Fresource Friday: Letters for requesting, approving & refusing accommodation pending a homeless review

Request for temporary accommodation pending review

Download the following document if you're an adviser who requests temporary accommodation for clients while councils undertake a review of an adverse decision on their homeless application:

• English version
• Welsh version

Decision letters: approving or refusing accommodation pending review

If you work for a homelessness assessment team there are two template decision letters you can download for free:

• Confirming that temporary accommodation will be provided until a review decision is made, and
• Notifying a refusal to provide accommodation pending review.

See below for details of how to create an account, so you can download the documents.

If you work for a homeless team in Wales...

Welsh versions of the decision letters are also available:

• Confirming that temporary accommodation will be secured pending review (Wales)
• Notifying a refusal to provide accommodation pending review (Wales)

How to download the decision letters

You can download the letters for homelessness assessment teams if:

• you work for a council or housing association
• you've created an account with your work email address, and
• you've received a second confirmation email.

Wait for the second email before trying to download

You'll receive two emails after creating an account. The first email confirms that your application has been received.

When you receive the second email you'll know that your council/HA status has been approved. You'll then be able to download documents reserved for council/housing association employees.

Further details on creating an account and becoming an 'approved user' is available in the FAQ section.

Drafting the Mohamed letter

The refusal (or 'Mohammed') letter includes sections that prompt you to explain how you've assessed each of the factors that you're required to consider.

In addition to the well-known Mohammed factors make sure that you also consider:

• whether the applicant suffers from a disability - and if so state why your refusal to secure interim accommodation does not constitute a breach of the public sector equality duty;
• whether the council's duty to promote and safeguard the welfare of children is engaged (if the household contains minors) - and if so state why you consider it is appropriate not to secure interim accommodation notwithstanding this fact.

The 'refusal' template includes wording that you can use or adapt (depending of course on the facts of the particular case).

Engage with the arguments

Remember that it's important to fully engage with any facts of the case or submissions that might suggest that the discretion to accommodate should be exercised in the applicant's favour.

Simply asserting that you've considered an argument (when deciding that accommodation shouldn't be provided) may not be sufficient to demonstrate you've made a lawful decision, for example if:

• you've failed to have proper regard to a relevant matter
• your reasons are inadequate, or
• your conclusions are perverse.

Be quick!

The letters for homeless teams will only be free to download or a limited time.

Other section 202 review resources are available

Other documents for administering s.202 (or HWA 2014 s.85) reviews can be found in the Resources section. Simply search for "s.202 review" (or "s.85 review").

If you work for a local authority or housing association see the FAQs section for how you can obtain free credits to download additional documents.

Comments or questions?

Please do contact me if you have any comments about the letters or if you experience difficulty downloading the documents.