeless people's rights
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/homelessness_-_an_introduction/homeless_peoples_rights
How we can help
Citizens Advice Luton, the Law Centre and Luton Rights have a team of highly trained advisers working together to offer practical support and assistance on a wide range of problems including debt. housing, welfare benefits, relationship breakdown, employment, immigration.
Luton Rights
Community House
15 New Bedford Road
Luton LU1 1SA
Open Monday to Friday
9am to 4pm
Phone: 01582 453372
Website: http://directory.luton.gov.uk/kb5/luton/directory/service.page?id=xqNwMl2IMeE
Homepage: http://directory.luton.gov.uk/kb5/luton/directory/home.page
Adviceuk: http://www.adviceuk.org.uk/member/luton-rights/
Crisis The national charity for homeless people
Crisis, 66 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LT Tel: 0300 636 1967 Fax: 0300 636 2012 Email: enquiries@crisis.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/crisis.homeless
http://www.crisis.org.uk/
Luton Borough Council
Council
Town Hall, George St ·
Tel:01582 546000
http://www.luton.gov.uk/Pages/Homepage.aspx
Shelter
http://england.shelter.org.uk/
A free, national helpline providing advice to anyone with a housing problem. Provides guidance, support, information and telephone advice as well as training courses.
Who to contact
Telephone: 0808 800 4444
(please note that this service gets very busy at times)
E-mail info@shelter.org.uk
Website www.shelter.org.uk
Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am to 5pm
try searching for more information on Directgov or the Community Legal Advice website.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm
http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/
Shelter advice services
Shelter advisers are the experts in housing law. Our face to face services can advise you if you are eligible for legal aid
https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
Many of our face to face advisers are also able to give advice in debt, benefits, and care/disability rights.
Homelessness has emerged as a global human rights crisis even in States where there are adequate resources to address it. ... It will consider homelessness both as serious deprivation of access to housing and as an extreme form of social exclusion, discrimination and loss of dignity.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/Homelessnessandhumanrights.aspx
Homelessness is not just about housing — it’s a human rights failure
http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/commentary/2016/02/homelessness-not-just-about-housing-its-human-rights-failure
UK housing crisis 'in breach of human rights'
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/28/uk-housing-crisis-in-breach-of-human-rights
PDF England’s most disadvantaged groups: Homeless people
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/ief_homeless_people.pdf
Homeless Link Let's end
homelessness together
http://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2016/mar/14/is-england-fairerfor-people-who-become-homeless
Housing and Homelessness Support
Aldwyck Housing Group
Registered Social Landlord, Emphasis on community development, employment and empowerment support, Youth diversionary and social enterprise.
Address:
Aldwyck Housing Group
6 Houghton Hall
Porz Avenue
Houghton Regis
Bedfordshire LU5 5UZ
Tel: 01582 869100
Website: www.aldwyck.co.uk
Email: info@aldwyck.co.uk
Catalyst Housing
Housing solutions and community development providing social, affordable and intermediate rental homes sheltered housing, care homes, shared ownership and homes for private sale. For people of all ages, gender and ethnicity.
Address:
The Farmhouse
Nightingale Avenue
Blackbird Leys
Oxford
OX4 7BU
Tel: 03004562090
Website: www.chg.org
Luton Accommodation and Move on Project (LAMP)
LAMP is a local Christian charity that supports young vulnerable and disadvantaged people between the ages of 16-25 in Luton and the surrounding areas, who find themselves in a homeless situation. LAMP aims to transform each individual to realise their full potential, to live independently and participate fully in the community. LAMP achieves this by providing a safe living environment, and put together individual support plan which gives step by step career guidance, life skills, financial management and more.
Address:
LAMP
Ground floor
17 – 21 Napier Road
Luton
Bedfordshire LU1 1RF
Tel: 01582 431744
Website: www.lamp.uk.net
Email: office@lamp.uk.net
Luton Borough Council – Housing Solutions Team
Luton borough Council’s Homelessness and housing team provides options for finding a home in Luton including applying for a council home, housing help and advice, sheltered housing and homes with care, homeless support and more.
Address:
Housing Solutions Team
Town Hall
George Street
Luton
Bedfordshire LU1 2BQ
Tel: 01582 510370
Website: www.luton.gov.uk/housing
Email: homelessprevention@luton.gov.uk
Luton Community Housing
Housing and homelessness accommodation hostels for single homeless people age 16 – 64 years, young mothers and babies unit for 16 – 25 years. Sheltered accommodation scheme for older people. Floating support and a private leasing scheme in conjunction with Luton Borough Council.
Address:
Luton Community Housing
Bramingham Business Centre
Unit 2B
Enterprise way
Luton
Bedfordshire LU3 4BU
Tel: 01582 391053
Website: www.lutonhousing.org
Email: office@lch-ltd.co.uk
Mary Seacole Housing Association (MSHA)
MSHA provides support with, housing and homelessness, education and training, supported accommodation to single homeless young people aged 16 – 30 years, both male and female of all ethnic groups.
Address:
MSHA Head office
30 – 32 Brantwood Road
Luton
Bedfordshire LU1 1JJ
Tel: 01582 415735
Website: www.maryseacoleha.com
NOAH
Offers a range of services for homeless people. Welfare centre providing food, clothing, showers, medical care, counselling, accommodation search, financial advice, outreach support and training – accredited carpentry, basic and life skills. Social enterprise – furniture renovation, refurbished white goods and restored/ new furniture for sale. Work experience opportunities for long term unemployed people.
Address:
NOAH
141 Park Street
Luton
Bedfordshire LU1 3HG
Tel: 01582 728416
♦ Opening times: Mon, Wed, Thurs & Fri – 8.15am to 3.45pm, Tues – 8.15am to 2.45pm. Open for lunch Sat & Sun – 1pm to 2pm.
Signposts (Luton)
Provides residential and associated support services to anyone who needs it aged 16 to 65. Out of hours emergency cover.
Address:
Signposts Head office
Signpost Luton
Head Office
106 Old Bedford Road
Luton
LU2 7PD
T: 01582 722629
www.signpostsso.com
Emergency accommodation at James Court contact : 01582 722629, press Option 1
Shelter – The Housing and Homelessness Charity
Is a free national housing advice helpline. They have helped thousands of people, from finding them a place to sleep to suggesting how to handle mortgage arrears.
Free Housing Helpline: 08088004444
Calls are free from UK landlines and main mobile networks (i.e. Vodafone, O2, EE and virgin mobile).
Website: www.england.shelter.org.uk
South Anglia Housing Group
Housing association providing information and support on a range of issues such as employment, welfare, debt and financial inclusion. Youth and community development service.
Address:
Maxet House Business Centre
Liverpool Road
Luton
Bedfordshire LU1 1RS
Tel: 01582 808562
Housing Solutions Team
Luton Borough Council, Town Hall, George Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 2BQ
Tel: 01582 510370
Email homelessprevention@luton.gov.uk
Vital Winter Shelter Opens For Luton’s Homeless
http://www.noahenterprise.org/noah-enterprise-opens-vital-winter-shelter-for-lutons-homeless/
Council licensees in temporary accommodation
https://www.luton.gov.uk/Housing/Pages/Council-licensees-and-temporary-accommodation.aspx
Crisis support scheme
https://www.luton.gov.uk/Benefits/benefit-changes/Pages/Benefits-changes---local-welfare-provision-(April-2013).aspx
10 ways to keep safe on the streets
If you have to spend some time on the streets, it's important to find ways to stay safe and warm.
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Get a hot meal, shower and clean clothes during the day at a day centre for homeless people.
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At night, keep to quiet well-lit areas, near to other people if possible. You may be moved on or hassled in busy public places.
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Stay in a place where homelessness outreach teams visit with food and blankets. For example, near a day centre or cold weather shelter.
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Stay under cover or in some form of shelter in case of bad weather.
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Wear lots of layers of clothing.
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Hot food and drink can help you stay warm, so try to eat or drink something hot before going to sleep. A soup run could provide you with free food.
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Alcohol can dehydrate you – try to avoid it before sleeping.
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Use something to create a barrier between yourself and the ground, such as a sheet, blanket, cardboard or newspaper.
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Find a safe place for valuables. Try to store these at a day centre. It's safer than keeping them with you.
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Keep in touch with friends and family to let them know you're safe – use the Message Home Helpline.
Get help from Streetlink
Streetlink is a way of putting you in touch with services through a local council so you can get help with finding a place to stay.
You can also use Streetlink if you are concerned about someone who is sleeping rough.
Find out more from Streetlink or call 0300 500 0914.
http://www.streetlink.org.uk/
If you're experiencing domestic abuse
Get help if you're experiencing domestic abuse.
Make sure you are in a safe place when you call.
If you're a woman, call the free 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247. Their advisers may be able to refer you to a refuge.
If you're a man, contact the Men's AdviceLine.
In an emergency, call the police on 999.
Housing Benefits
https://www.gov.uk/search?q=housing+benefits
Overview https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/overview
What you'll get
https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/what-youll-get
Eligibility
https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/eligibility
How to claim https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/how-to-claim
Further information https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/further-information
1. Overview
You could get Housing Benefit to help you pay your rent if you’re on a low income.
Housing Benefit can pay for part or all of your rent. How much you get depends on your income and circumstances.
You can apply for Housing Benefit whether you’re unemployed or working.
You may also be able to get help with your rent if your benefits stop. https://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/further-information
Housing Benefit can’t be paid for heating, hot water, energy or food - if you need help, use a benefits calculator to see what else you might be entitled to. https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Since 1st January 2014 there is a new rule for income based Jobseeker's Allowance claimants, which says that you are not habitually resident unless you have been living in the Common Travel Area for at least 3 months.
This seems to be designed to put off people from Romania and Bulgaria but affects everybody who comes back to the UK from abroad, even if you are British.
It does not apply if you are claiming any of the other benefits covered here
So if you claim a benefit and are refused for this reason, you have a problem: when do you try claiming again?
no point in applying at all until you have been back in the UK for 3 months: this is because of the change to the law from 1st January 2014 onwards
DOC]Template mandatory reconsideration letter (27kb Word) http://www.lothiancil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Template-mandatory-reconsideration-letter.doc
On the one hand, there’s nothing in the law to stop you making a new claim for benefit on a daily basis, until you make one which is accepted. But it’s unlikely you would really want to do this.
On the other hand, if you wait three months before making a new claim, you’ll save yourself a lot of effort, but may also lose out financially, as the DWP might have accepted a claim made only a month after you your first claim.
As neither of those seem very sensible, you’ll have to make a compromise: perhaps making a new claim every month, for instance.
Encyclopedia of Social Welfare Rights http://www.lawcentreni.org/EoR/
Citizens Advice
What to do if you fail the habitual residence test:
Benefits Challenging a benefits decision:
http://www.tht.org.uk/myhiv/Your-rights/Benefits/Challenging-a-benefits-decision
Challenging decisions when you’re unhappy:
Mandatory reconsideration and appeal guide for recovery of benefits and lump sum payments (HTML version)
The Jobcentre Plus makes its decision: he is not entitled to income based Employment and Support Allowance because he ‘does not satisfy the habitual residence test.’ (He is also told that he is not entitled to contribution based Employment and Support Allowance because he does not have enough recent national insurance contributions.)
When you write asking for a mandatory reconsideration, there is no special form, so it’s important to make sure you include information like your National Insurance Number, the date of the decision you’re not happy with, and exactly why you disagree with the decision. You could use the example have written here:
When you write your appeal, you should use the form:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/forms/tribunals/sscs/sscs1.pdf
Court and tribunal form finder
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=4395
Challenging a DWP benefit decision:
The benefits paid by the DWP are attendance allowance, bereavement benefits, carer’s allowance, disability living allowance, employment and support allowance, Income Support, Jobseeker’s allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance, to name a few. If you’re challenging the DWP benefit decision, then it is important to check the date when the decision about your benefit was made. This is required as you must be challenging the DWP within certain time limits.
Next, you can ask for the decisions to be looked at again within one month of the date of the decision. This is called mandatory reconsideration. The DWP decision letter will say whether mandatory reconsideration applies or not and will tell you how to ask for it. You can’t appeal until you get a decision from the DWP on your request for reconsideration. This is called a mandatory reconsideration notice.
If you disagree with the outcome of the reconsideration, then you can appeal against the DWP benefit decision. You must send a written appeal directly to HM Courts and Tribunal Service, not to the DWP. This is known as direct lodgement. Your appeal must arrive at the Tribunal Service within one month of the date on your mandatory reconsideration notice.
DWP Guidance
 Decision Makers Guide - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialistguides/decision-makers-guide/
- See in particular volume 2 on international subjects.
 HB Circular A6/2014
 DMG memo 28/13: JSA (IB) – 3 months residence requirement.
 DMG Memo 15/14 – Habitual Residence & Right to Reside – JSA
 DMG memo 21/14: IS, ESA (IR) and SPC right to reside, establishing whether an
EEA national is/was a 'worker' or a 'self-employed' person
 DMG memo 31/14 – JSA - Right To Reside as A Jobseeker
 DMG memo 32/14 - JSA (IB) – Habitual Residence - Three Month Residence Requirement
– Exemptions
 DMG 2/15 Extension of Genuine Prospects of Work test to stock EEA Migrants
The Habitual Residence Test
We deal here primarily with immigration and its effects on benefits, and also with the habitual
Residence test. However, you should remember that individual benefits may have particular
Qualifying periods of residence in the UK, and rules regarding the effect of absences from the UK
Which is not coverd on this course?
What benefits have a Habitual Residence Test?
- Attendance allowance claims after 08 April 2013
- Carers Allowance claims after 08 April 2013
- Disability Living Allowance claims after 08 April 2013
- Income support,
- Pension credit
- Income based Jobseeker’s allowance
- Income related Employment and support allowance
- Housing benefit / local housing allowance
- Council tax reduction (para 21 of default scheme)
- Council housing (as homeless, through allocations or
‘housing assistance’)
- Crisis loans.
- Universal Credit
READ MORE:
http://www.bradfordcan.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/EEA-Welfare-Benefits-Advanced-Nov-15.pdf
Employment and Support Allowance: reconsiderations and appeals
https://www.actionforme.org.uk/uploads/pdfs/esa-appeals-factsheet.pdf