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If you know your release date, you should present as homeless as soon as possible, as the Housing Executive now accepts applications from prisons.
How do I present as homeless?
The Housing Executive has a legal duty to give housing advice and information on preventing homelessness to anyone who asks in Northern Ireland.
If you are presenting as homeless from prison, you will need to make a referral via your resettlement officer to begin your homeless application approximately 3 months prior to your release.
The Housing Executive will have to complete your homeless assessment no later than 28 days prior to your release. You will either need to complete the Housing and transfer application form yourself, or have your resettlement officer or housing adviser do it for you. Your application will need a detailed report covering information the Housing Executive needs to access your circumstances.
After your application form has been submitted, the Housing Executive will assess your circumstances using legal tests, also known as the “4 hurdles”. If you pass all four hurdles, you will be entitled to help from the Housing Executive and it will have a duty to provide you with suitable housing.
The Housing Executive must send you a decision letter within 30 days. If the decision is negative, the letter must include reasons why the Housing Executive has decided you are not eligible for assistance as a homeless person.
If the Housing Executive decides that you are not homeless, you have a legal right to have this decision reviewed and, if the review upholds the original decision, you may be able to appeal to the County Court on a point of law.
Where can I get help with applying?
There is a detailed section available on homelessness issues on our main website, with extensive information about presenting as homeless, homelessness tests, assessment procedure and appeals.
If you still unsure of what you need to do to present as homeless after reading the above chapters, seek further help from your resettlement officer, peer advisers, housing adviser or NIACRO adviser working in your prison.
An adviser will help you complete the application and will write a report about your circumstances which the Housing Executive will use to make a decision about your homelessness status.
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