Homelessness Policy and Procedure

Severe Social Needs Cases

Severe Social Need Cases are applicants who cannot be dealt with within the Allocations Policy, and require urgent re-housing. No restrictions can be made as to whether the applicant is a tenant or waiting list applicant with South Ayrshire Council.

It is difficult to give a defined list of these cases as there can be no set criteria for an applicant who would require this priority. Each case would need to be considered on its own merit. However, some examples may be: -

Severe mental health problems coupled with the environment the applicant currently resides in.
Sexual abuse.
Witness Protection Scheme

Procedure

Evidence must be sought form all relevant agencies, e.g. Social Work, Resources, G.P. Police etc. The Homeless Officer must be confident there is an URGENT need for housing that all other avenues within the allocations policy have been investigated and there is no prospect of the case being dealt with quickly other than being awarded this priority. All cases must be supported by the Homeless Service Manager.

When assessing the needs of the applicant consideration must be given to the urgency of the case and they must be queued for housing accordingly.