Open Moves and Incommunities, acting on behalf of Bradford Council, has a legal obligation to accommodate those we believe are homeless, eligible and in priority need, and we will arrange interim accommodation for you, until a decision has been reached on your application.
Temporary accommodation is used by Incommunities to house people in the short-term, or until permanent accommodation is secured.
What help will you give me with somewhere to stay while you are assessing my application?
If we consider that you are homeless, eligible and in priority need, we have a legal duty to find ‘interim’ accommodation for you. In some cases you may be able to stay with family or friends whilst your initial application is being assessed.
What help will you give me if you approve my application?
If the decision we make is to accept a duty to house you in temporary accommodation, we will make this accommodation available to you until our duty comes to an end.
Our duty may come to an end for a number of reasons, the most common ones are you:
- or the person giving you priority stops being eligible, e.g. their asylum application being rejected by the home office
- find alternative accommodation
- refuse a suitable offer of temporary accommodation
- voluntarily leave accommodation we have made available to you
- become homeless from temporary accommodation intentionally
- are evicted from our temporary accommodation
- accept an offer of permanent accommodation
The temporary accommodation service based at Octavia Court is responsible for the allocation of interim or temporary accommodation for homeless people.
What happens to my furniture?
We may be able to store your furniture for you (temporary accommodation flats come fully furnished) but their might be only limited living space depending on numbers in the household. For this reason only a small number of personal belongings can be accepted into our accommodation. If you need help with storage, you should speak initially to your housing options officer based in the Open Moves advice team at: City House, Cheapside, Bradford. There is a charge for this service. Once your belongings have been stored, you will not be able to gain access to them easily (and you will have to pay to gain access).
If we do not accept a duty towards you, your belongings will have to be collected from storage. Items left uncollected may be disposed of.
You will also need to note that we can arrange limited insurance cover. We would advise you to take out any additional insurance you wish to cover your belongings.
Will I be given a choice of interim or temporary accommodation?
No. If there are reasons why you want to be in a particular area, please let the housing options officer know and they will take this additional information into consideration. However, there is no guarantee you will be placed in this area.
Unless there are very strong reasons why you cannot accept the interim or temporary accommodation we offer, you will be asked to accept it straight away. However you will still be able to look at the temporary accommodation address being offered to you before accepting it. You should also be aware that we operate a policy of one offer only of suitable interim or temporary accommodation. You will be offered the opportunity to meet with staff and other people who use the service on arrival.
What happens if I refuse the interim or temporary accommodation?
When you have viewed the accommodation, if for any reason you wish to refuse it, you will need to tell us why.
If we still consider it to be a suitable offer, we may no longer have a duty towards you. It is very important that you speak to us as soon as possible after you have viewed the property, if you do not intend to stay there.
Under the law, you cannot ask us to review the suitability of interim accommodation, but you can ask us to review the suitability of temporary accommodation.
If you do not feel the offer of temporary accommodation is suitable, please contact a housing options officer who will give you advice about requesting a review.
You should think very carefully before turning down an offer of interim or temporary accommodation. If we do not accept your reasons for refusal, our duty to provide you with accommodation will come to an end and you will have to find your own.
Can my temporary accommodation be canceled at any time?
Yes, but only with good reason. Some examples are listed below.
If you do not:
- keep appointments with us
- provide the documents we ask for
- take reasonable care of the accommodation
- accept other offers of interim or temporary accommodation made to you
- pay your share of the charges for the interim or temporary accommodation
- tell us in advance when you want to stay away from the interim or temporary accommodation
or if you:
- have not been staying in your accommodation
- do not find or accept and move into any suitable settled offer of accommodation available to you
- or any member of your family breaches the rules of the occupancy agreement in the accommodation (for example nuisance or aggressive behavior).
Decoration of interim / temporary accommodation
- our temporary accommodation flats are intended for short term use, and so whilst you can not decorate them we welcome your views on colour schemes which we might use in the future
Fortunately most people in interim/temporary accommodation have a very positive experience and make the most of opportunities to engage with learning: personal development and pre-tenancy support delivered through an individual support plan.
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What to do next
If you’re facing any of the issues listed above you can call us on tel: 01274 257600
