Fresource Friday: housing benefit letters
Housing benefit letter templates that are free to download. Some are written for claimants to use while others are for private landlords.
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Recently published articles
Housing Act 1996 Part 7 as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
I've updated the document I previously posted which shows how Part 7 of the 1996 Act will read once the amendments contained in the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 come into force. This version corrects a few typos and minor errors.
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Fresource Friday: letters requesting information about social housing applications
Do you advise people who've applied for housing from a council waiting list? Use these free template letters to request information about issues affecting their application.
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Jan Luba: homelessness dispute resolution & tips for reviewing officers
HHJ Jan Luba QC's recent Bryan McGuire Memorial Lecture on 'Dispute Resolution in Homelessness' drew attention to the lack of statistics on the ways homelessness decisions are challenged. He also included some suggestions for reviewing officers.
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Tenancy deposits & homeless prevention payments
Does your homelessness unit sometimes pay money to private landlords to prevent homelessness? If so, are you taking full advantage of the deposit protection rules and imposing contractual terms to ensure the money is recycled?
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Fresource Friday: contract with private landlord where tenancy deposit paid by council
A free contract for local authority homelessness teams to use when paying a tenancy deposit to secure a private tenancy.
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Fresource Friday: social services referral templates
Download these free letter templates so you can evidence that you've complied with the s.213A duty to offer a referral to social services.
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Homelessness Reduction Bill to receive Royal Assent - and an example of why it's needed
The Homelessness Reduction Bill is to receive Royal Assent shortly. Also, a summary of a critical Ombudsman report in a case of repeated gatekeeping.
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