Local connection for housing applictaion - how thoroughly is it checked?

[iona]

My dad turned up back in the UK recently after getting too old to be given a visa to work and kicked out of China. I put him in a hotel for a night, but he's spent the last two nights sleeping in the shed in the woods behind my mum's house and I really need to get him somewhere to stay. I'm trying to get him some sort of temporary accomodation but as well as having priority (we're going to the drs tomorrow about that) he also needs to have a local connection.
I thought he'd be fine as both myself and my brother live here, but I've just been reading the council allocations policy and it says "close family relative over the age of 18 who currently lives here and has lived in the district for at least 5 years continuously." My brother isn't 18 for almost 5 months and I only moved back here last July after about 6 years living elsewhere. Am I going to be able to tell them that I've been living here for the last 5 years, or will they check up on what I'm saying? My mum only got me added onto the council tax last year - I could make something up about where I was before that but if they checked with the dole I've claimed benefits in four or five places in the last 5 years, everywhere from Brighton to Scotland. I don't know what else I can do though.

 

[hattie]

Hi Iona, your dad is very lucky to have you!

check this page of the Shelter website.
If the council decides that you don't have a local connection with its area, it will consider if you have a local connection with another council's area. If you do, it can refer you to that council for help, but only if your household will not be at risk of violence there.

The council should not refer you to another area if you only have a local connection with the other area due to family connections and you don't want to be near your family.

Most councils will refer you to another area if they can, but they can decide not to.

If you don’t have a local connection anywhere, the council you apply to must help you.

It might also be worth looking at what 'priority need' and 'vulnerable' mean in the context of homeless applications so that you can gather the evidence / make the case for priority need in the right way. Eg just 'being old' might not be enough, I think you have to show that you are less able to cope with being homeless then other people of a similar age to you, or something like that. I don't know the in's and out's of this but ring Shelter if you want to clarify. Hope the GP is helpful.

good luck x

 

[jakethesnake]

Most Councils are running a scheme called No Second Night Out (you might find a NSNO worker at the council or a homeless day centre). The scheme is meant to prevent people like your dad sleeping rough and it may well be worth your while seeking them out.
It is likely your dad won't be able to claim benefits for six months or so because he's been out of the country... he should still be able to claim housing benefit but will need to eat somehow...

 

[el-ahrairah]

those two answers are exactly what i was going to say. urban is getting damn good at this.

 

[iona]

Thanks for the replies

hattie - the council's allocations policy says that he'll be classed as priority band B if his current housing situation is having a "major adverse affect" on his health, so I asked the GP to use those words on the letter. He was helpful and seemed to actually be listening so he might even do it.
I've put down on his housing application that I've been living here since I was a kid, so we'll just have to wait and see if they ask about that.

jakethesnake - the housing office is a train and at least one bus away, and the nearest day centre's probably about the same. I've been speaking to the woman at the housing who's dealing with him, and she just says they can't do anything until they have his application sorted and she's not sure yet what they'll be abe to do after that. He's going to the food bank tomorrow and he gets about £400 pension at the end of the month so he'll be ok for food, just need to get the housing part sorted out.

 

[Pickman's model]

those two answers are exactly what i was going to say. urban is getting damn good at this.

too damn' good