There might be times when a young person needs specialist housing advice or legal aid relating to a housing situation. To best prepare them for this process here is some useful information to help you and them.
It can be useful to check what kind of tenancy they have. You can do this by going to the Shelter website, Clicking your location. England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and then searching “Tenancy status checker” The first link on the website will direct you to a short questionnaire that will guide you through what kind of tenancy the young person might have.
You can find the website address by searching for Shelter online or by using the Ask Us recognised links in this toolkit.
Before you make an appointment for either Housing Advice or Housing legal aid here are some documents you can help the young person prepare.
- All tenancy agreements for the property.
- Notice seeking possession (all notices if the tenant has received more than one).
- Claim form (if possession claim issued).
- Particulars of claim (if possession claim issued).
- Any defence the client has already submitted (if applicable)
- “How to Rent” booklet
- Gas safety certificate (if gas in the property).
- Energy performance certificate.
- Deposit protection certificate.
- Prescribed information in relation to deposit (which may be included in the relevant tenancy agreement).
- Improvement notice or emergency remedial notice (if council has issued one due to disrepair issues).
- Evidence of any disrepair (if relevant), for example photographs and/or emails/letters to the landlord.
- Rent statement (if tenant has rent arrears).
- Any other documents regarding rent payments (if in arrears), particularly if the tenant does not agree with the arrears figure provided by the landlord, for example bank statements (showing what rent payments have been made) and/or universal credit statements (evidencing any shortfall and/or contribution towards outstanding arrears).
- Any correspondence from the landlord regarding the notice/possession proceedings/rent arrears
- Evidence of any medical conditions e.g. GP/hospital letter.
- Landlord’s bundle for review hearing (if possession claim issued).
- Any defence the client has already submitted (if applicable)
- Deposit protection certificate.
- Prescribed information in relation to deposit (which may be included in the relevant tenancy agreement).
- Improvement notice or emergency remedial notice (if council has issued one due to disrepair issues).
- Photos/videos of any disrepair issues.
- Any other evidence regarding why rent has not been paid.
If the young person is accessing Legal Aid for their housing issue they will need to provide the following
- Title
- First Name
- Surname
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Date of Birth
- National insurance Number
- Gender
- Marital status
- Place of birth
- Current address and postcode
- Ethnicity
- Sexual orientation (not required if would prefer not to say)
- Religion (not required if would prefer not to say)
- Does the client have a disability? The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities
- Employed? If so, what is the job?
What happens next?
At the appointment an adviser, housing specialist or solicitor will talk to the young person about their situation and what’s been going on for them.
As with all advice appointments, it’s important to encourage the practice of note taking and asking of any questions that they may have. The adviser is there to help.
The adviser, housing specialist or solicitor will;
- Advise the young person what information they need to gather (They may have already brought this documents or information with them)
- Help them to understand next steps in the legal process
- Help the young person understand their legal rights and responsibilities
- Advise on their landlords legal rights and responsibilities
- Signpost the young person to services or information relating to their issue.
What next?
You can continue to support the young person receiving housing advice and legal representation by
- Helping to gather paperwork or documents
- Attending any further appointments with them
- Research the topics with them discussed in the appointment so the young person becomes familiar with the terminology
- Checking in with the young person to make sure they are up to date with any tasks the adviser or solicitor has set for them
- Ask the adviser/solicitor to email you/copy you in to any updates on the case
- Arrange regular time(s) with the adviser/solicitor for an update. The administrative side can sometimes take a while and feel like nothing is happening. The adviser or solicitor should explain this in the appointment, but if the young person is concerned, make sure there are contact details for them and yourself.
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