Housing and support

Our housing commitment to care experienced young people sets out our commitment as a Council to support you to find housing when you leave care and prevent homelessness.

Our local offer sets out all the support and services you are entitled to.

These are very important and will be regularly discussed with all new and existing staff that will help you.

This information is also available in flowchart format, see Our commitment to care experienced young people flowchart.

We will provide you with a personal advisor shortly after your sixteenth birthday. They are here to give you support, until the age of twenty-five.

You can use your personal advisor and the support around you to understand your housing options.

Your personal advisor will manage the process of finding housing. They will check that your new home is suitable for your needs.

Your housing options will be set out in your pathway plan and may include:

• Semi / supported accommodation
  Independent housing providers will provide 24/7 support to young people up to the age of twenty-five. This is to help you build the self care and budgeting skills that you will need to manage and maintain your own home.
• Community flats
  As part of your move on plans we have access to outreach and dispersed properties in the community. You can go into these once you have built and demonstrated that you have certain skills required to live on your own in the community. Staff will continue to offer outreach support tailored to your needs and make home visits to you, to make sure that you are managing the day to day running of your tenancy.
• Trainer flats
  These tenancies are provided in partnership with South Tyneside Homes, the Council and the Leaving Care Service. The tenancy will be in the name of the Leaving Care Service so that a joint responsibility can be agreed with the tenant (you will become the tenant when you move in). Support will be offered for a period of time, to ensure a smooth transition to full independence.
• Staying with your foster carer
  This means remaining with your foster carer until you are twenty-one, instead of eighteen. This should be discussed well in advance and agreed before you turn eighteen years old with yourself, carers, social worker, personal advisor and fostering officer. After this, a written agreement will be put in place. It gives you the option to keep living with your foster carers until you are twenty-one years old or earlier if you feel ready to live on your own or somewhere else. Your carer will also receive a weekly allowance, which will be paid up to your twenty-first birthday. If you wish to stay with your carer after, this your personal advisor can support you and explain how this will be a private arrangement.
• Social housing (Council)
  This is your own tenancy with South Tyneside Council, or with another council who you have a local connection with. You can apply for this through the council website of the area you are looking at.
• Private tenancy 
  This is through a private landlord.
• Living with friends or family

Social housing

You are eligible for a tenancy in social housing when you turn eighteen years old.

If you want it, your personal advisor will support you to apply for social housing.

This should take place around the date of your eighteenth birthday.

Lettable standard:

When you move into a Council home, we will make sure that it meets our lettable standards.

This sets out the standard that all our homes will meet when they are let to new residents.

This standard is set to ensure that the home is:

• safe
• secure
• clean
• in a good state of repair

Pre tenancy checks

We will check that all housing applicants can financially manage and able to manage and maintain a tenancy.

This can include checking any prior convictions and making sure you can afford it (evidence of your income, including benefits).

We will identify any support needs and offer you help.

Renting in the private sector

Your personal advisor will help view homes and tenancy agreements to make sure they are suitable.

If you get benefits, you can claim the one-bedroom rate for Universal Credit even if you are living in shared housing. You can claim this until your twenty-second birthday.

If you want to stay there after your twenty-second birthday, you will have to make up the difference on the rent.

Your personal advisor will also help you get welfare benefits and budgeting advice.

If you agree, your personal advisor will ask your new landlord if they can keep them 'up to date' if there are any problems (for example, with paying rent, or if there are concerns about anti-social behaviour).

This will allow them to help with any problems that arise.

Shared housing

Before you move in, the housing options service will:

• give you advice about housing
• make sure housing standards are acceptable to the Council
• work with your personal advisor who will make sure housing meets your needs

Your personal advisor will work with yourself and housing options to identify any risks to you. Your personal advisor will include these in your Pathway Plan review and a copy can be given to you.

Your personal advisor will make sure that an agreement is signed between you, your landlord, and the Council, which sets out:

• The name(s) and address(es) of who you want us to contact in an emergency.
• What support your personal advisor, social worker or other professionals will give you and your landlord.
• Any options that exist for surrendering (giving up) your tenancy.
• If the housing is not in South Tyneside, with your agreement, we will:
  • Tell the local authority you will be living in that you are care experienced.
  • Give them contact details for your personal advisor.

Your personal advisor will regularly visit you.

There are different levels of support available to help you choose the right housing option for you. 

If we think you can manage a tenancy with little or no support

• If you are leaving care and we think you can manage a tenancy with little or no support, you will be asked to join the housing register and bid for a home through South Tyneside Homes.
• You will be given Band One high priority for housing (Band One Plus is the highest band and Band Four is the lowest).
• Your personal advisor will help you through the process.

If we think you need more support

• Your personal advisor will work with other professionals to find the right housing for you.
• Once we have found what we think is the right housing for you, it will be inspected by your personal advisor and the Housing Options Service.
• We will decorate and furnish it for you.
• You will be given a written licence agreement telling you things such as the level of rent, the length of the licence and your responsibilities, plus the responsibilities of your landlord. For example, it will explain what behaviour we expect and how to report a repair.
• Your personal advisor and other Council officers will provide you with advice and support.
• They will have regular meetings so that any problems can be sorted out.

This information is also available in flowchart format, see help choosing the right housing option flowchart.

We will:

• Keep in touch with you when you are in custody, even if you are a long way from home.
• Look for housing options for you as your release date gets nearer.
• Keep you and the Youth Offending Service / Probation staff or case manager up to date.
• Support you to settle back into your community.
• Review your Pathway Plan.

We will work with different services to plan for your release.

We will make sure we plan for your safety and wellbeing too.

Your home may be outside South Tyneside and you may want to move there when you leave care.

Your personal advisor will discuss the options that you have for staying in the area where you want.

Your personal advisor will contact the council where you want to live to find out what housing options are available before you leave care.

With your consent, your personal advisor will inform the Housing Options service of anything in your Pathway Plan that may affect what they do to help and support you.

Your personal advisor will help you get any extra support you need. For example:

• budgeting advice
• support to stop your tenancy breaking down

A Homeless Allocation Pathway Planning Support (HAPPS) Panel meets regularly, and tracks and reviews care experienced young people placed in supported housing, especially those at high risk of eviction.

All care experienced young people are referred to specialist young people services, including:

• Key Project
• DePaul
• Places for People

They work together to provide housing and support if you are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Homelessness

Care experienced young people will not be classed as intentionally homeless.

If you become homeless, our Care Leaving team will be informed on the same working day, with your agreement. 

A Housing Options Officer will offer you advice and support. They will work closely with you and your personal advisor to try and solve your housing problem.

The Housing Options Officer will also provide you with a personalised housing plan. This is agreed with you and sets out the steps that must be taken to try to solve your problem.

It is important that action is taken quickly to prevent you becoming homeless.

Rough sleeping

If you are rough sleeping or are at risk of doing so, we will give you emergency temporary housing.

Bed and breakfast accommodation will only be used as a last resort.

Disagreements about housing and support will be dealt with by your personal advisor first.

If they cannot solve the problem, the relevant managers in both housing and children's services will try and sort it out.

A review of your pathway plan may be needed.

For information on who you can contact if you need help, please see key contacts.

Help and support

Our Welfare Support Service is the first point of contact for money advice in South Tyneside.

They provide debt, benefit, and money advice on the phone, in your local area or if necessary, in your home.

The service is free, impartial, and confidential.

We can help if you need:

• benefit advice
• support with benefit applications, appeals and tribunals
• debt advice, including bankruptcy and debt relief orders
• advice on whether you will be better off in work
• support with budgeting
• help preparing for Universal Credit
• help with the impact of the Bedroom Tax or Benefit Cap
• support to keep your home and make the most of your money

Please contact us:

• Phone: 0191 424 6040
• Email: welfaresupport@southtyneside.gov.uk

Citizens Advice also offer confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.

This commitment to care experienced young people will be reviewed every year.

The review will be led by the Housing Strategy Team.

Any major changes will be discussed with care experienced young people.

Your personal advisor and our Leaving Care Service are here to support you until you are twenty-five years old. We are also available after that if you need to get in touch.

Please contact us on 0191 427 2580 or by post:

MarketPlace
25-27 Market Place
South Shields
Tyne and Wear
NE33 1JF

If you have any problems with the Leaving Care Service, your personal advisor, or any positive feedback, please contact Lynne Kell by emailing Lynne.Kell@southtyneside.gov.uk or calling 0191 427 2467.

Contact housing applications

If you have any questions about housing applications, please contact:

• Phone: 0300 123 6633 (free)
• Email: connect2@southtyneside.gov.uk  

Contact the Council

If you have any general questions or concerns, the Housing Strategy Team can help. Please contact us on:

• Phone: 0191 427 7000
• Email: Housing.StrategyTeam@southtyneside.gov.uk

You can contact the Council from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6.30pm.

The emergency out of hours number is 0191 455 6111 and is to be used for emergencies only.

Other useful contacts

If you want any help including:

• report an emergency repair
• paying your rent
• check your rent account 
• Rubbish removal
• report an issue in your area
• contact South Tyneside Council
• make a complaint or give feedback 

Please contact us:

• Phone: 0300 123 6633
• Email: connect2@southtyneside.gov.uk 

Post: 

South Tyneside Homes
South Shields Town Hall
Westoe Road
South Shields
NE33 2RL

If you need to contact us about homelessness, call us for free on 0800 141 2645 or email housing.options@southtyneside.gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can have an online conversation with one of our Customer Service Advisors, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday

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