Breathing Space - Temporary Homes for Kingston Council Tenants who Need More Room

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A new scheme called Breathing Space has recently been set up for Kingston Council tenants who need more room. If your home is overcrowded, you now have the option of moving temporarily to a larger privately leased home. Privately leased homes are owned by landlords who lease them to the Council to use as temporary accommodation.

On this page you will find information about this new scheme. You can view all the information or use the shortcut links listed below.

The information is also available in printed format.  'Breathing Space for Kingston Council tenants who need more room' has recently been published and you can get a copy by contacting the Allocations Project Officers on 020 8547 5423 or 020 8547 5481.  

Breathing Space - providing larger homes for our tenants in overcrowded homes

If your home is overcrowded, you now have the option of moving temporarily to a larger privately leased home. Privately leased homes are owned by landlords who lease them to us to use as temporary accommodation.

Unfortunately, we cannot meet the demand for larger family homes of three bedrooms or more. Many of our tenants living in overcrowded homes have to wait a long time before they can move to a larger home. This scheme offers you the opportunity to enjoy living in a privately leased home which is large enough for your household, so you do not have to continue living in overcrowded conditions. Your privately leased home will be known as your ‘Breathing Space’ home.

While you are living in this larger temporary home, you can continue to look for council or housing-association properties as they become available through the Choice Based Lettings Scheme. You must continue to bid for a permanent home which is large enough for your needs.

Breathing Space homes are let at market rents, which are higher than council rents. However, you can still claim Housing Benefit if you are entitled to help with your rent.

How Breathing Space can help you

If your home is overcrowded, you have the option of moving temporarily to a larger Breathing Space home, while you stay on the housing register as a ‘transfer applicant’.

This allows you and your family to live in a home which is large enough for your needs until you successfully get a tenancy with us or with a housing association.

If you are on the housing register in band C

If you are on the housing register and move into a Breathing Space home, you will stay on the housing register for a transfer to one of our permanent homes or a housing-association home in band C. Your priority date will not be changed.  

After two years from the date you move into the Breathing Space home, if you have not been successful in getting a larger permanent home, we will place you in band B on the housing register. Your priority date will change to the date we placed you in band B. This will improve your chances of successfully getting a permanent home.

If after another two years, you have still not been successful getting one of our permanent homes or a housing-association home, we will place you in band A on the housing register for six months. Your priority date will be the date we placed you in band A.

After six months, if you are still not successful in getting one of our permanent homes, we will find you a suitable home if one is available.

If you are on the housing register in band B

If you are on the housing register in band B and you move into a Breathing Space home, you will stay on the housing register for a transfer to one of our permanent homes or housing-association home in band B.

After two years from the date you moved into the Breathing Space home, if you have not been successful in bidding for a larger permanent home, we will move you to band A for six months. Your priority date will change to the date we placed you in band A. This will improve your chances of successfully getting a permanent home.

After six months if you are still not successful in getting a permanent home, we will find you a suitable home if one is available.

If you are already in band A

If you are already in band A we would not normally recommend this scheme  for you because you already have the highest priority for a transfer to more suitable housing.

However, if you need a four bedroom home or a larger home, you may want to consider moving temporarily. This is  becuase there are so few four-bedroom or larger council or housing-association homes available.

If I’ve been housed through Breathing Space, how do I get a permanent home?

You should bid for suitable properties advertised through the Choice Based Lettings Scheme and if you are at the top of the shortlist of bidders, we will offer you the property and invite you to view it. Please contact our Allocations Project Officer for details about bidding for a property and more information about the Choice Based Lettings Scheme.

How many permanent homes will you offer me?

We can offer you two suitable homes, in line with our allocations policy. This applies even if you have already had one suitable offer of a transfer before you moved into your Breathing Space home.  

A suitable home means that the property meets your housing needs in terms of the number of rooms, floor level, any medical needs and the area it is in. We consider it reasonable for children to live one bus or train journey away from their school. We cannot guarantee to offer you a home in the area you prefer.

What happens if I refuse the two homes you offer me?

If you decide not to accept the second and final home we offer you and we consider it to be a reasonable offer, we will have fulfilled our commitment to you under the Breathing Space scheme.

You may appeal against any decision we have made that the offer of a permanent home is suitable for your needs by using the appeal procedure given to you at the start of your Breathing Space tenancy.  You can move into the permanent home we offer you and still make your appeal, which would make sure that you do not lose the chance of a council tenancy. We cannot keep the offer open while you make your appeal and if you do not move into the home we offer, we may have to take possession of your temporary Breathing Space home. This means you have to move out and make your own housing arrangements.

What happens if the private landlord wants the property back?

We will choose properties for the Breathing Space scheme which have leases of at least three years. However, if you are in your Breathing Space home for longer than this and the landlord no longer wants to lease the property to us, we would increase your priority to band A. We may be able to offer you a permanent home at that stage.

When the lease between us and the private landlord comes to an end, you will have to move to another Breathing Space home if we have not found you a permanent home. We will then place you in the same band and priority date as before we placed you in band A.

What happens if I am in band A but refuse the permanent home you offer me?

If you have been living in a Breathing Space home for the maximum period because you have not been successful in bidding for a permanent tenancy, we will offer you a suitable permanent home as soon as we can.  

If you refuse the property we offer you, you can appeal (following the procedure set out above). If your appeal is successful, we will be able to offer you one more home. You will stay in band A, with the same priority date, and can continue bidding for homes advertised. During this time, we will offer you a suitable home as soon as we can if you haven’t already bid for it.  

If your appeal is not successful, we will not have to offer you any other home.

If you have already refused one suitable permanent home we have offered you and which you bid for, we will offer you one more suitable home if you have not bid successfully for another home.

If you would prefer to stay in your Breathing Space home, we will ask the landlord whether they want to take you on directly as a tenant.

What if the number of people in my household changes?

You may only bid for homes for which you qualify at the time you bid. So, it is important that you tell us (in writing) if the number of people in your household changes. For example, if you have a new baby, please send us a copy of the birth certificate, or if a member of your family leaves home, please write to us to let us know. We will look at your application again and tell you what type and size of property you can bid for.

What if I owe you rent?

If you owe us rent we will not offer you a Breathing Space home. However, we may make an exception in exceptional cases if our Head of Housing agrees (for example, if your home is legally classed as ‘overcrowded’ in line with the Housing Act 1985 Part X).

What do I need to know before I decide to move in to a Breathing Space home?

As our secure tenant, you have certain rights, which you will not have while you are living in a Breathing Space home. We recommend that you get independent legal advice before giving up your secure tenancy and there may be other issues you need to consider which we have not mentioned.

1. Secure tenancies

As our secure tenant, we cannot end your tenancy without a court order. To get a court order we would have to prove that you have broken one or more of the conditions of your tenancy. The court will decide whether or not to give us a court order.

If you give up your secure tenancy to move to a Breathing Space home, you would then have a non-secure tenancy agreement with us. This means that if we  applied to the court for a court order to take back your home because you had broken the terms of your tenancy agreement, the court would have to give us the order to take back your home.

So, we will not offer you a Breathing Space home if you have broken your tenancy agreement (for example, because you owe us rent or because of your antisocial behaviour).

If you move into a Breathing Space home and break the terms of your non-secure tenancy agreement, we may ask for a court order to take back your home and the court has to give us the order.

If you are evicted from a Breathing Space home and reapply to us as homeless, we may decide that you have made yourself ‘intentionally homeless’ and we would have no responsibility to rehouse you.

2. Mutual exchanges and assignment

While you are a non-secure tenant in a Breathing Space home, you cannot exchange your home with a secure council tenant or an assured housing-association tenant.  

You may be able to assign (transfer) your tenancy to your partner if you separate or divorce, but the Head of Housing must agree beforehand. Normally, you will only be able to do this if you do not owe us rent or you do not have a case of nuisance or antisocial behaviour against you which has not been sorted out.

3. Right to buy

While you live in a Breathing Space home, you do not have the ‘right to buy’ one of our homes. However, we will give you back this right if we give you another secure tenancy. The time you spend in the Breathing Space home will count towards your right-to-buy entitlement and discount.

4. Succession

If you die while living in your Breathing Space home, we will normally allow a member of your immediate family to take over your tenancy if they lived with you in that home for at least 12 months before you died. This is called ‘succession’.

However, in every case the Head of Housing will decide whether a member of your family can take over your Breathing Space tenancy.  In certain circumstances, where you owe us rent or have a case of nuisance or antisocial behaviour against you, the Head of Housing may refuse their permission.

The member of your family who succeeds to your tenancy will also usually be allowed to take your place on our Choice Based Lettings Scheme to get one of our permanent homes and be able to bid for a new permanent home as you were entitled to do.

Are there any other options?

Moving to a Breathing Space home is only one option for you to consider. Other options include the following.

Mutual exchange

This is where you change homes with another council or housing-association tenant if you can find a tenant of a larger property willing to swap with you.

If you would like more information about this, please contact your Estate Manager, or the Allocations team on 020 8547 5470.

Grants to Move scheme

This is a home-purchase scheme for our tenants. The scheme helps you to buy a property on the open market by giving you a grant based on the size of your current home and how long you have lived there.

For more information, please contact our Home Ownership team on 020 8547 5439.

What to do next?

If you would like to move to a larger home through Breathing Space, please contact our Allocations Project Officers on 020 8547 5423 or 020 8547 5481. The Project Officer will explain the scheme to you and answer any questions you have.

Please also contact the Project Officer if you would like to discuss the scheme in more detail before deciding whether or not to apply.

All Breathing Space homes are advertised through Choice Based Lettings on the internet and in ‘Property Weekly’. You will need to bid for them in the same way that you bid for permanent homes.

We will offer a Breathing Space home to the bidder within the highest priority band, with the earliest priority date, in line with our allocations policy.

We strongly recommend that you get independent legal advice before you start bidding for a home. You cannot return to your secure council tenancy once you leave.  

Where to get advice

You can get legal advice from a solicitor or:

Kingston and Richmond Law Centre
Siddeley House
50 Canbury Park Road
Kingston
KT2 6LX
Phone: 020 8547 2882

Citizens Advice (Kingston)
55 Eden Street
Kingston

Citizens Advice (New Malden)
New Malden Library
Kingston Road
New Malden

Citizens Advice (Chessington)
Library Court
Elm Road
Chessington

You can phone all the above Citizens Advice offices on 0870 126 4019