Accommodation

In Bradford, we will encourage you to stay in care until you are 18. Many young people still live at home with their families at this age. Your Social Worker and Personal Advisor will make sure you have the right information and advice at the right time to help you plan and prepare for where you are going to live.

Your Personal Advisor will help you understand your housing options and support you to find somewhere to live when you leave care and support you to start building your home.

There are several accommodation options available before and after you turn 18. Here are some examples:

Staying Put’ allows you to stay with your foster carer up to the age of 21. You can start speaking with your social worker and foster carer about this option at 16. They will help you to put this in place before you turn 18.

If you are living in a residential home, you might want to consider Staying Close. This arrangement allows you to be in reach of your residential home and the people that have supported you, in your own place for as long as you need support, and up until 25 years if this is right for you.

Supported lodgings are a great way to transition from foster care or a children’s home to living independently.

You can move into supported lodgings between ages 16-18 years. You’ll live with an adult or a family who will help you develop skills for adulthood and provide support when needed.

If staying with foster carers is not the right fit for you, semi-independent accommodation might be an option. Semi-independent accommodation can either be living with other young people with staff support on site or a trainer flat with support staff who visit you regularly. Your social worker or personal advisor think you need extra support from to develop your practical skills before moving into your own home.

If you live in semi-independent accommodation; we will advise you on the range of accommodation and support in your reach and the steps you need to take when you are assessed and ready to apply for Priority Status with Bradford Homes.

At 18, you can apply and bid for social housing. In Bradford, care leavers get priority status which is back dated to your 16^th birthday, making it easier to secure a property. Your Pathway Advisor will guide you through the process and help you understand how to do this. The care leavers service also has a housing advisor to help support you navigate this.  

You can also get support to rent a property privately either living in your own flat or in shared accommodation.

If you are living away from home at university or further education, we can support with providing you with accommodation in the holiday vacation periods.

If you are a former separated migrant child, your housing offer will be different while you wait for a decision from the Home Office about your ‘Leave To Remain’. The leaving care service will make sure you have suitable accommodation during this process.

If ‘Leave To Remain’ is granted to you, all housing options in our local offer will be available to you.

Once you have a place, your Personal Advisor will guide you on how to manage running your home. This includes advice on bills, rent, benefits, and setting up direct debits.

Former relevant care leavers are entitled to a setting up home allowance of up to £3000 to help kit out your permanent home when you leave care and help you to buy the things you need to make a home.

You can access this through your Personal Advisor, who will help you decide what to buy and budget the money. Since you only get this allowance once, it’s important to plan your spending with your advisor carefully and that this is used when you are in your permanent home.

We can also help you with practical assistance to decorate your home and provide New Home Kits when you move for the first time into your own place in addition to your Setting Up Home Allowance.

If you are still in education or not yet working when you move to your first place, we will support you to make an early application for Universal Credit (up to 28 days before your 18^th birthday) and as long as you do what you need to do we will bridge any delay in your first payment so you do not start adult life in debt.

If you have a problem with your accommodation, contact your Personal Advisor or the leaving care service phone number. We will do our best to help. We might support you to:

• Contact your landlord about tenancy issues.
• Help you find new accommodation.
• Support if things don’t work out and you find yourself in a crisis or emergency, we will work alongside colleagues in Bradford Homes to make sure you have somewhere safe whilst we help you work out a plan.