Guidance for people who are Homeless.
Contact Details | Online Services | |
Phone: | 024 7637 6406 | |
Fax: | 024 7637 6551 | |
Email: | ||
Service Unit: | Housing | |
Am I Homeless?
You don’t have to be sleeping on the street to be homeless. You might be
homeless if:
- You have nowhere you can live together with your family.
- You have a home but it is not reasonable to expect you to remain there. This may be due to violence, overcrowding or poor living conditions.
- You have been living with friends and family and they want you to leave.
- You have been locked out of your home by your landlord.
- You have a mobile home, boat or caravan as your home but you have nowhere to put it.
- You have nowhere to live in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
I Am About To Become Homeless, What Do I Do?
Homeless applications will be investigated from those who are going to lose their home within 28 days or are being threatened with homelessness within 28 days.
We will try and help you, but you must come to us as soon as possible, don’t leave it until the last moment.
I Am Homeless. . .What Now?
We will want to know four things - are you:
- Eligible for assistance.
- In priority need.
- Intentionally homeless.
- Do you have a local connection
Who Is Not Eligible For Assistance
(Certain “persons from abroad” will not be eligible for assistance:)
- A person who is subject to immigration control.
- Asylum seekers having accommodation, however temporary.
- A person who fails the ‘habitual residency test’.
- A person who is an EEA National who has been required to leave the United Kingdom.
- A person subject to a sponsorship agreement.
If I am not eligible for assistance, what will you do for me?
- If you are found not to be eligible for assistance, we will give you appropriate advice.
- A person not eligible for assistance cannot be given temporary or Council accommodation but help may be available from Social Services Department if their criteria for a “person in need” is met.
What is a priority need?
You might be in priority need if:
- You or your partner is pregnant.
- You have dependant children (who are under the age of 16 or between 16 and 19 if they are in full time education).
- You are homeless due to an emergency such as a fire or flood.
- You or someone in your family have special needs. This is known as being vulnerable. You may be vulnerable because of mental or physical disability, old age or some other special reason, e.g. institutionalisation (coming out of 'long term' residential care or prison).
- You are aged 16 or 17.
You say I am not in priority need, what will you do for me?
If you are found not to be in priority need we will still give you advice and assistance to find a home. Advice will be given on how to register on the Council’s housing register, how to apply to housing associations and information will be given on home ownership.
You say I am in priority need. . .what now?
If you are eligible for assistance and in priority need we will look into the reasons why you became homeless to see if you are intentionally homeless.
What is intentionally homeless?
Intentionally homeless means that we have established that you chose to leave a home that you could have reasonably stayed in, or that it was your own fault that you lost your home. If you leave your home because of violence or lose your home through arrears which were no fault of your own or your partner, you will not be classed as intentionally homeless.
What happens if these investigations take time to complete?
We will provide you with temporary accommodation until we decide if you are intentionally homeless. You may have to make some contribution to the cost of this accommodation but it should not be more that you can afford.
You say I am intentionally homeless. . . Where do I go?
If we establish you are intentionally homeless, we may still house you but only temporarily. It should be for long enough for you to find accommodation of your own with our advice and assistance.
