When you make a homelessness application your Assessment Officer will carefully consider all the facts you provided. When we make a decision on your application, we will write to you and explain the reasons for this decision.
If you do not agree with this decision, you can request a review of this.
You must request a review within 21 days of receiving the written decision letter. The 21 days start from the date that you receive the letter. You can request a review verbally or in writing. If you make the request in writing, please keep a copy of this for your own records.
Reasons for review
You can only request a review for the following reasons:
- You have been found not homeless or threatened with homelessness
- You have been found intentionally homeless
- You don't have a local connection to this area
- You have been found to have a local connection to a different area to Falkirk
- Temporary / permanent accommodation that is:
- overcrowded
- in an unreasonable condition
- does not meet any special needs you or your family may have
- Secure / permanent offer of accommodation:
- accommodation is not reasonable in terms of what vacancies we can reasonably predict
- does not meet any special needs you or your family may have
What happens next
The review will be carried out by a Senior Officer not directly involved with decision making on your case. We will notify you of the result and aim to write within 28 working days with the outcome of your review.
If you are thinking of putting in a review, we would recommend you get independent, professional advice. Once the review has been carried out, you cannot appeal this decision. Should you remain dissatisfied with our decision the next step is applying for a judicial review.
Judicial review
Judicial review is a specialised type of court procedure that can be used to challenge the way we have made a decision that affects you. By going down the route of judicial review, you're asking the Court of Session to:
- look at how the decision was made (and not whether the decision itself was right or wrong)
- check that we did not abuse our powers
- check that we acted lawfully.
To request a judicial review, you must raise a 'petition for judicial review'.
If your case gets to this stage, we recommend seeking legal advice.
There are also other organisations who can give advice.