Help if you are homeless or about to become homeless

If you are homeless or are worried about losing your home, please contact us as soon as possible for advice and help. The earlier you get in touch with us, the easier it is for us to help. 

We have a duty to prevent homelessness and will aim to help you stay in your current home. If this is not possible, we will look at other housing options. 

Contact us for housing advice 

If you would like to talk to us before applying for help, you can call us on 020 8496 3000. 

We can help with: 

• helping in negotiations with landlords and mortgage lenders, even if you have a court order to leave your home
• advice on managing your income and any debt, including advice on claiming housing benefit
• issues with unfit properties
• referring you to relevant support services/agencies
• putting you in touch with other agencies that can offer specialist help, in areas such as domestic violence or abuse 

You can also get online housing and homelessness advice (link to “get housing advice”) main page. 

Get independent advice 

You can get free, independent housing advice from Shelter or your local Citizens Advice. 

When you apply for help with homelessness, we check whether you are: 

• eligible for assistance. We look at the eligibility of all members of the household
• homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days
• in priority need
• not intentionally homeless 

To decide if you're homeless, we will look at any place that you have access to and whether you’re at risk of homelessness in the next 56 days. 

Eligibility for assistance 

You'll usually be eligible for help if you: 

• live in the UK, are a British citizen and have not recently spent time living in other countries
• have refugee status or indefinite leave to remain in the UK
• are a citizen of the European Union who is a worker in the UK 

Some other people from abroad are also eligible for assistance, depending on their circumstances. 

Priority need 

We’ll consider your circumstances to decide if, according to homelessness legislation, you're in priority need. 

Priority need is where we must give more help if you are homeless or facing homelessness. This can sometimes include emergency housing. 

Examples of priority need include if you are: 

• pregnant or have children
• homeless because of domestic abuse
• aged 18 to 20 and were in care 

Intentionally homeless 

We may also need to assess whether you have become homeless due to your actions. 

Local connection 

If you do not have a local connection with us, we may refer you to another council for help. We will not refer you to an area where you would not be safe.  

If you have nowhere safe to sleep tonight, please call us on 020 8496 3000. 

If you are homeless, have been served notice or are expecting to be homeless in the next 56 days, please use our housing options self-referral portal to make an approach. 

Visit our website page for more information and advice on how to use the self-referral portal.

After you submit your application through our self-referral portal, our triage team will make contact with you to carry out an initial assessment of your circumstances. 

We'll work out whether you’re eligible to get help and whether you’re threatened with becoming homeless within 56 days. 

We will look at: 

• Your current housing situation
• What support do you need to change your situation
• What steps that we and you should take to help you stay in your home or find somewhere else to stay 

You may be asked to upload documents through the portal, such as: 

• Your tenancy agreement
• The notice to quit from your landlord
• Letters threatening repossession
• Letters from mortgage lenders or court orders 

You should also supply: 

• Identification for all members of your household
• Details of any debts
• Proof of household income, such as wage slips or details of benefits you get 

You may need to supply other documents to progress your application, but you will be told what you need to provide. 

Personalised housing plan 

We’ll produce a personalised housing plan with our understanding of your situation. We will both agree on the steps to take and the dates they should be completed by. 

The plan will be updated when any step is completed by you or by us, or when we agree on new steps following changes in your situation. 

This work is known as our duty to prevent homelessness. This duty to assist you will continue until you find a place to live which has a reasonable likelihood of lasting six months or longer. If you become homeless, a different duty to help with your homelessness may start. 

You will be expected to work with us to carry out the reasonable steps identified in the plan - we may not be able to continue to help if you do not.  

Where it’s not possible to stay in your current home 

If it’s not possible to stay in your current home, we’ll try and help you find alternative accommodation before you become homeless. We can: 

• refer you to a number of agencies who may be able to offer you additional support
• help you search for a privately rented home
• provide access to schemes which provide financial assistance to help get a home in the private rented sector
• help you apply for social housing through the housing register process
• provide advice on home ownership schemes
• refer you to supported housing schemes 

After you apply to us, we might meet with you to ask about your past and present situation. In this meeting, we might ask for some documents. You will be told what to bring. 

We might need proof of your homelessness. This includes documents like:  

• a legally valid Notice to Quit
• a court possession order
• a bailiff's warrant
• documents from your bank or mortgage company
• a letter from your employer for tied accommodation    
• a letter from the people you are living with stating the date you must leave 

We might also need documents that prove some personal details about you. You will need to provide documents for all people mentioned on the application. This will depend on your situation, but we might ask for: 

• identification such as birth certificates, passports or driving licences
• proof of any pregnancy
• proof of responsibility for dependent children
• National Insurance numbers
• proof of any benefits you get
• wage slips and bank statements for the past three months
• current tenancy agreements
• proof of all past addresses for the past five years. This might be utility bills, official letters and proof of sale of properties
• proof of all income, bills and other outgoings
• documents proving you’re eligible for assistance
• proof of divorce or any other legal documents relevant to your situation
• proof of any relevant medical conditions from a qualified professional
• details of any relevant prescription medication 

Proof of local connection 

To help us work out the duty we may have to you, we may ask you to provide evidence to show that you have a local connection in our area. 

We may check your Council Tax records, the electoral register and other sources to confirm what you tell us. 

False information 

If you provide false information, you’ll be committing an offence under Sections 214(2) and (3) of the Housing Act 1996 and may be prosecuted. We may also cancel your application if you don't give us the information we need, or you don't contact us when we ask you to. 

If your parents ask you to leave home, or you feel you’re in danger, speak to our Children's Social Care team. 

If you’ve been forced to leave home suddenly and have nowhere to go, call us at 020 8496 3000. 

Out of hours, you can call 020 8496 3000 or go to your local police station. 

Do not choose to become homeless because of an argument or because you want more independence. Unless you are escaping danger, we might not be able to help you if you make yourself homeless. 

How we can help 

The help we offer depends on your situation, but we’ll always give you advice and support. 

You may be able to get help if: 

• you're being abused or are at risk of abuse
• you're leaving care and have nowhere else to go
• your family has evicted you and you have nowhere else to go 

You might not be able to get help if you've: 

• had an argument and left home
• been asked to leave because of your behaviour
• lived in our area for less than six months 

If we decide that you’re homeless, in priority need and eligible for help, we might be able to give you a temporary place to stay. This will be until we decide on your homeless application. 

Where you might stay 

Temporary stays might include:

• bed and breakfast hotels
• hostels and properties managed by private agents
• housing associations. 

We may also look at special housing for people with extra support needs. 

The place we find for you will depend on your circumstances, the amount of notice we have of your homelessness, and the availability of places to stay. 

We'll try and find a place to stay in the local area, but we can't guarantee this. 

How long you will stay in a temporary home 

Normally, you’ll stay until we’ve decided on your homeless application. However, if we accept a duty to you, we’ll continue to provide a temporary home until a more permanent one is found. If we decide we do not have a duty towards you, we’ll ask you to leave the temporary home, with reasonable notice, and give you advice on your options. 

Cost 

You may be eligible for housing benefit to help pay towards the temporary place to stay. We can help you with completing an application form. 

Even if you’re on a low income, you may still have to pay towards costs not covered by Housing Benefit. 

If we help you with any storage or removal fees, you may also be required to repay these in full. 

When we might cancel your temporary stay 

We may cancel your temporary stay at any time, but only if you do not: 

• keep appointments with us
• provide requested documents
• take reasonable care of the place we provide
• accept other short-term housing options given to you
• pay the charges we ask you to pay
• stay in your room at night
• move into a suitable place we offer to you, if we have accepted a duty to you 

You and any guests visiting must follow house rules and not cause nuisance to any other resident. You may be asked to leave if you do not do so. 

Pets 

You will likely need to find a temporary home for your pets, as most of our available places for you to stay will not allow them to stay as well. We may be able to help in some situations - we'll talk it through with you.