During evening café, one client presented a file of eviction documentation under Section 21: a ‘no fault’ eviction. There was a very short timeframe to complete and return the necessary court papers which we achieved in the café setting with the support of a café volunteer who spoke the client’s first language.
The client reported that there were no arrears or issues in the tenancy, but that the landlord simply wanted the property back. The client has significant health issues and upcoming operations that would be impacted if forced to sleep rough so we supported a request for the maximum postponement period for possession. It was also requested that the client not pay court fees due to the eviction being no-fault, financial hardship and understandable delays in finding alternative housing.
The Gatehouse signposted the client to the local authority for help with housing, and referred the client to a separate housing association as a longer term option.
The client was supported with applying for Priority Need and was housed in temporary local authority provision. We then updated the housing association with evidence of the client’s priority status for housing which has shortened the client’s waiting time for longer term housing with this provider.
One client is vulnerable due to neuro diversity; they have been known to the service for a few years and we have supported them through a multi-disciplinary team approach over this time. Concerns of financial exploitation have historically been raised.
After a period of housing out of area, we received information from supporters that the client had returned to our local area: The Gatehouse immediately alerted their housing project and a Multi-Disciplinary Team meeting was called.
The client approached the Gatehouse with a concern that their ESA benefit had dropped; they were supported to contact ESA and were advised this drop was due to homelessness.
Further information was requested and ESA sought support from their team management and contacted the client directly. The client’s continued homelessness was discussed: the client is acknowledged as in priority need and eligible, but separate local authorities were debating over who had this duty. The Gatehouse referred the client to a local solicitor. The client had been borrowing a friend's phone so we allocated a basic handset to support services to contact him.
Following our referral for legal support with housing rights, the client was housed by the appropriate local authority.
Another client was previously a long-term rough sleeper and was supported into housing by the Casework Team. The client had always been independent and wished to initiate benefits claims themselves however they struggled to do this, and subsequently fell into rent arrears that threatened the tenancy.
Through an in-person meeting, they were supported to set up direct payments to the landlord from their Universal Credit account. A charity request was made to support the arrears, a considerable amount of which were paid off.
One particularly vulnerable client was being financially exploited and their property taken advantage of. Joint working with the local public services ensured the property was made safe and arrests made to ensure the financial exploitation did not continue. The client was supported with engaging and working with the public services and advocating their needs.
One client who had been suffering from long term mental health needs was unable to sustain their tenancy and was finally evicted from their property and sleeping on the streets. By collaborating with other services and building up trust with the client they are now housed in a mental health supported housing project.
The Gatehouse supported one client with an online passport application and support to address housing needs. The client believed that they should be allocated as Band 2 on the local authority register. They were supported to call the local authority to confirm banding and were told that they had been allocated Band 4. Information was requested and it was discovered that a Band 2 request had not been actioned: this was subsequently actioned
immediately and the client was given Band 2. The client’s housing options are therefore now more positive.
