14. Refusal of offers by homeless applicants
Applicants who have been accepted as being owed a duty by the Council under the homelessness legislation will be awarded Band B. Applicants will be entitled to bid for properties in the same way as other applicants. If an applicant is not active in bidding for properties, the Housing Options Team may make bids on their behalf on properties they deem suitable for the applicant.
Where a homeless applicant is allocated a property through the housing register process, EDDC has a responsibility to determine the suitability of the allocation. This will be determined in the light of the household’s particular circumstances and with regard to the housing conditions prevailing in District at the time.
Where a homeless applicant is offered a property in discharge of the full homeless duty, but does not feel it is a suitable offer, they have the right to request a review of the offer. Applicants will be advised to accept the offer whilst the review is carried out. If, on review, the property is felt to be a reasonable offer, no further offers of accommodation will be made and the Council will discharge its duty. If the applicant is in temporary accommodation provided by the Council, the applicant will be given notice to leave that accommodation. If, on review, the property is felt to be unsuitable then a further offer of suitable accommodation will be made. The timescale for this will be dependent on the type and size of property required.