Prisoners and ex-offenders who are intentionally homeless
We may decide that you are intentionally homeless.
This could happen if you were evicted from your previous home due to:
- criminal or antisocial behaviour
- rent arrears resulting from your time in prison
If we decide you're intentionally homeless, we'll only offer you limited help with finding a home.
If you're in priority need, we may offer you temporary accommodation, to give you time to find a home for yourself
If we think you should have known you'd lose your home
We may decide that you should have known your criminal activity could result in you being sent to prison, which could lead to the loss of your home.
We're less likely to decide this, if the loss of your home didn't directly follow on from you being sent to prison.
For example, if you made an arrangement for another person to pay the rent while you were away, but that arrangement broke down.
If you gave up your tenancy due to benefits ending while you were in prison
This could also mean you're intentionally homeless. We may decide this if you gave up your tenancy because your entitlement to housing benefit ended during a period in prison.
It is very important to ask us for advice.
Email: homeless.intervention@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 4370
This is particularly for cases where it could be argued you were sent to prison for a crime that was not premeditated, or was not deliberate because you were not able to understand the consequences of your actions.
This could happen due to:
- having limited mental capacity
- mental illness
- frailty
- an assessed substance abuse problem