Page last updated at 16:29 GMT, Thursday, October 6 2011
Housing Advice
Housing Advice
Private Sector Loan Schemes
In some cases, the Council can help with loans to secure Private Rented Accommodation.
For further information contact the Housing Advice section on 023
80 688165.
Housing Options
The Council will give you advice on your housing options.
Renting or buying
properties
For further information
contact the Housing Advice section on 023 80 688165.
Do you need furniture?
In some cases, the
Council can refer you projects which can help you to obtain
furniture.
Help With Furniture, Food and
Clothing
For further information contact the Housing Advice section on
023 80 688165
Tenant / Landlord Advice
The Council can
give advice and information on Tenant and Landlord matters.
Telephone the Housing Advice Section on 023 80 688165 for more
information.
The Government publishes a number of leaflets including Tenant and
Landlord issues.
Help with Mortgage Payments
Are you worried about keeping up with your mortgage repayments?
Worried about Repossession?
In
response to increased mortgage repossessions and the associated
increased risk of homelessness, Communities & Local Government
(CLG) announced a £200m Mortgage Rescue Scheme (MRS).
MRS, launched on 1st January 2009 is part of a wider package of
measures to help homeowners through the current economic
downturn.
These wider measures include support to out-of-work homeowners
who are eligible for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) and
support to homeowners who have suffered a short term income shock
and who may be eligible for the recently announced Homeowner
Mortgage Support scheme.
MRS is a targeted and specific homelessness prevention tool for
vulnerable households. It is intended to provide an additional
safety net for up to 6,000 homeowners with vulnerable households
who are at risk of losing their home through repossession over the
next 2 years.
Depending on their specific circumstances, homeowners eligible
for help under a MRS may be offered either:
- a shared equity option, which enables the homeowner’s monthly
mortgage payments to be reduced,
or
- Government mortgage to rent which enables the homeowner to
remain in the property as an RSL tenant on an assured shorthold
tenancy, paying a sub-market rent
If you own a home in the borough and are threatened with
repossession and want further information on your eligibility for
this scheme please contact Housing Advice on 023 80 688165.
NHAS Mortgage
Advice pdf
Help with Rent
If you need help to pay your rent, you may be entitled to Housing
Benefit. You should contact the Housing Benefit section on
023 80 688046.
Other Benefits that may assist at this time
You may be entitled to other financial help. For more
information contact the Benefits Agency for your area as listed in
the telephone directory.
Domestic Violence/Relationship Breakdown
If you need advice on your housing options because of a
relationship breakdown or domestic violence, contact the Housing
Advice Section on 023 80 688165.
Sanctuary Scheme ( pdf -
opens in new window)
Debt
There are a number of organisations that may be able to help you
deal with debt or provide budgeting advice. Your local Citizens
Advice Bureau may be able to assist.
Local Agencies that may offer Additional Assistance:
Shelter
Shelter is a national housing organisation which campaigns on many
housing issues. They may be able to give you help and advice if you
have a housing problem. You can contact their Shelterline on 0808
800 4444 or via the Shelter website.
Eastleigh Citizens Advice Bureau
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help on a range
of issues including housing and benefits. They can be
contacted on 023 80 613949.
Legal Services Commission
The Legal Services Commission is responsible for ensuring that
people get information, advice and legal help, they need to
deal with a wide range of everyday problems. www.legalservices.gov.uk
Bankruptcy-Insolvency.co.uk - a national telephone
helpline for people with debt problems in England, Scotland and
Wales. The freephone service and online resource is confidential
and non-judgemental. The service provides self-help advice to its
callers and also produces written self-help packs and fact sheets
to back this up. The service can also assist callers with the
setting up of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) Debt
Management Plans and Bankruptcy for England, Wales &
Scotland.
FREEPHONE – 0800 074 6918
Website- www.bankruptcy-insolvency.co.uk
Housing for Older People
An accommodation strategy for
older people has been agreed by the council. The main themes
include supporting people to remain in their own home, providing
choice in housing for those wishing to move, upgrading the existing
sheltered housing provision and looking at the need for new housing
and services.
Information about housing options for older people is available
here:
In July 2007 a report entitled
"Bleak Housing" was launched by Eastleigh Southern Parishes Older
People's Forum who researched and wrote it. The report was
commissioned and funded by the Housing Services Unit of Eastleigh
Borough Council to look at people's housing needs and aspirations
in retirement. The resulting recommendations will help us
produce an updated Older Persons Housing Strategy from 2008.
This strategy in turn will inform policy decisions on the types and
design of the housing we provide for older people and on a range of
other services to help people maintain their independence at
home.
Bleak Housing Report ( pdf
)
Supporting People
What is Supporting People ?
The Supporting People Programme funds and commissions housing
related support services that assist over 18,000 vulnerable people
across Hampshire, enabling them to live as independently as
possible in their own accommodation. It is a partnership
between Eastleigh Borough Council, Hampshire Supporting People,
Hampshire County Council Adult Services, the Health Service,
Probation and a range of organisations providing both supported
accommodation and floating support services.
Who can the Supporting People Programme help ?
• Older people
• People with learning disabilities, mental health
problems or physical disabilities
• Women escaping domestic violence
• Young vulnerable people & teenage parents
• Homeless people
• People with substance misuse problems
• People at risk of offending
How do these people benefit from Supporting People funded
services?
By being supported to:
• Understand and manage the rights and responsibilities
of their tenancy
• Budget – e.g. to pay the rent
• Sort out utility services (water, gas and electricity
supplies etc.)
• Ensure their home is safe and secure
• Develop life skills associated with maintaining a
home or tenancy
• Access relevant benefits associated with living in
their own home.
• Live independently in sheltered housing.
• Arrange adaptations and minor repairs to the
home
• Gain access to local community organisations
• Have access to advice, advocacy and liaison.
Types of services funded by the Supporting People Programme
• Domestic violence refuges
• Direct access hostels
• Sheltered housing
• Home improvement agencies
• Floating support to people in their own homes
• Accommodation based services where support is linked
to accommodation
Who is eligible ?
Anyone over 16 who is in need of the kinds of support services the
programme provides. Services are either “short term” in nature
(i.e. people receive them for up to two years) for which there is
no cost to the service user, or they are long-term in nature for
which a charge may be levied. If the service user is in receipt of
a means tested benefits they may be eligible to have their support
costs met on their behalf through the Supporting People programme.
In these cases the service user must be in receipt of Housing
Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Job Seekers Allowance, Pension
Credit or Income Support
Note : To determine the amount of support charge someone may have
to pay when accessing long-term services people can be referred by
their support service provider to the financial assessment process
operated on behalf of the Hampshire Supporting People Programme by
the CAB in Rushmoor.
To find details of Supporting People service providers in Eastleigh
or other parts of Hampshire or to identify an appropriate service
the following can be contacted :
• The Eastleigh Borough Council housing department,
02380 688165
• The prospective service user’s care manager if they
have one.
• The Supporting People Local Co-ordinator for the area
on 01962 832176
Additional Information sources
Hampshire Supporting People now manage all their contracts through
a system called SPOCC and this has a public search site attached to
it. This can be found at https://spocc.hants.gov.uk/spoccnet/
• The Hants SP website: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/supporting-people
• E-mail, via: supporting.people@hants.gov.uk
Assistance for Homeowners
Information and advice on Funding Home Repairs & Improvements
in the Private Sector is provided by the Private Sector Renewal
Team. They can be contacted on 023 8068 8301.
The Service Standards of the Unit
The Council tries to provide
customers with the best service possible. For housing
customers we have set out the underlying principles of the service,
what you can expect from the service when you contact us and what
you can do if things go wrong.
The details are set out in the leaflet below. Printed copies
are available from our Reception Service
Service Standards for Housing
Customers ( pdf )
Glossary of Housing Terms
We know that at times we use too much jargon when talking about
housing. We do try to present information in plain English
but if we have used a term that you do not understand try using our
glossary of
terms ( pdf ) for an explanation. If you
still have queries, please contact us.
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