Temporary accommodation storage procedure

Where the authority performs it duty by moving the applicant’s belongings to a location nominated by the applicant, the duty will end once it has been moved.

If the council are storing the applicant’s belongings, then the duty will not end until there is no longer any reason to believe the applicant cannot deal with his/her property so there is no longer any loss or damage.

Even though an authority may discharge duty to accommodate there is still an obligation to ensure that the applicant can take steps to protect his own property.

In these circumstances a duty to protect may still exist even though main duty has ended but the applicant remains homeless.

Enquiries need to be made to ensure that the applicant has made provision for the protection and storage of his own belongings long after he or she may have left temporary accommodation

If the council is satisfied after enquiries are complete there is no risk of loss or damage then a letter ending duty for protection will be sent. (S.212 5) (Appendix 2 refers).

Setting of conditions:

There is the element of what is reasonable in the circumstances and councils are not expected to store property indefinitely.

It might be that the council considers imposing conditions which include disposing of property if the applicant does not make payments towards the cost of storage for example where opportunity has been given to make payments and/or collect property.

Other conditions can include making sure the council is updated with forwarding addresses so that the applicant can be updated as regards stored property or property that has been disposed of.

Any conditions imposed should be set out in writing before assuming responsibility for protection of property and ideally the signature of the applicant should be obtained together with a record of any oral or written advice given at the time.

Councils that fail to impose any conditions before taking action to protect the belongings will be unable to rely on any conditions they subsequently impose to end the duty.  Sutton LBC

Procedure

1. The duty to protect belongings is triggered when a homeless application is received.   If the customer needs to vacate a property and has personal belongings to store, the HOO will establish whether the customer has made arrangements for storage or whether they have the means to make arrangements and pay for such storage.  If it is the case the customer cannot make their own arrangements then letter 1 will be sent by the HOO. The customer must be advised that any costs incurred in providing a service for storage will be passed on.
2. All storage companies will ask for proof of house contents insurance and if the customer does not have adequate cover it is likely the storage company will offer to sell cover provided by the company.  Offer of storage will be withdrawn by most companies if no insurance is in place.
3. The HOO will need to liaise with the Temporary Accommodation Team to enquire as to whether there is capacity to store belongings in a local unit currently rented by WHBC.  In circumstances where it is possible to store items in our local unit this is likely to be for a very limited time as this facility is used to store furniture for TA.  This facility can be used in circumstances where there is an urgent need with insufficient time to make other arrangements. 
4. The TA Team will identify and establish costs of storage from a list of local suppliers.  This information will be passed on to the customer for their benefit. We are simply providing information and cannot make recommendations.  In most cases local companies operate on a self-storage basis, this means that the responsibility for checking the condition of property placed in self-storage rests with the customer not the TA Team. When it is necessary to use local storage already rented by WHBC, the TA Team will issue the customer with an inventory list and take photos of the property once placed in the unit as a record of the condition of the property at the time of placement.
5. A copy of terms and conditions of storage as they apply will be provided to the customer.  This should include any payment terms agreed between council and the customer.
6. Where the customer is in financial hardship and cannot immediately pay for storage, and there is no capacity to use the TA Team storage unit, the HOO may consider approaching the Team Leader or Housing Options Manager to discuss whether WHBC are willing to pay any initial instalment towards the cost of the first months rental.
7. Cost codes: if storage is arranged for the customers use before they enter TA cost codes 46082 and 6200 will apply but if the customer is already in TA then use  24001 8365.
8. Record the terms and conditions of the provision of storage by the council to be recorded on LOCATA.
9. Any letters in relation to storage sent to the customer must be uploaded to LOCATA.
10. Where the customer has agreed to pay for storage by instalments via WHBC and subsequently falls into arrears notice letter 2 will be triggered.
11. When the customer has a move in date for settled accommodation as part of a tenancy letter 3 ‘ending duty for storage’ should be sent by the HOO.
12.  In circumstances where a customer has vacated temporary accommodation and left behind residual personal property, the Temporary Accommodation Team must take steps to secure and store any items left behind. Before removal to a local storage unit, photographs should be taken of the property in situ as a record of the condition of the property before it is removed to storage.  Personal items of property being stored in these circumstances should be recorded on an inventory list.   The Temporary Accommodation Team must arrange for letter 4 ‘Notice to collect or dispose of residual property’ to be sent to the customer.  Where a forwarding address is not known, the TA Team must leave a letter at their last place of abode and record that this letter has been placed and record efforts made to trace the customer before the property is finally disposed of.