Temporary accommodation standards framework - legal enforcement: consultation

Section 2 – Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework

The Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework (TASF) should be applied by all social landlords to their supply of temporary accommodation and also to any temporary accommodation stock used from other providers. This means that all local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that the temporary accommodation they provide to fulfil their duty to accommodate homeless households meets this standards framework.

These standards relate to all types of temporary accommodation to ensure that the quality of temporary accommodation is of good standard and meets all of the needs of the household. The standards promote a person-centred, trauma-informed, rights-based approach should always be taken when assessing a household’s needs.

Social landlords, including local authorities, will be expected to meet all of the standards within this framework, which covers four standard levels that should be achieved: physical, location, service, and management.

Section 2(a) – Physical standards

The following information details the physical standards that apply across all tenures to ensure that the temporary accommodation provided is an adequate, safe, and secure space for the household.

This includes:

• Accessible accommodation that is able to meet the needs of any disabled person^[7] within the household^[8].
• Accommodation that should comply with relevant housing quality standards, Scottish Housing Quality Standards, health and safety, hygiene, smoke, fire, furniture and electrical equipment legislation and regulations.
• Access to individual lockable^[9] units that are secure, so people feel that they and their belongings are safe.
• Access to facilities to secure personal mail, where appropriate.
• Access to sufficient bedroom space to meet the needs of the household in line with the overcrowding^[10] and HMO standards^[11].
• Accommodation with adequate communal living space which includes, for example, space for children to play or do homework.
• Adequate toilet and personal washing facilities for the exclusive use^[12] of the household
• Access to onsite laundry facilities^[13].
• Adequate cooking facilities^[14] for the needs of the household.
• A suitable standard and level of furniture to meet the household’s needs, where relevant^[15].
• Accommodation that is in a good standard of cleanliness and adheres to enhanced cleaning measures as set out by Public Health Scotland, when necessary, in response to public health concerns.
• Providing a sufficient and affordable heating system^[16] at an acceptable efficiency rating.
• Being accessible 24 hours a day with no curfews.
• A household assessment to consider whether the temporary accommodation offered is affordable^[17] by the household.
• Allowing access to digital technologies^[18], where possible, to increase digital inclusion, enabling access to online facilities, for example, welfare benefits, choice based letting systems, etc.
• Providing the means to support people to maintain relationships with their pets^[19].
• The facility to allow visitors^[20], including provision for visits from children, where possible.

Section 2(b) – Location standards

When considering offering a household temporary accommodation, it is important to discuss with the household the location of the property and its proximity to services and local amenities.

The following points should inform decisions on the location of temporary accommodation:

• The accommodation provided should be located so that the main essential services used by a household can be reached by foot, by public transport or by transport provided by a local authority^[21], where possible^[22]. Services include education, school/nursery, supermarket or convenience store, doctors, dentists, support or other health providers and advice agencies, where applicable.
• The property should also take into account the needs of all household members in terms of reasonable access to place of employment^[23] and formal or informal support networks^[24].
• Cultural^[25] or religious need should also be identified and met through the location of accommodation, where possible.
• The accommodation also needs to take into account the social and economic needs of the household.
• An assessment of personal safety^[26] of the household, specifically households experiencing domestic abuse^[27] – predominately women – and whether the temporary accommodation being offered is in an area that is close to the perpetrator’s family and/or is too far from children’s school, social networks, etc. Where the perpetrator has left the family home, the personal safety assessment should ensure that the perpetrator is not offered temporary accommodation close to the victim or the victim’s family.

Section 2(c) – Service standards

For some families, a stay in temporary accommodation can be longer term as they wait for a suitable permanent property to become available. It is crucial that households receive a consistent standard of service and housing support to aid their wellbeing, sustain their temporary accommodation and facilitate a move into settled accommodation. The National Care Standards provides more detail on housing support.

All tenants should have their individual needs recognised, be treated fairly and with dignity and respect, and receive fair access to housing and housing services^[28].

Service delivery standards include:

• Assessing the needs of all members of the household and provide services informed by that assessment. This should be followed up with referrals and support to enable households to engage with the relevant housing, health, education, social care service, independent^[29] advice services and other specialist services, such as domestic abuse support services.
• Providing information about service provision in a variety of formats to assist the tenant’s understanding of their right to support^[30].
• Assisting the tenant to exercise their rights if the support they are entitled to is not realised.
• Support to access different types of accommodation^[31] allocated on the basis of gender, especially where households are experiencing domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence. Important considerations include the safeguarding of households and whether the accommodation is inhabited and/or staffed by both men and women.
• Ensuring staff in homelessness and support services receive domestic abuse^[32] training^[33].
• Offering support for households to access flexible and ongoing needs-led support, specifically where households have multiple and complex needs, and offer a case coordination approach for households where various services are involved.
• Signposting to the appropriate services for problems including substance use, mental health, physical health, domestic abuse, and money/welfare/debt advice.
• Creating psychologically informed environments, where appropriate, ensuring staff have been trained in trauma informed care.
• Conducting regular reviews of a household’s needs on a case-by-case basis, agreed by the household and taking into account any change in circumstances.
• Conducting regular home visits^[34], where appropriate and where agreed by the household, to allow allocated officers to identify unmet needs of the household.
• Ensuring there is ongoing communication with the household, including easy access to housing officers. Ensure that any information provided is available in different formats and an interpreter is provided where necessary.

Section 2(d) – Management standards

The following standards will ensure that a tenant is aware of their rights and responsibilities during their stay in temporary accommodation. The household should be provided with relevant and accessible information at the time of moving in or relocating to alternative temporary accommodation. Ensuring that people’s rights are realised in practice with easy routes to redress and dispute resolution can help to ensure the best possible outcome for the household.

This includes ensuring:

• A legally compliant, written occupancy/tenancy agreement is in place and has been explained to the household, which includes an agreed minimum amount of notice (at least 24 hours) that a landlord must give before accessing a person’s property/unit and under what circumstances they would give such notice.
• Clear communication^[35] about tenants’ rights. This includes advising or assisting a person in understanding and managing their tenancy rights and responsibilities^[36], including assisting a person in disputes about those rights and responsibilities and signposting to independent advice and advocacy.
• That prescribed housing support services^[37] are provided to homeless applicants when needed^[38], irrespective of whether a homelessness assessment has taken place or the applicant is waiting on a decision on their homelessness application to ensure a consistent approach is taken to the provision of rights advice.
• Information on any house rules has been provided, including an appropriate set of procedures to demonstrate that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated and how to report the anti-social behaviour of other tenants or neighbours, especially in shared accommodation.
• Information on the social landlord/local authority repairs procedure, including how to report a repair and the timescales for carrying out a repair. Tenants should be included in any consultation on the repair timescales for their property.
• The household is provided with, or can access, all relevant information about any needs of the household identified as part of the homelessness assessment process while in temporary accommodation, and that this information is available in different formats.
• Information on the notice period^[39] to end an occupancy/tenancy agreement, including the right to appeal, is provided.
• Procedures are in place to ensure there is minimum disruption to the household when moving in and out of the accommodation and the household is made aware of any support^[40] available to help with the move.
• Procedures are in place to protect personal possessions and provide support, advice, and information on storage, where necessary.
• That tenants are involved in all discussions surrounding their needs, including relocation and changes to occupancy/tenancy agreements.
• That households are aware of their registered social landlord’s/local authority’s complaints procedure, which should be clear and in various formats. The way in which households access this information should be included in the occupancy/tenancy agreement, which is provided to the tenant when they are offered accommodation.
• That staffing levels are sufficient. Support and training should be made available to staff to ensure that they are equipped to do their jobs and can meet the requirements of the standards and understand the needs of people experiencing homelessness. This applies to staff directly employed by the local authority and staff who are contracted to carry out the duties of the local authority.
• That households are provided with a rent statement of charges, including any additional costs that are associated with temporary accommodation and how they are paid.