Homeless daughter and granddaughter due to bad relationship

Liz65

hi, my daughter and granddaughter are currently living at my place,  ( we live in a two bed park home)
after she was told to get my granddaughter away from the rented accommodation she live in after her partner had a psychotic episode.

When it first happened two weeks ago she came up to stay for a week but had to go back to the house and he wasn’t there so felt safe.  Then last Friday she was informed by child services that she needed to get my granddaughter out of the house before he came back she may have her taken away. So she came back to us and he is now residing at the house they shared, he is contacting her daily, being mentally abusive one minute then ok the next.  He is refusing to seek help even though he has been told he needs help to treat his condition.  He has been hearing voices and threatening to kill the neighbours and his own son from a previous relationship.   He doesn’t think anything is wrong with him.

My daughter has applied for emergency accommodation nearer to us but hasn’t heard anything yet, we have told them she can’t stay here long because of rules in the park we live in.  My granddaughter is classed as priority because she has a diagnosis of autism and possible adhd.  We have limited space and she is out of routine.  

Does anyone know how long this sort of thing takes please?  They are sending someone to assess my granddaughter on Friday but no mention of temporary housing or any housing.  

It seems unfair that she is going through all of this and he being made to seek help and it’s all his doing.

She isn’t going back to him as the relationship is now broken and doesn’t want him to have access to his child until he gets the help and medication 

Devongardener

Have the police been informed of his threatening behaviour?  Surely if Child Services are involved they must be liaising with police if they told your daughter to leave immediately. If the police haven’t spoken to her she should go to a police station herself.

Flugelhorn

What a difficult situation - I can imagine that though the current living situation is cramped it may be better than any alternate temporary accommodation that they will find for them - if they were able to find her somewhere it would be great but a B&B isn't going to be good or accommodation a very long way away

gwynlas

If they are staying with you the local council will take their time in sorting out tempoary accommodation.

Your daughter needs to present as homeless and unable to return to family home or yours and accept whatever is offerred even if this is a hotel room.

There needs to be a proper assessment of her partner which might mean that he is barred from theit family home allowing her and your granddaughter to return.

Mental illness can be treated and with medication he might be fine and they can reconcile.

marycanary

I'm sorry about your family's situation. It must be challenging for you all and very unfair.

Your granddaughter is a homeless child with autism and both she and your daughter have a realistic fear of violence so they are a priority for housing. You don't say who, "they" are. Is Children's Services or Housing? Children's Services should be in contact with the local council Housing Options team. If it is not housing and you feel this is not being moved forward quickly enough after the meeting on Friday, your daughter should contact the HOT (it may be called something else similar in your council). Arrange an appointment to speak to a Housing Options Officer ASAP. How long it takes depends on your council area.
  
Due to the pressure on temporary accommodation, they may ask you to keep them in your home. There has been a huge rise in homelessness, and councils are finding it hard to source TA so some is poor quality. Wait to see what they offer, but you may not want your family to live there. How long can they stay with you before anyone takes action against you for breach of your site agreement?

What does your daughter want? Does she want a council or housing association property or would she be happy in private renting? If they are lucky they may be offered a permanent home in a few months.  Depending on where you live you can expect your family to be in TA for many months or years before they are offered a home.

Good luck.

elsien

Whose name is the tenancy on the rental place in, hers, his or both?
if she has no plans to return and the tenancy is in her name or joint she needs to look at ending that because she will still be liable.

I suspect the message from social services may have been somewhat lost in translation - if the level is threat is so high why has she not taken an injunction out against him or got the police involved? 

Obviously, there is also the possibility of requesting a mental health assessment for him if he is so unwell. The police have the power to do that if they turn up and he’s  presenting in a way that means he could be a danger to himself or others due to his mental health.  As his partner and possibly his Nearest Relative under the mental health act (not next of kin, which has no legal meaning) she could also request that assessment in order to help him get treatment. 

And if he is contacting her daily then she needs to block him and report him for harrassment. He may be unwell but that does not mean she has to tolerate that level of behaviour. 

saajan_12

Does daughter work, or have an income at all? If she can afford it, she might be better off finding a private rental. 

Liz65

Thanks for thanks for replies. The police were involved in the beginning but she hasn’t heard from them since.  She is in the process of ending her joint tenancy with him and won’t be returning to the house with her daughter as she has asked to be put closer to family, he was her only family where she lived.  Social services told her to get her daughter out of the house as she couldn’t be in the same house as him!  She would lose her otherwise.  She can’t stay in my home for any length of time, as stated previously we live in a park home and there are rules about visitors staying. She has no intention of a reconciliation with him as he is not seeking any medical help, no actual charges were brought against him in the beginning but she was just told by social services that my granddaughter can’t be there! She has had enough and wants a more stable home life for her daughter.  

RAS

Your daughter is in a cleft stick at the moment. You've not said whether she has a joint or sole tenancy, but I'm going to assume she is on the tenancy agreement from your comments.

Do you live in the same police authority area?

She needs the existing tenancy to end because

1. Whilst it remains, she's legally liable for the entire rent. There's a risk that the ex just won't pay the rent so arrears accrue.
2. Whilst it remains, she is not homeless. It could be that if her ex was removed she is adequately housed. 

But, if she ends the tenancy, she has to ensure vacant possession. She's liable for penalty rent if ex does not move out.

And many councils would consider her voluntarily homeless, it's unlikely the housing office know about the DA or Social Services situation.

She needs to go back to Social Services and the police and push really hard for help getting re-housed, and/or get a situation where she can safely either return to the property or at least end the tenancy, without being penalised by her LL or rehoming officers locally.

She certainly needs to be sharing details of the recent texts and threats from her ex with the police, and his mental health team if possible.

And since she was apparently living in another area, presenting as homeless in your area could be a complete non-starter, even if she'd prefer it.

She also needs to contact one of the DV charities (Women's Aid, Refuge), and seek their help. Very often there are issues that trigger the required response if you know what they are and how to express the fact/need. But until you say something that triggers the alert, the professionals put you in the lower risk category.

Being realistic, unless your home in the same local and police authority as her old home, getting relocated nearer you has to wait until she has got out of this particular situation.

Flugelhorn

"She can’t stay in my home for any length of time, as stated previously we live in a park home and there are rules about visitors staying."

I doubt that while there are significant housing problems generally and they currently have a roof over their heads, then the housing authorities won't take much notice of this unless the owners of the park get legal over it and that process could take a while. 

marycanary

RAS said:

Your daughter is in a cleft stick at the moment. You've not said whether she has a joint or sole tenancy, but I'm going to assume she is on the tenancy agreement from your comments.

Do you live in the same police authority area?

She needs the existing tenancy to end because

1. Whilst it remains, she's legally liable for the entire rent. There's a risk that the ex just won't pay the rent so arrears accrue.
2. Whilst it remains, she is not homeless. It could be that if her ex was removed she is adequately housed. 

But, if she ends the tenancy, she has to ensure vacant possession. She's liable for penalty rent if ex does not move out.

And many councils would consider her voluntarily homeless, it's unlikely the housing office know about the DA or Social Services situation.

She needs to go back to Social Services and the police and push really hard for help getting re-housed, and/or get a situation where she can safely either return to the property or at least end the tenancy, without being penalised by her LL or rehoming officers locally.

She certainly needs to be sharing details of the recent texts and threats from her ex with the police, and his mental health team if possible.

And since she was apparently living in another area, presenting as homeless in your area could be a complete non-starter, even if she'd prefer it.

She also needs to contact one of the DV charities (Women's Aid, Refuge), and seek their help. Very often there are issues that trigger the required response if you know what they are and how to express the fact/need. But until you say something that triggers the alert, the professionals put you in the lower risk category.

Being realistic, unless your home in the same local and police authority as her old home, getting relocated nearer you has to wait until she has got out of this particular situation.

Someone at risk of violence does not have an adequate home and is considered homeless. Councils have a duty to assist people with a realistic fear of violence, which your family has. Naturally, the council will inquire to see if they can return home, but just because he is out of the home does not mean your daughter and granddaughter are safe. The fact that he is contacting them regularly and making threats shows this may not be the case.

 S171 (1) Housing Act 1996 provides that it is not reasonable for a person to continue to occupy accommodation if it is probable that this will lead to domestic abuse or other violence against:

1. (a) the applicant;

2. (b) a person who normally resides with the applicant as a member of the applicant’s family; or,

3. (c) any other person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant

Housing and Children's Services should regularly communicate directly about cases of joint interest. CS and the police have a legal duty to refer people threatened with homelessness to the housing team. The housing team will have a place on the multi agency domestic violence meetings so they know the DV provision in your area.

Councils may have a duty to house people from outside their areas if they are escaping violence and this is needed for their safety. However, if they live in a large local authority like Birmingham or East Riding of Yorkshire, it could be reasonable to house them in another part of the local authority area because it is unlikely he could find them. You could argue it is reasonable that your daughter will want to move near you for support. 

Concerning your caravan. Your D and GD do not have a right to occupy, so the council can not discharge their duty to them by saying they can stay with you. You must make it clear that accommodation with you is short term. However, if the alternative to staying with you is accommodation in poor quality temporary accommodation, you may think it is better to let them remain until the site owner/manager kicks up a fuss.

In short, tell the housing team,

1) It is not safe for them to return to the home even if he is out because of his continual threats. 
2) They need to be close to you to obtain support for your D & GD
3) They can not live with you due to the site rules

Expect them to,

1) Try to fob you off
2) Offer them low quality TA
3) Tell you they could be in TA for years.

They are not wicked, or although some may be incompetent, as in any walk of life, they are massively under resourced for the scale of homelessness in the UK.