Difference between Hostel and B&B

Customer was placed by the LA Housing Section in a room with her 4 children in premises which the LA call a “Hostel”. There is a communal kitchen, shared toilets and showers for men and women.

What is the key difference between the definition of a Hostel and B&B?,

well in a B & B you would expect the owner to be cooking breakfast rather than cooking it yourself (albeit you might be allowed to cook it yourself); you might expect an en suite bathroom these days! a B & B would normally be an ordinary house converted, where a hostel has implications of something designed as such…and a B & B wouldn’t provide lunch or dinner, where a shared communal kitchen implies that people can do their own thing in that kitchen for those meals.

“Hostel” has a particular meaning for Housing Benefit purposes (see HB Reg 2).  If the HB claimant occupies a hostel their HB is affected in the following ways:

- they don’t have provide a NINO in support of their claim
- LHA doesn’t apply: instead there is one annual RO valuation for the whole building, unless the landlord is a registered HA
- people who have lived in hostels in the past are sometimes exempt from the shared accommodation rate of LHA in general needs accommodation
- the definition is used to decide whether a Council-owned establishment counts as “specified accommodation” for the purpose of the benefit cap and entitlement to HB in place of a UC housing element

A B&B establishment belonging to a private owner and block-booked by the Council for use as temp acc is unlikely to satisfy the definition of “hostel” because usually there won’t be any care or support provided.  However, it is likely to satisfy the definitions used for homeless temp acc in both HB and UC, which give rise to a whole other set of consequences.

In conclusion, “hostel” is not a term that has any legal significance for the arrangement you have described, but its status as temporary accommodation does have an effect.

There is legislation specifically preventing councils from using “bed and breakfasts” for temporary accommodation for families except in an emergency and, even then, for longer than 6 weeks.

“Bed and breakfast” is a defined term for those purposes as:

accommodation (whether or not breakfast is included)—
(a) which is not separate and self-contained premises; and
(b) in which any one of the following amenities is shared by more than one household—
(i) a toilet;
(ii) personal washing facilities;
(iii) cooking facilities,
but does not include accommodation which is owned or managed by a local housing authority, a registered social landlord or a voluntary organisation as defined in section 180(3) of the Housing Act 1996

The housing department is probably using the term “hostel” because it avoids being seen to be straightforwardly breaching these rules - but it looks like when you apply the definition, they are anyway.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness/temporary_and_long-term_housing_offers_from_the_council/temporary_housing_after_the_council_has_made_a_decision

Hi Ben,

I cant really answer your question….Still…...

But the normal way you go about these type of Homelessness (?)/suitability enquiries is by finding out under which bit of the Homelessness legislation 1996 Housing Act part vii /Homelessness act 2002 your client has been placed under.

If its under a 188 interim duty to accommodate pending enquiries you are looking at one scenario…..eg what constitutes reasonableness

If its under a 193 you are looking at temp accommodation…...and its a different ball game.

Elliot is your man for this stuff…... I can only tell you how I would start to unpick this.

You need to find out pronto as there are timescales on reviews for suitability if its a 193 temp ....

Best of Luck.

Thanks for the replies.

The LA have accepted the “full housing duty” and provided the “hostel” as temporary accommodation.

If the customer is in fact living in B&B despite the council calling it a hostel then she cannot be kept there for longer than six weeks.

I’m trying to work out weather the customer is in B&B.

The definition in the legislation of hostel and B&B appears to be very similar and I am struggling to work out the key differentiating factor. 

S.622 to the Housing Act 1985 provides the definition of hostel;
“hostel” means a building in which is provided, for persons generally or for a class or classes of persons—
(a)residential accommodation otherwise than in separate and self-contained sets of premises, and
(b)either board or facilities for the preparation of food adequate to the needs of those persons, or both;

In contrast

Para 3 to The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003
accommodation (whether or not breakfast is included)—
(a) which is not separate and self-contained premises; and
(b) in which any one of the following amenities is shared by more than one household—
(i) a toilet;
(ii) personal washing facilities;
(iii) cooking facilities,
but does not include accommodation which is owned or managed by a local housing authority, a registered social landlord or a voluntary organisation as defined in section 180(3) of the Housing Act 1996

I don’t see why the two concepts need to be mutually exclusive.

Thanks Elliott,  I see your point.

bens - 09 February 2017 04:11 PM

Thanks for the replies.

The LA have accepted the “full housing duty” and provided the “hostel” as temporary accommodation.

If this is the case, and its a homeless application, your client should (all being well re timscales)  be able to request a a section 202 review on suitability of the temp accommodation.

Get your client help via http://www.nhas.org.uk/

If this is a suitability review, NHAS can look at not just the size and type of the accommodation but much more widely eg Affordability…. Is this a BC family? Has the family special needs? Distance from schools? Support networks?Work? Is this an out of area placemnet?  How long will the family be in temp? etc.