Temporary accommodation standards framework

Unsuitable Accommodation Order

The Unsuitable Accommodation Order^[2] (UAO) was extended to all homeless households in May 2020. The extension means that the maximum number of days that local authorities can use unsuitable accommodation for any homeless person is seven days and has the effect of ending stays in unsuitable accommodation, such as B&Bs, apart from in emergencies.

UAO guidance was published in January 2021 to help local authorities in their duties to assist people who are threatened with or who are experiencing homelessness. The guidance aims to explain the changes that were created by the new legislation as well as providing clarity on the definitions and exemptions to assist local authorities with the implementation of the UAO extension.

Unsuitable accommodation

In all circumstances, accommodation must meet article 4 of the UAO. That means that accommodation is deemed unsuitable if it is:

(a) not wind and watertight;

(b) not suitable for occupation by a homeless household, taking into account the needs^[3] of the household; or

(c) not meeting minimum accommodation safety standards.

Article 5 provides a list of further circumstances, where accommodation would be deemed to be unsuitable:

(a) out with the area of the local authority, which is subject to the duty to accommodate under section 29 of the 1987 Act;

(b) is not in the locality of facilities and services for the purposes of health and education which are being used, or might reasonably be expected to be used, by members of the household, unless those facilities are reasonably accessible from the accommodation, taking into account the distance of travel by public transport or transport provided by a local authority;

(c) lacks within the accommodation adequate toilet and personal washing facilities for the exclusive use of the household;

(d) lacks adequate bedrooms for the exclusive use of the household;

(e) is accommodation within which the household does not have the use of adequate cooking facilities and the use of a living room;

(f) is not usable by the household for 24 hours a day.

(g) is not in the locality of the place of employment of a member of the household, taking into account the distance of travel by public transport or transport provided by a local authority; or

(h) is not suitable for visitation by a child who is not a member of the household and in respect of whom a member of the household has parental rights.

Under Article 6 of the UAO, the standards contained within Article 5 do not apply to accommodation where:

(a) the local authority believes that the applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness as a result of an emergency, such as flood, fire, or other disaster;

(b) the local authority has offered the applicant accommodation that meets the requirements of article 5, but the applicant wishes to be accommodated in other accommodation that does not meet those requirements;

(c) the accommodation is used wholly or mainly to provide temporary accommodation to persons who have left their homes as a result of domestic abuse and is managed by an organisation which—

(i) is not a public authority or a local authority; and

(ii) does not trade for profit;

(d) the accommodation is owned by a local authority and services relating to health, childcare or family welfare are provided to persons accommodated there.

Further to the UAO extension, additional types of accommodation were also included under article 7A of the UAO (Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Order 2020) (2020/419)), including shared tenancies, community hosting and rapid access accommodation. These supplementary types of accommodation are suitable under certain circumstances and for specific homeless households only.

Article 7A makes it explicitly clear that shared tenancies, community hosting and rapid access accommodation are never suitable accommodation options for families with children, pregnant people, and households where a person who exercises parental rights in respect of a dependent child who is not part of the household. This means that accommodation in the form of community hosting is not unsuitable by virtue of article 5, despite lacking adequate toilet and personal washing facilities for the exclusive use of the household and not being usable by the household 24 hours a day. Rapid access accommodation and shared tenancy are not unsuitable by virtue of article 5, despite lacking adequate toilet and personal washing facilities for the exclusive use of the household.

The UAO guidance should be read and used in conjunction with all other published guidance and legislation on homelessness where temporary accommodation is used and to assess whether temporary accommodation is suitable.