Priority need: how the council weighs vulnerability

Apply to the council as homeless, and the full housing duty comes only where you count as in "priority need". For some groups it is automatic. Families with children and pregnant women always qualify. For others, it turns on being assessed as "vulnerable".

Here is how the test works, and what to do when the council says you are not vulnerable.

What does "vulnerable" mean in housing law?

The Housing Act 1996 makes the council house you where you are homeless and "vulnerable". The law lists old age, mental illness, disability, and other special reasons.

In simple terms, the test asks one thing. Would homelessness put you at much more risk than an ordinary person? A judge framed it this way. Would you suffer more harm than the ordinary homeless person, sleeping rough or managing with no home?

The bar sits high. A health condition alone does not make the council accept vulnerability.

What conditions or circumstances can support a vulnerability assessment?

These grounds often pass, though each case stands on its own:

Mental health problems: depression, anxiety, psychosis, PTSD, or time in hospital for mental health. The council must weigh how homelessness would hit your mental health.

Physical disability or long-term illness: conditions with a big effect on daily life. Ones that would put you at much more risk with no home.

Old age: no fixed age exists. The council must weigh whether frailty or health problems that come with age raise your risk.

Time in care: care leavers under 21 hold automatic priority need. Between 21 and 24, the council must weigh whether time in care raises your risk.

Time in the armed forces: veterans count as a special reason group. The council must weigh your service, and what came from it: PTSD, injury, trouble settling back in.

Time in prison or custody: leaving custody counts as a special reason, though it gives no automatic priority need.

Domestic abuse history: the council must weigh whether risk remains, and whether the trauma and upheaval raise your risk.

Substance problems beside other factors: dependency alone gives no automatic priority need. Beside other factors, it can join the picture.

How does the council assess it?

The council usually asks about your situation at the interview. It may also:

• Ask for medical evidence from your doctor or hospital consultant
• Ask for a report from a support worker, social worker, or community nurse
• Run its own check, or send you for an independent medical one

The care taken varies council to council. Some weigh the evidence properly. Others decide too fast, on too little.

What evidence can you provide?

Strong supporting evidence includes:

• A letter from your doctor or psychiatrist. It should set out diagnosis, treatment, and likely outcome. It should say why homelessness would make things much worse.
• A letter from a community mental health team, support worker, or social worker
• Hospital discharge or referral letters
• A probation officer's letter, where custody is recent
• Evidence of domestic abuse: police reports, refuge records, IDVA referral

A general letter convinces less than one answering the test. Why would you suffer much more harm than an ordinary person in the same spot?

What if the council decides you are not in priority need?

A review can be asked for within 21 days. A different officer runs it, and more evidence can go in.

A review that holds the original decision can go to the county court on a point of law, within 21 days of the review.

While waiting, a right to a temporary place pending the review may exist. Ask the council when requesting it.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Homeless, or at risk, because of disrepair in your current home? Severe damp and mould that make it unfit to live in, say? Call us on 0800 030 4669.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Section 189, Housing Act 1996 (priority need) (legislation.gov.uk)

Related articles

• Priority need, homeless, what counts?
• How to apply as homeless to the council
• Suitability review, temporary accommodation