Leaving Prison

Quick Guide

If you have been in prison, you may have lost your accommodation and have nowhere to go on your release. If you still have a few months to serve then there is time to sort your housing out and this advice note should give you some ideas. If you only have a few days or weeks to serve, or you have been released and have nowhere to live, read the section “homeless on release”.

Getting housed when you leave prison

If you haven't been able to keep your home whilst you were in prison, get advice from a specialist housing adviser about what options you have when you leave prison. Finding housing can be difficult and to make sure you get this sorted on your release, you should:

• Begin searching as soon as possible
• Ask family, friends and prison staff for help – most prisons have housing advice or resettlement teams
• Contact NACRO’s Resettlement Plus helpline (see below)
• Write to housing providers in your home area – ask for an application form to go on their housing register
• Search for private rented properties too
• Seek help from housing advice agencies, such as the CAB or our Housing Options Advice team

Caring for children

If you have children who lived with you before you went to prison and they will be living with you again when you get out, you will be treated as being in priority need. This means that you may be entitled to council housing, if you have no alternative accommodation. You should contact us before you are released then we can look at your situation as soon as possible. If, on your release you do not have accommodation, you should contact one of our advisors at the Housing Options Advice Centre in Platt Bridge. You will need to give proof that you have just come out of prison and that the children are in your care (for example, a child benefit book). We will look at your individual situation and provide the advice and support that meets your needs

Applying for housing with Wigan and Leigh Housing

You can apply to go onto the Council’s Housing Register to be considered for social housing in the Borough. The Council Register is a list of people who want social housing in Wigan and Leigh. It is managed by Wigan and Leigh Housing on behalf of the Council and is run in partnership with Arena Housing, Adactus Housing and English Churches Housing. You should apply to go on the housing register before you are released. There are over 7,000 people on the Housing Register so you are advised to consider what other options are open to you. Generally, you can only be put on our waiting list 6 weeks prior to your release. In addition, you can make a homeless application to our Housing Options Advice team, 28 days before your release.

Other housing providers

There are other Social landlords in the Borough who do not advertise their properties through the Wigan and Leigh Housing property shops. You should approach them direct, ask us for a list of landlords.

Applying with private landlords

Wigan and Leigh Housing work closely with some letting agents in the Borough and have access to private rented accommodation which is often available straight away, in areas where the Council have few properties, or the properties are very high demand. In some cases we can negotiate the Bond and Rent in Advance with the letting agents, or can help you to access resources to enable you to afford this. Most of the properties available for rent can be found in the local newspapers and are either advertised separately or by an Estate Agent, ask us for a list of landlords. Applying to a new area If you want to make a fresh start and live in another area, you may have to agree this with your probation officer if you will be supervised on your release. You should also be aware that it can be difficult to find housing if you do not have a local connection in an area. Local connection means you, or someone who usually lives with you:

• Lives, or has lived, in the area for some time – usually at least 6 months in the last year; or 3 years in the last 5 years
• Have a permanent job in the area
• Have a close relative (parent, sibling) who has lived in the area for some time usually 5 years
• Need to live in the area for some other special reason (to be near a particular hospital)

Paying for housing

Most convicted prisoners who have served more than 14 days in prison will get a discharge grant. If you have no address to go to on release, you should be given the homeless grant. You will also get this if you have somewhere to go on release but will have to pay for it up front when you arrive. You may also be entitled to claim Housing Benefit to pay your rent, one of our advisors will be able to give you information on this.

Homeless on release

If you are homeless on release, or only lodging temporarily with friends, speak to one of our advisors as soon as possible. There are a number of criteria that need to be met to be accepted as homeless, including whether you have a priority need. You may be considered as being in priority need if:

• You have children who lived with you before you went to prison and you'll be living with them again when you get out
• If you were in care before you went into prison are considered to be in priority need
• You are considered to be especially vulnerable (you are disabled, have health, drug or alcohol problems, or if you were in the armed forces before you went into prison). We may be also able to help you find temporary accommodation. We do not provide temporary accommodation in all cases, but our advisors will do everything they can to help you find a place to stay. If you are homeless on release, keep in touch with local agencies and day centres. Ask for our advice note “no fixed abode” for more help.

Restrictions on some offenders

If you are applying for a place to support your parole or Home Detention Curfew, you may find it difficult to get somewhere as some housing providers may not take people on HDC. You may be better trying to get family or friends to take you in. Some housing providers may also have restrictions on taking in certain types of offenders. In this case, the only places available may be in bail or probation hostels, even then, a risk assessment will probably be required from a probation officer.

Keeping your home when you are in prison

Where possible, it is better to try to hold onto your home for when you come out of prison, but sometimes this is not easy. If you rent then it may be possible to get Housing Benefit (up to 52 weeks if you are on remand or 13 weeks if you are a serving prisoner) or negotiate with your landlord alternative arrangements with the rent, such as having a friend paying. Even if you manage to sort out the problem of the rent, your landlord might still be able to evict you for other reasons. They may try to say that it is no longer your home because you are in prison. Whether you have a tenancy with a private landlord or Wigan and Leigh Housing, it is important to let them know that you are planning to return home after prison. If you own your own home and are paying a mortgage, you won't be able to get any help with paying your mortgage if you are convicted. If you are on remand or at a bail hostel, you might be able to get Income Support to help pay the interest on your mortgage, but this won't cover all the mortgage. Get specialist debt advice if you are, or think you are, at risk of getting into arrears with your mortgage.

Getting further advice

If you are in prison, or think you are at risk of being given a custodial sentence, then you need to get advice about your housing situation from a specialist adviser as soon as possible. This is especially important if you have a short sentence, as you have got more chance of keeping your home, but it's very important to act quickly. In most prisons there are specialist housing advisers who can help with housing problems. Some Citizens Advice Bureaux run advice sessions in prison. If you're in prison, check if they run these sessions in your prison. If they don't run advice sessions, you could write to them explaining your problem. Ask a member of the prison staff for the address of your local CAB. Wigan and Leigh Housing’s Housing Options Advice team can also provide you with advice, contact us as soon as you can.

N.A.C.R.O.

NACRO is a specialist organisation that helps prisoners who are being released to find accommodation and employment. They have written a guide on 'Keeping your home' which has model letters to help you write to your landlord or mortgage company – ask one of our advisors for a copy. You can contact NACRO yourself on 020 7582 6500, or visit their website at: www.nacro.org.uk.