The Housing Advice and Homelessness Section aims to prevent the loss of your home by providing advice, information and by working alongside other agencies who can help you.
We work with many different agencies in the statutory, voluntary and private sector in order to prevent homelessness.
The vast majority of landlords are responsible and fair, however, in the unlikely event of you experiencing problems with your landlord, the Council may be able to speak to them on your behalf.
If the loss of your home cannot be prevented, advice on other housing options will be made available to you and we will assist in securing a planned move into settled accomodation.
For those people who we are not able to help in any other way, a homelessness assessment will be carried out, but not everybody who is assessed will be rehoused.
For more information on Housing Advice and Homelessness please view the Housing Advice and Homelessness Leaflet and flowchart by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.
If you are homeless, about to lose your home or require other housing advice you should first contact the Housing Advice and Homelessness Team.
The Team consists of 1 Senior Homelessness Persons Officer and 5 Housing Support Officers who are located within Integrated Teams for Vulnerable Adults covering the following areas:
Your Housing Support Officer will try to prevent you from losing your home and if necessary will carry out a home visit to discuss the housing options available to you. A homeless application would only be considered when all other avenues had been fully explored.
If it is necessary to complete a homeless form, the Housing Support Officer will do this with you and will need to collect all relevant information in order to carry out a comprehensive investigation into your homelessness situation.
Once all the facts have been collected a decision will be made on your case.
If we do not have to rehouse you, you are still entitled to free advice and assistance in finding alternative accommodation or help with housing problems.
We decide if we are going to rehouse you by using tests that the Government require us to use in all cases.
The team works closely with the Police, Social Services, doctors, landlords and many other agencies when investigating a homeless application. We will, of course, get your permission before we ask for any information. We will only ask for information needed to make a decision on your application. Any information that we receive will be treated as confidential.
The team has 30 working days to investigate and make a decision on your homeless application. You will be told in writing and have the right of appeal within 21 days if refused.
You may qualify for temporary accommodation while your application is investigated, if you have dependant children residing with you or you have a medical condition which would make you vulnerable.
If we have to rehouse you we will pass your details to the Area Housing Office of your choice. You will then be made one offer of suitable accommodation anywhere within that area. Refusal of that offer will result in the Council discharging its duty under homelessness, although, you do have the right of appeal.
Once you have accepted a property you will be put on an Introductory Tenancy for one year. During this time regular checks will be made on the property to ensure that there are no management problems. Providing that everything is ok the tenancy will revert to a Secure Tenancy after this.
The Council will have a duty to offer you temporary accommodation whilst we investigate your application if you are homeless and in apparent priority need. We provide an out of hours service, in case of emergency you can contact us through the Council's main number 01388 816166.
We have homeless units which can be used for temporary accommodation. We also have arrangements in place for the use of certain Bed and Breakfast accommodation and women's refuges in cases of domestic violence.
The Council employs a dedicated Domestic Violence Accomodation and Support Officer who is based in the main Council building at Spennymoor.
The service provides support and assistance to the victims of domestic abuse regarding any housing issue and also works closely with SODA (Survivors of Domestic Abuse) who can provide emotional support.
You can contact this service through the Council's main number 01388 816166
The Housing Advice and Homelessness Section try to provide the best service that they can. If in the unlikely event you are dissatisfied with the service you have received please refer to the complaints procedure by clicking the link at the right hand side of this page.
We value your opinions about the services that we deliver and may ask you to complete a satisfaction survey once you have used the service.
Post:Housing Advice and
Homelessness Section
Neighbourhood Services Department
Sedgefield Borough Council
Council Offices
Spennymoor
DL16 6JQ
Tel: 01388 816166
Fax: 01388 824200
Or
You may contact a Housing Support Officer based in the local Integrated Teams for Vulnerable Adults at :
Spennymoor Area - Council Offices, Green Lane, Spennymoor -
Telephone 01388 424255
Ferryhill Area - Council Offices, Green Lane, Spennymoor -
Telephone 01388 424228
Trimdon Area - Tremeduna Grange, Trimdon -
Telephone 01429 884200
Shildon Area - Avenue House, Greenwell Road, Newton Aycliffe -
Telephone 01325 303430
Newton Aycliffe Area - Avenue House, Greenwell Road, Newton Aycliffe -
Telephone 01325 303400
There are a number of external agencies who may be able to offer help. Links to their websites are available on the right hand side of this page.