homeless this christmas what can you do

<p>This time of year most people will be buying gifts for loved ones to pile high beneath their brightly lit Christmas tree and exchange on a day filled with overindulging in treats, or at least some people do.</p> <p>However a great number of people will spending their Christmas in temporary accommodation or even worse, as one of the many street homeless. According to Shelter 100,000 children will be homeless this Christmas, many spending the festive season in temporary accommodation provided by the Local Authority.</p> <p>Other people will be making the decision of whether to pay for electricity and gas, or pay their rent over the Christmas period. These people face an uncertain future in the New Year when their landlord decides too much rent is owed and it is time for them to be replaced by new tenants.</p> <p>Unfortunately this very common a situation, if you find yourself homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, you can go to the Local Authority to present as homeless. The Local Authority will have an immediate duty to interview you if there are grounds to believe that you are homeless or threatened with homelessness within the coming 28 days.</p> <p>Your Local Authority should interview you immediately and make investigations into your circumstances before deciding whether they owe you a duty based upon:</p> <p>Following an interview, the Local Authority has 33 working days to carry out their investigations and make their decision.  Whilst they are carrying out their investigations they can provisionally decide that there is a possibility that you are homeless, eligible and in priority need. In that case you should be offered temporary accommodation while you are waiting for their final decision. The Local Authority should provide you with a decision in writing whether this is positive or negative, this decision should also explain your rights to appeal this decision if it is negative.</p> <p>If you find yourself in this situation this Christmas, get in touch with our team, for more information.</p>