Prioritisation, suitability and availability
The TA offered to a household will be informed by three key factors:
- households priority (in relation to the bands and guidance in Appendix A)
- suitability
- availability.
TA will be banded into areas as follows:
- Band 1: Tonbridge and Malling Borough
- Band 2: Neighbouring local authority areas
- Band 3: Other areas, beyond those in Band 2.
Households will be prioritised for TA provision as outlined in the guidance notes in Appendix A. TA placements and offers will also be informed by availability of accommodation and suitability considerations.
Banding in a priority category does not guarantee a placement in the relevant area and is subject to suitable accommodation being available. Households will need to provide documentary evidence that they fall within a priority category.
In cases where Officers are looking to move a household in to borough from a placement outside Tonbridge and Malling, if there are several households with equal prioritisation under the banding guidance length of time in the out of borough placement will be used to finalise priority, i.e. a household who has been placed out of borough longest will be prioritised for a suitable property. There may be exceptions to this, for example, if a household is at risk in their TA, or the Police or other agency such as probation request an applicant is moved.
A suitability assessment is carried out for each household to consider their individual needs, requirements and potential risks to decide if a potential placement/offer would be suitable using the Vulnerability and suitability of accommodation assessment Form. The assessment includes consideration of:
- Any identified health or mobility issues, care or support provided by agencies or the need to access specialist medical services
- Any specific requirement for welfare or personal safety reasons, such as households fleeing domestic violence or victims of harassment
- Any potential risks an applicant or member of their household may post to existing residents or members of the public. This may include taking account of any arrangements or restrictions they are subject to, such as MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements), ViSOR (Violent and sex offender register), exclusion zones and bail or licence conditions. Officers will seek guidance from relevant agencies such as probation services and the police in these cases.
A financial assessment will be used to consider the financial circumstances of households and their ability to pay the relevant charges for the accommodation. Officers will review the financial assessment when they are informed of any material changes in a households’ finances.
TMBC acknowledge the importance of pets to some applicants, and they will be taken into consideration when assessing suitability of a placement. It may not always be possible to make provision for pets. Households may need to find alternative accommodation for pets while they are in TA.
Suitability will be kept under review all the time a accommodation duty is owed; officers will assess and respond to any relevant changes in a household’s circumstances they are made aware of.
Households will often be placed into accommodation that has fewer bedrooms than a household would be entitled to on a permanent basis.
Wherever possible households will be placed in accommodation that does not create conditions where they would be considered statutorily overcrowded. If this is not possible TMBC will move the household to more suitable alternative accommodation as soon as possible in agreement with the household.
TMBC are not responsible for providing parking in cases where households have a motor vehicle/s. Accommodation provided may be furnished or unfurnished. Officers will liaise with households on a case by case basis about their requirements. However TMBC are not required to provide furnished accommodation.