I beg to move amendment 10, page 11, line 19, at end insert—
193ZA Consequences of refusal of final accommodation offer or final Part 6 offer at the initial relief stage
(1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply where—
(a) a local housing authority owe a duty to an applicant under section 189B(2), and
(b) the applicant, having been informed of the consequences of refusal and of the applicant’s right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation, refuses—
(i) a final accommodation offer, or
(ii) a final Part 6 offer.
(2) The authority’s duty to the applicant under section 189B(2) comes to an end.
(3) Section 193 (the main housing duty) does not apply.
(4) An offer is a “final accommodation offer” if—
(a) it is an offer of an assured shorthold tenancy made by a private landlord to the applicant in relation to any accommodation which is, or may become, available for the applicant’s occupation,
(b) it is made, with the approval of the authority, in pursuance of arrangements made by the authority in the discharge of their duty under section 189B(2), and
(c) the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 6 months.
(5) A “final Part 6 offer” is an offer of accommodation under Part 6 (allocation of housing) that—
(a) is made in writing by the authority in the discharge of their duty under section 189B(2), and
(b) states that it is a final offer for the purposes of this section.
(6) The authority may not approve a final accommodation offer, or make a final Part 6 offer, unless they are satisfied that the accommodation is suitable for the applicant and that subsection (7) does not apply.
(7) This subsection applies to an applicant if—
(a) the applicant is under contractual or other obligations in respect of the applicant’s existing accommodation, and
(b) the applicant is not able to bring those obligations to an end before being required to take up the offer.”
This amendment provides that a local housing authority’s duty to an applicant under section 189B(2) of the Housing Act 1996 (inserted by clause 5) comes to an end, and the applicant does not proceed to the main duty under section 193 of that Act, if the applicant refuses a final offer of an assured shorthold tenancy of at least 6 months or an offer of social housing under Part 6 of that Act. In either case, the offer would have to be of accommodation that is suitable for the applicant.