Maine Stays / Councils / Walsall
For Walsall housing officersAn alternative to bed and breakfast for Walsall.
Bed and breakfast is the last resort for families. A whole house gives a council another option.
Placements
How a whole home fits a placement.
Emergency placements rarely arrive in office hours. When a request comes in late, the useful answer is a plain one: whether a whole home is free, for how long and on what terms.
Families placed out of their home area lose school runs, work routes and support. A house with room for everyone and space to cook cannot solve that, but it keeps family life as normal as it can be during the wait.
The authority
Placements for Walsall.
Walsall Council is the housing authority for Walsall, Willenhall, Bloxwich, Darlaston, Aldridge and Brownhills.
The Merry Hill Lounge in Brierley Hill is the closer of our homes to Walsall.
Walsall households with ties to Willenhall, Bloxwich, Darlaston, Aldridge or Brownhills need homes within reach of the same schools and support. The Merry Hill Lounge in Brierley Hill is the closer of our homes. Maine Property Solutions also looks for whole homes across the West Midlands for council use.
What we provide
The placements we can support.
Whole homes only
One household to each home, with nothing shared.
Furnished throughout
Beds, kitchen, living space and linen ready on arrival.
Bills included
Gas, electric, water and Wi-Fi within the stay.
Standards
Before a home is offered for a placement.
A home is put forward only when every one of these is in place:
- Its own front door, kitchen and bathroom
- Certificates for gas, electrics and energy that are in date
- A completed fire risk assessment and working detection
- Consents naming council placements from everyone with an interest in the home
- A length of stay the council has agreed
Requests
How a placement request works.
Send the need
Household size, bedrooms, the area and the likely length of stay.
See what fits
A home that meets the standard, with its dates.
Agree the terms
Placement terms in writing with the council.
Arrival
Self check-in and a named contact for the household.
Landlords
Own a home in the Walsall borough?
If you are a landlord in the Walsall borough with a self-contained home, Maine Property Solutions can take it on for council use once the lender, the freeholder and the insurer have agreed.
Questions
Questions officers ask.
Can a family with children be placed?
Yes. Family-sized houses with their own kitchen and bathroom are an alternative to bed and breakfast.
How is the length of stay agreed?
With the council before arrival, then reviewed if the household's move-on date changes.
Are placements whole homes or rooms?
Whole, self-contained homes, one household to each home.
Who books the home?
The council. Placement terms are agreed with the council in writing before the household arrives.
Can you take short-notice requests?
Call 024 7745 0677. Short-notice placements depend on which homes are free that day.
Is a placement in your homes outside our district?
Yes, for The Merry Hill Lounge. Section 208 of the Housing Act 1996 then requires notice to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council as the receiving authority. We can confirm the home's details for that notice.
Where are the homes for Walsall placements?
The Merry Hill Lounge in Brierley Hill is the closer of our homes to Walsall.
Can landlords in the Walsall borough offer homes for placements?
Yes. Maine Property Solutions leases whole homes from landlords for council placements, with the consents a placement needs.
Request