Challenging a homeless decision

If you disagree with the council's decision about your homeless application you can usually challenge it by asking for a review. This means the council will have to look at their decision again.

You can ask for a review if the council:

• decide they won’t help you or are going to stop helping you

• decide you don't have a local connection

• offer you housing that you don’t think is suitable

Ask for a review within 21 days

You must normally ask for a review within 21 days of getting your decision. 

If you need more time to collect evidence or get help from someone, you should still ask for a review within 21 days. You might want to send a short letter to ask for a review and say that you’ll send more information later. The council should still look at information you send after the deadline.

Asking for a review after the deadline

In some cases you might be able to ask for a review after the deadline, but this can be complicated. If you’ve missed the deadline and you want to ask for a review, talk to an adviser.

Making a new application

If you’ve missed the deadline to ask for a review, you might still be able to make a new homeless application. You can only do this if you have something new to include in it - this means either:

• your situation has changed since you last applied - for example, if you’ve had a child

• you got new evidence since you last applied - for example, a medical report from your doctor

The council should let you apply again if you include something new. Talk to an adviser if the council refuses to accept your application.

Preparing to ask for a review

The council will usually send you a decision letter explaining their decision.

Read your letter and make a note of anything you disagree with and anything you think the council has missed. If you can, you should get evidence to show they’re wrong.

How to prepare depends on the decision you want to challenge. If you got a decision letter, it should say why the council made the decision.

Asking for a review

Check your decision letter. It should tell you how to ask for a review and include an email address and postal address - it might also include a phone number.

It’s best to write to your local council asking them to review their decision - you can find your local council on GOV.UK. Keep a copy of your letter or email for evidence. Get a proof of posting receipt when sending your review and evidence.

You can also phone or go to the council in person to tell them you want a review. It's worth doing this if you're close to the review deadline. They should give you confirmation that you’ve asked for a review, so you can prove this later.

You’II need to say you want a review and explain why you think the council should change their decision. Make sure you say when you got your decision letter and which decision you want them to review.

You should also let the council know if your circumstances have changed as this might help your review. For example, if your health has got worse.

What you tell the council will depend on why you're asking for a review.

It’s best to have evidence to support your request for a review. If you’re sending evidence, make sure you send copies and not original documents.

If you’re waiting to get evidence, it’s still important to ask for the review within 21 days. You can send your evidence after asking for a review. Tell the council when you think you’ll be able to send your evidence and ask them to wait for it before they make their decision.

Ask for somewhere to stay during the review

The council might give you housing while they review their decision - this is called 'accommodation pending review'. If you’re already homeless or the council tell you to leave emergency accommodation, you should ask for accommodation pending review when you ask for the review.

If the council say they won’t give you accommodation pending review and you want to challenge this, talk to an adviser.

Before you get your review decision

The council should write to you with their decision within 8 weeks - unless you agree to let the council have more time.

After requesting a review the council might ask you to meet with a housing officer to give more information.  

You should go to the meeting - it’s your chance to make sure the council fully understands your situation and why you disagree with their decision.

It's worth taking another copy of your evidence with you - so you can refer back to it if you need to.

You can take someone with you - to take notes, or just for support.

You can also send further written information or evidence to the council after asking for a review. Talk to an adviser if you need help putting together a further written case.

Getting your review decision

If you disagree with the council's review decision you might be able to appeal to the county court. You must do this within 21 days of getting the decision.

You can only appeal if the council got the law wrong or didn’t investigate properly.

You can also appeal if the council miss the deadline to decide on your review. This is 8 weeks after you asked for the review, unless you agreed to give them more time. You must appeal within 21 days of the deadline.

Talk to an adviser if you want to appeal a decision to the county court.

Making a complaint to the council

Complaining won’t usually make the council change their decision. It might make them improve their service, and they might give you money as an apology.

You should consider complaining if the people dealing with your homeless application or issue have handled it badly. They might have:

• handled your application wrong - for example, if they took too long to look at it

• discriminated against you - check if you’ve been discriminated against

• tried to stop you from applying for help

Check how to complain on your council's website - you’ll usually need to make a written complaint. Find your local council on GOV.UK.

Make sure your letter explains what the council did wrong and what you want them to do - include evidence to support your case.

Making a complaint to the ombudsman

You can complain to the Public Services Ombudsman if you’ve already complained to your local council and either:

• you’ve gone all the way through the council’s complaints procedure - this usually includes 2 or 3 stages

• the council hasn’t replied to you within 12 weeks and you haven’t agreed to give them more time 

The ombudsman is independent and will examine the case from both sides to recommend a decision they think is fair.

Check how to complain to the Public Services Ombudsman on their website. Your local council will be listed as a type of ‘public service provider’ - it might also be called a ‘local authority’.

Talk to an adviser if you need help complaining.