If you are in the UK and you are homeless, you must know that the British council is sure to help you out! For long it has prevailed that the British council has provided temporary and long-term housing facilities to the homeless and those who are in ardent need of emergency accommodation.
But then, if you don’t know the law, you must know that not all can get this accommodation facility from the British Council. You must fall under certain qualifying categories to get the advantage of such a facility from them. And it is divided into five classifications based on certain qualities which we will discuss below. Read on
Read on to find out more on who all qualifies for housing when in the UK.
- When you are homeless legally
The British Council does not provide housing to those who are threatened to be ‘homeless’ by family, friends or house owners. But those who are actually legally homeless qualify to receive this facility. The legally homeless people fall into the below category
- If they are evicted from their home by the homeowner or the house dwellers
- If they are sleeping on the streets
- If they are asked to leave their house by their family and friends
- If they have to leave their house due to violence and warlike situations
- If they are not able to leave in their house due to flood, fire or any other such natural disasters
- When you are in ‘priority need’ of a housing
In this condition, either you or your family member must fall into the group of ‘priority need’ for a housing meeting the following conditions
- Pregnant
- Family with children aged below 16 or 19 (if depended on you)
- Care leaver who is aged between 18 and 20
- Is homeless due to fire, flood and any other natural disaster
- Is classified as “vulnerable” which means you may be disabled, you are at risk of domestic violence or you are at greater risk of any harm if you stay homeless.
- When you need a connection to an area
If you have chosen a particular area for the housing needs, you must have ‘local connection’ to that area and this would make you qualify for the housing. You are into the category of local connection when
- You work or live in the same area
- Have any relative or close family member residing in the area
- You need specialist medication and healthcare in the area
In case you don’t have a local connection in the area, the British council may decide on to move you over to another area where you have any such local connection. But if they feel you are at risk of domestic violence or other such dangerous conditions then they might not do so.
- When you meet all the immigration conditions
In the local council language, this condition is called “eligible for assistance” and those who meet this condition are sure to get housing facilities approved by the council. The qualifying conditions are
- If you are an Irish or British citizen who lives in the UK
- If you are an EU citizen who is working in the UK or have a permanent residence
- If you are not from the EU but you have the rights to claim benefits
- When you are homeless without any fault of yours
If it is not your fault then the council may provide you with a long term housing, but if they find that you are homeless for your own fault then they may back off from doing so. The conditions of “intentionally homeless” includes
- Non-payment of house rent or home mortgage when you could afford it
- Evicted from the house due to criminal or antisocial behaviour
- Left your home on purpose when you could have stayed there without any hindrance
The bottom line
It is good to provide accommodation to the homeless but at times people take wrongful advantage of this and try to forge themselves into the housing without a strong reason to be there. Well, you cannot really prevent from being wrongful but you can surely control their actions by taking certain measures.
When you are in the UK and need temporary accommodation in the British council’s housing scheme, you ought to know that you qualify for the same. And when you fall under the above-mentioned housing qualifying categories, getting accommodation for your short term needs won’t be a difficult task.
To add icing on the cake, you can also take help from housing experts in your locality who will guide you through the legal and societal processes of getting the best housing accommodation for yourself and your family!