Moving Placement, Staying Put and Living Independently

Your Housing Options once you leave care

Moving Placement

If you are under 18 your Social Worker will always help you to move or will ensure someone that you trust will move you. A Placement Planning Meeting should then occur within 3 working days if you moving and a new review held if this was not a planned move. Your Personal Adviser or Social Worker can help you plan any moves.

Staying Put

In 2014 the Children and Families Act formalised the practice of allowing young people to remain with their Foster Carers post 18. Under Staying Put Arrangements young people can remain with their foster carers beyond their 18th birthday if this suits the young person, carer and the Local Authority. For some young people this will be to complete their education. Others may need extra time to make the transition to independence because of their support needs and the additional emotional and practical support they require to prepare.

Click here to view the full London Borough of Sutton Staying Put Policy 2015-2018 [External link]

Other Housing Options

As well as staying with you fosters carers beyond the age of 18, there are a number of different types of housing and accommodation options that you can consider as you leave care.

Independent Housing

There are many types of independent housing but usually independent housing means that you have signed a tenancy or license agreement and as such are responsible for paying rent, being a good neighbour and keeping the accommodation clean and in good repair.

Your Personal Adviser or Social Worker will speak with you about moving to independent accommodation and together you will decide when this is right for you. Your Personal Adviser or Social Worker may ask for some evidence - such as proof that you've paid all your bills and can manage all of your appointments. They will also need to see that you have been a good neighbour by not creating too much noise or inviting a lot of friends over. They will also want to know that you can keep yourself safe and know how to respond to an emergency.

You may choose to move into private rented accommodation or ask to be put on the housing register. Care Leavers in Sutton do go into the priority needs category for social housing in the borough. Once you and your Personal Adviser or Social Worker agree you are ready you can be nominated.

Semi Independent Housing

When you move to semi-independent accommodation is is a chance for you to polish and learn your independence skills in preparation for your own tenancy. This kind of accommodation is only available to people aged 16 and up. When you live in semi-independent accommodation you will have your own, lockable room but may have to share other facilities such as kitchen and bathroom. There will be key-workers at the accommodation who are there to work with you to achieve your independence goals. This might mean helping you learn to cook, budget, clean and make appointments. They can also support you to appointments, such as doctors or college. It's important that you work with your key worker on your independence plan as you may not be recommended for your own tenancy until you have shown that you are ready.

Sutton work with a number of different semi-independent accommodation providers but we ask that they all adhere to a set of standards known as the Service Specification. The Service Specification was developed based on input from young people in care, the professionals who work with them and national standards.

Maintaining your Home

Whether you live in independent of semi independent housing, your have a role in maintaining yours property. If you live in supported accommodation or your own general maintenance of the property is a joint responsibility between you and the landlord. You must keep the property clean and tidy and can assist in ensuring things don't break by looking after your property. If something breaks from general wear and tear than the landlord should fix this. If you break something this is your responsibility. If you do so deliberately this is called 'criminal damage' and this is an offence.

If you need support for general maintenance you can ask your Personal Adviser or Social Worker. You should also be shown basic DIY skills before you move to your own place and you can use these in your own place.

Paying Rent and Managing your Finances

When you start living in your own home you will likely have rent to pay. It's important to make sure you're budgeting for the amount of rent you will need to pay to make sure you' don't get into rent arrears. If you are struggling with your rent payments there are various ways your social worker and personal adviser can help. Take a look at our Managing your Finance pages to find out for more.

ENCOMPASS and Housing Allocations

If you choose to live in independently of semi independently in Sutton once you've turned 18, your application for a place to live will be managed by a Council-owned Company called ENCOMPASS.

ENCOMPASS are the service in Sutton who manage housing allocations. When you and your Social Worker or Personal Adviser decide that the time is right for you to have your own tenancy you will be asked to complete an Online Housing Options Form. You will need your National Insurance Number to complete this form. You need to check the box that says you are are a Care Leaver and keep a note of your reference number. Once you have done this your Personal Adviser will complete a Housing Nomination Form. ENCOMPASS will then ask for a reference from your current accommodation which states that you have been a good neighbour, have kept the property in good condition, you've paid all of your rent and bills and are engaging with the support offered to you. You will then be offered a property, you will only be given one suitable offer and unless any refusal has been agreed you will not get a further offer. You could be offered a property anywhere within Sutton Borough and may be offered a 1 bedroom flat or studio or a two bedroom flat or house. This could be on any floor, on estates or private roads, you may or may not have a balcony or garden.

Moving out of Borough

If you wish to live out of borough you should speak to your Social Worker or Personal Adviser about this. We don't have access to other local authority housing in the same way that we do in Sutton so you may have to seek private rental accommodation. We can support you with this.

Emergency Accommodation

You could end up in need of emergency accommodation if you are evicted from your accommodation, your tenancy comes to an end or you are asked to leave by family or friends. If this happens you should visit ENCOMPASS at the civic offices and request support. They will assess the reason for you needing emergency accommodation and make a decision about your support and housing needs.

It is very important that you speak to ENCOMPASS or your social worker as soon as you feel worried about anything to do with your tenancy or personal finances so that support can be provided to you to prevent you from requiring emergency accommodation.