You will be interviewed by an experienced homelessness and housing advice case worker who will conduct full enquiries on behalf of the Council.

Your caseworker will be your point of contact throughout your application and will pass your case to a senior officer for a final decision on your application once all enquiries are complete.

If you fail to respond to a request for information or your caseworker loses contact with you then it may be deemed that you wish to withdraw your application by your conduct.

It is important therefore that you comply with your caseworker's requests for information from you.

If, after carrying out our enquiries, the senior officer decides that you are not owed a duty under the current housing legislation, usually due to you being either intentionally homeless, not homeless or ineligible, then you have the right to request a review of that decision.

All reviews of homelessness decisions are undertaken by an independent officer who is senior to the officer who made the decision and who was not connected with the original decision.

If, after carrying out our enquiries, we are able to house you, you will be offered a home with enough bed-spaces for your household. All accommodation is let on the basis of the bed-spaces it is deemed to have, not on the number of rooms.

Your allocation will be calculated on the following basis:

• Single people will be entitled to a bedsit or one bedroom flat
• Couples are entitled to one bedroom
• Two children of the same sex under the age of 16 would normally be expected to share a bedroom - there is a common misconception that there is law stating that it is illegal for children of opposite sexes to share a bedroom -If both children are both nearing 16 and are of opposite sexes it may be that you will be offered a property with a bedroom for each.

If you are homeless or think you might become homeless in the near future, you should contact Housing Options for advice and information.