Temporary Accommodation

If we assess you as being in a priority need category according to homelessness legislation, we usually have a duty to provide you with interim accommodation.

If all of our interim units are occupied, you will be offered bed and breakfast lodging until an interim unit becomes available.

Guest Houses are likely to be outside of Mid Sussex and the property you are allocated may not be in an area of your choice.

With the exception of assistance dogs, pets are not permitted in these properties.

We offer several ways for you to pay your rent. How you will be paying your rent will have been discussed and agreed at your sign up.

Other ways to pay your rent and/or service charge can also be found on our Ways to Pay page, including online, setting up a direct debit or paying via phone.

Ways to pay

Please note: You will need to know your rent account number which can be found on your statement or License Agreement, and address.

Other ways to pay

By post

You will need to make the cheque payable to Mid Sussex District Council and ensure that you name, address and rent account number is number are shown on the reverse of the cheque.

By cash

The Council does not normally accept cash payments but in some instances we may do so. Please contact the TAMO to discuss.

Failure to pay

Failure to pay your temporary accommodation rent and/or service charge will result in us taking legal action to evict you from your short stay temporary accommodation. This will reduce your chances of being accepted in social or affordable accommodation by a registered provider.

Registered providers are Housing Organisations that are all members of the Mid Sussex Common Housing Register.

If you are experiencing any problems paying your rent please contact the TAMO straight away to discuss. The sooner you talk to us, the more help we can offer.

Due to the extremely high level of demand, applicants are likely to wait a considerable period of time before they are offered social or affordable rented accommodation.

To help minimise this time it is to your advantage to choose as many areas as possible on your housing application, including those where availability is more likely to arise.

Your Housing Needs Officer will also be discussing private rented options with you at every opportunity to maximise your housing chances. If you are offered a suitable private rented property you will be expected to take the property and you will likely lose your temporary accommodation.

Social housing

While every effort will be made to meet specific needs of individual households, we do not have any social or affordable rented housing. We refer applicants to registered providers in accordance with our allocation scheme.

Social and affordable rented accommodation is an extremely scarce resource in Mid Sussex and households increasingly have to look to the private sector for accommodation to meet their needs.

We can provide further housing advice.

Maintenance issues

If you have a maintenance issue while you are living in temporary accommodation within office hours, please contact our Temporary Accommodation Management Officer (TAMO).

Emergency repairs

We provide a service to deal with emergency repairs. This service is available out of office hours and 365 days a year for emergencies only:

Telephone: 08456-021-035

This service is for emergencies only, which include:

• Fire or flood damage
• Dangerous electrical faults
• Burst water pipes or major leaks
• Total or partial loss of cold water supply
• Blocked drain or toilet where there is no other toilet which can be flushed within the property
• Re-securing/making safe items if they are dangerous, e.g. windows and external doors.

Emergencies repairs are those which are needed to avoid serious health and safety risk or serious structural damage. They are also repairs that are needed to ensure a home is secure.

Please note that if you contact us to report a repair using the out of hours service and it is later not deemed to be an emergency then you may be recharged.

Council Tax & Council Tax Support

Whilst you are in temporary accommodation you are responsible for paying any council tax payments due.

You may be entitled to Council Tax Support to help towards payment of your Council Tax liability. This will be applied for alongside Housing Benefit at the sign up.

• More information on Council Tax Support
• More information on Council Tax

Housing Benefit

You may be entitled to claim housing benefit to assist with your rent/service charge. If you are entitled to assistance with paying your rent it is your responsibility to apply for it through the Housing Benefits team. If you need assistance with this please inform the TAMO.

In addition to any housing benefit you may be entitled to, you may also have to pay towards the cost of your rent and any service charge yourself. You will be notified of how much you need to pay at the sign up.

Please note that housing benefit will not cover your utility or other ineligible charges (e.g. heating, water rates and hot water charges). If any such charges are included in your rent/service charge you will need to pay this part yourself. This will be discussed with you at sign up, where you will need to confirm how you intend to pay, as well as make the first payment.

• More information on Housing Benefit

Temporary Accommodation Management Officer

Telephone: 01444-477-268
Mobile: 07714-847-339
Email: temporaryaccommodation@midsussex.gov.uk