HELP PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THE SHARED ACCOMMODATION RATE STEPS FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY HOUSING STAFF If you work for a council housing service, you can help people under 35 affected by the Housing Benefit Shared Accommodation Rate.
Add a question to your Housing Benefit Application Form to identify people who have stayed in hostels.
People aged 25-34 who have stayed in homeless hostels are exempt from the new age extension to the Housing Benefit Shared Accommodation Rate.
Keep an up to date list of hostel services that qualify. Check regularly for hostel closures, relocations and other changes.
Exemptions apply to those who have stayed in ‘an appropriate specialist hostel’ and had ‘support to help them be rehabilitated or resettled in the community’ (DWP Guidance). It applies to hotel stays totaling 3 months (it doesn’t have to be continuous). The hostel stay/s could’ve been at any age.
Use Homeless Link’s national of hostels when considering exemptions for people who have stayed outside your area – and help us to keep it up to date with hostels near you: homeless.org.uk/hostel-list.
We talked to local authorities across England to find out what steps they’re already taking to make sure changes to the Shared Accommodation Rate don’t lead to anyone becoming homeless.
TOP STEPS Contact customers affected by the changes to make sure they understand their options. Work with local landlords to encourage the development of good quality shared accommodation that is suitable for affected customers. Support people to remain in accommodation using Discretionary Housing Payments. Make sure you know all the facts about the Shared Accommodation Rate: homeless.org/sar-faq.
ALREADY TAKING A STEP… Three-quarters of the local authorities we spoke to said they’ve made direct contact with people affected by the changes. Have you? Some have found home visits are the best way of talking to customers about their options. Have you considered this? Only a quarter of authorities have changed their Housing Benefit forms to identify people who have stayed in hostels. Have you?
ADVICE AND HELP Homeless Link and Crisis have prepared a joint briefing and Q&A on the Shared Accommodation Rate: homeless.org.uk/sar-faq