Homelessness Appeal

Your Decision Letter

Now that enquiries have been completed into your homelessness application you should have received notification of that decision in a letter.

If that decision is not in your favour, for example, if it has been decided that you are not homeless, or that your actions led to you being homeless (intentionally homeless), the letter will explain why this decision has been reached.

You Have the Right to Appeal Against this Decision

If there is any thing in the letter that you do not understand you should contact the person who sent the letter and they will explain it to you.

Requesting an Appeal

Your appeal should be made in writing 21 days of receipt of the letter.  Your appeal should explain on what grounds you feel that the decision is wrong.  Remember your case has already been investigated so simply saying that our decision is wrong or repeating your original circumstances is unlikely to lead to the appeal being successful.

The appeal, will be considered by the next officer in seniority, to the one that made the decision.

What Can The Appeal Consider

Your Appeal can consider the following issues:

• That you were found not to be homeless or threatened with homelessness
• That you were found to be "not in priority need"
• That you were found "intentionally homeless"
• That you were found to have "no local connection"
• That the accommodation offered to you is not suitable for your needs

What Happens if the Appeal Fails

If your appeal is rejected the officer making the decision will notify you of this by letter.

If your appeal is unsuccessful there are further steps that you may take.

For example, you can contact a solicitor and arrange for them to ask the Courts for a Judicial Review of the decision.

Independent Advice

At anytime during your assessment you can seek independent advice from a solicitor or CAB.

First Stage: Senior Homelessness Officer Appeal

Send your first appeal letter to the deputy chief executive Mr P Appleton at North Shropshire District Council and state clearly:

• Why you are challenging the decision, and
• Why the Homelessness Officer should have decided the case differently

You should receive a letter telling you the Senior Homelessness Officer's decision within 10 days.  if you have met all four of the homelessness tests you will be given Full Duty Applicant status. You will be entitled to permanent accommodation, and temporary accommodation until permanent accommodation becomes available.

It is possible that you could successfully appeal against the Senior Homelessness Officer's decision on one homelessness test (for example, priority need), only you fail the next test (for example, intentionally homeless).  If this happens you will have to begin the appeals process again.

If your appeal is unsuccessful you should receive a letter telling you the Senior Homelessness Officer's decision within 10 working days. This letter should also inform you that you have the right to a second appeal.

Second Stage: Homelessness Appeals Panel

If the Senior Homelessness Officer upholds the original decision made then the Senior Homelessness Officer will forward the case on to the Homelessness Appeals Panel.

You will then be contacted by the council to attend a Homelessness Appeals Panel who will discuss your appeal.

If you are unhappy with the Homelessness Appeals Panel's decision or think you have not been given proper reasons for the decision you may be able to get the decision changed by judicial review, or you can complain to the Ombudsman.

Judicial Review

Judicial review is a type of legal action that can be used to challenge decisions made by public bodies like the District Council.  If you want to use judicial review you must get permission from the High Court within three months of the second appeal decision.

Judicial review is a very complicated process and you should get advice if you are considering this option.

Complaining To The Ombudsman

The Ombudsman can investigate complaints of misadministration by the Council.  The Ombudsman can look into the way the Council processes you Homelessness Application.  The Ombudsman can check that the Council acted fairly and followed the correct procedures.  You can apply within 6 months of a decision.

You should complete the Council's appeal process before complaining to the Ombudsman.  The Ombudsman can't investigate your complaint if you have applied for a judicial review of the decision.

You can apply direct to the Ombudsman at Local Government Ombudsman, Beverly House 17 Shipton Road, York, TO30 5FZ, but you may find it useful to get help with your complaint.  If you require any further assistance then contact a Solicitor or local CAB office.

Related Links

Complaints Procedure

Ombudsman