How to request a review of your homelessness decision

Our decision

If you have approached us for help under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by Homelessness Act 2002), the homeless legislation, by law we must write to tell you about our decision. This is known as a 'Section 184 Notification'. This letter will tell you what decision we have made and the reasons for it.

If you receive your Section 184 Notification letter and are not satisfied with the decision you can ask for a review of the decision.

When can I request a review?

You can request a review if our letter states that:

  • you are not eligible for assistance (this will affect some people from abroad)
  • you are not homeless or threatened with homelessness
  • you are not in priority need
  • you are intentionally homeless
  • you do not have a local connection with South Cambridgeshire and we have decided to refer you to another local authority.

You may also ask for a review if you feel you have been offered unsuitable accommodation in the following circumstances:

  • temporary accommodation provided for you after your homeless application has been accepted by the council (this is called Section 193 accommodation)
  • an offer of permanent accommodation made via the Housing Register


What if I have new information or my circumstances have changed since the decision was made?

If you have more information which you feel should have been taken into account in making the decision, you should ask for your application to be reassessed. This will be done by the person who made the first decision about your application. If new information does not change our decision at that stage, this information will be considered during your review.

Asking for a review

You must ask for a review in writing within 21 days of being told about our decision. You can write to us or you housing advice and options team can ask someone else to write in for you. If you are unable to write to us, please telephone our within 21 days and make it clear that you are asking for a review.

Your review will be considered by a senior officer, usually the housing advice and options manager, who has not previously been involved in making the decision that you are asking to be reviewed. The request should be addressed to:

Housing advice and homelessness team leader
South Cambridgeshire District Council
Cambourne Business Park
Cambourne
CB23 6EA

Will I be given somewhere to live during the review process?

We are not under a duty to provide you with accommodation during this time. You can ask us to provide you with somewhere to live. Your circumstances and any new information you have given us will be taken into account. However, we will only continue to provide you with temporary accommodation in exceptional circumstances.

What happens next?

You will be asked for any extra information you feel should be considered that was not included in your original letter asking for the review. This extra information must be sent to us within 14 days. You can ask someone to write in on your behalf if you wish. It is in your interest to provide us with as much information as possible.

If you don't send us any extra information within 14 days the review will be based on the facts that are already known. A report will be prepared by the housing advice and options team, and passed to the officer responsible for reviewing your case, along with all additional information.

How long will the review take?

A decision on a review must be made within 56 days of your original request. This may be extended in agreement with you.

The review

The reviewing officer will consider your case and come to a decision. This will take into account any change in your circumstances since the original decision. You will be told about the review decision as soon as possible. The notification will include:

  • our decision
  • the facts that were taken into account
  • the reason for our decision

Oral hearing

During consideration of your review, if it appears that:

  • there has been some irregularity in the original decision, but
  • it is likely the reviewing officer will still make a decision that you are not satisfied with

We will tell you and invite you to a meeting to discuss it - known as an oral hearing.

The decisions open to us

We can

  • accept your appeal (this may require your homeless application to be referred back for further consideration of other aspects)
  • reject your appeal, this means our decision remains the same
  • issue a new decision based on the new information you've given us

What if I am not satisfied with the review decision?

You can appeal to the county court on any point of law arising from the decision of the review, or on the original decision if we have not met the time limit to complete your review. You can only apply to the county court if you have used our review procedure and are not satisfied.

An appeal must be brought within 21 days of the date that we tell you about our review decision.

If you are considering appealing to the county court, the local Citizens Advice Bureau, housing advice agency or a solicitor can assist you.

Local Government Ombudsman

If you are not satisfied with our review decision you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman. The ombudsman will consider a complaint if you believe you have been treated unfairly as a result of maladministration, for example, we have:

  • delayed taking action without good reason;
  • taken into account irrelevant considerations or ignored relevant ones;
  • not followed our own rules or complied with the law;
  • given you the wrong information
  • not reached a decision in the correct way.

The ombudsman will not investigate certain matters, for example, if 12 months has passed since the cause for complaint occurred; or when matters are, or could be, subject to court proceedings.

Contact the Local Government Ombudsman
The Oaks
2 Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry CV4 8JB

IMPORTANT
If you are unable to ask for a review within the time limits you can still ask for a review but should give reasons for the delay. We may refuse to consider an out of date request.