Temporary housing

If after a homelessness assessment you are considered to be homeless, eligible for assistance and with a priority need then temporary accommodation will be offered to you.

 

 

Unfortunately it is often the case that there are more people homeless than there are places vacant in temporary accommodation. For this reason we may offer bed and breakfast if you are unable to stay with anyone.

 

We will try and arrange bed and breakfast in the Reading area but cannot guarantee this. In some cases we may offer bed and breakfast in Slough or Windsor. Bed and breakfast will only be offered out of the area if you request it, and we agree, or if we do not have any vacancies locally. For this reason, if there is somewhere that you can stay, even temporarily, please let your case officer know.

 

If you decide not to take up a booking or arrange alternative accommodation, please let your case officer know as soon as possible as we will have to charge you for the full cost of a hotel room if it is booked and not used.

 

In bed and breakfast you will have your own room with basic facilities. You will normally have shared use of kitchen and bathroom facilities. You should take your own cutlery, crockery, babies bottles and cot for your baby, although we can arrange for one to be provided. You can stay in the bed and breakfast during the day. Your stay will be dependent on the outcome of your case and vacancies within our stock of temporary accommodation. We hope that in most case your stay is no longer than 2-3 months.

 

Wokingham Borough Council cannot provide any assistance with the cost of travelling to and from the bed and breakfast accommodation during the course of your stay.

 

  

You will be responsible for paying rent for your bed and breakfast or temporary accommodation. A Housing Benefit form should be completed when you sign up for the accommodation to see if you are eligible for full or part Housing Benefit, in which case it will be paid directly to us.

 

You will be notified how much you should pay during your interview. Your service charge will not be paid by Housing Benefit, so you will need to include this amount in your budget from your weekly income. The service charge covers electricity and your breakfast. You will be provided with food to enable you to make your own breakfast i.e. cereal, bread, tea, coffee etc.

 

You will need to pay any amount that is not covered by Housing Benefit to Wokingham Borough Council.

 

Payments can be made by sending a cheque or postal order to:

 

Wokingham Borough Council

Housing Needs Department

Shute End

Wokingham

Berkshire

RG40 1BN

 

Alternatively you can make a payment at the cashiers desk on the ground floor at the Shute End offices. In either case you will need to make your Bed and Breakfast Payment using this cost code

H020B7786.

 

The Council uses a number of mobile homes as temporary accommodation. They mainly have 2 bedrooms, but there are a few with 3 bedrooms. The sites are in Finchampstead and Winnersh. The properties are completely unfurnished and you will need beds, a cooker, fridge, freezer, washing machine, and chairs. You may also need access to your own transport for the Finchampstead site.

 

You may therefore want to use the time between your homeless application and temporary accommodation becoming available to start thinking about collecting furniture and crockery. The Christian Community Action Shop in Reading provides discounted furniture for people on Benefit. Please see below for the phone number.

 

  

This property consists of 10 bedrooms and use of a shared kitchen and lounge. The bathrooms are shared with one other household. The bedrooms include bed, microwave and fridge. There are also washing machines and tumble dryer at the premises. The tokens for the machines can be bought from the cashiers desk at the Shute End Council Offices.

 

 

If you have any concerns or issues regarding your accommodation, you should mention it to your case officer if you are in bed and breakfast and your temporary accommodation officer if you are in 48 Oxford Road or a mobile home.

 

For more help and advice see the list of contact details on our guide for homeless applicants page.