Priority needs for housing
We assess the vulnerability of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. By law, the following people have a priority need for housing:
- Someone who is pregnant, or who lives with a woman who is pregnant
- Someone with dependent children living with them, or if not currently living with them who it would be reasonable to expect to live with them
- Someone who is homeless because of an emergency such as a fire or a flood
- Someone who is under the age of 21 and who has been accommodated by children's services after the age of 16 (a care leaver)
- Someone who is vulnerable because of old age, illness, mental illness or disability or physical disability or any other special reason
- Someone who is vulnerable because of an institutional background in the Armed Forces, in custody or as a care leaver over the age of 21
- Someone who is vulnerable because they are homeless due to abuse
These priorities guide our assessment of who receives help with their housing situation.
If you do not have a local connection with Herefordshire but do have a connection with another authority, we will normally make a referral to that authority to provide housing, unless you would be at risk of domestic or other violence in that area. You will have a local connection with Herefordshire if:
- You are normally resident in the county
- You work in Herefordshire
- You have immediate family in Herefordshire who have lived here for at least five years
- There are any other particularly strong reasons that give you a connection with the area