Housing advice and homelessness

Already homeless

A person is homeless if they have no accommodation in the UK, or anywhere else in the world, that they have a legal right to occupy.

If you are homeless it is important that you complete a housing self assessment form so that we can provide the right advice as soon as possible.

Complete a housing advice self assessment form

If you have any difficulties completing the form, call us on 01895 556666.

If someone you know is experiencing homelessness, you can report a rough sleeper.

Report a rough sleeper


Who can we help?

We follow a legal process to prioritise who we rehouse.

We can help you if you're homeless and: 

  • have a local connection or 
  • if you are fleeing domestic abuse. 

A person can have a local connection if they have: 

  • lived in the borough for 6 months out of the last 12, or 3 years out of the last 5 years 
  • employment or immediate family linked with the borough for 5 years.

Please note: If we assess that you don't have a local connection with the borough, we may refer you to a council that you do have a local connection with. 

If we don't consider you to be homeless, we will offer you advice and guidance on your circumstances if needed. 

Appealing our decision

If you disagree with a decision made on your homeless application, you can ask us to review it.

Find out how to appeal our decision

Those who are found to have lost their accommodation due to something they did, or did not do (rent/mortgage arrears, anti-social behaviour, giving up their tenancy without good reason and approaching as homeless), may be found intentionally homeless. Once this decision is made no further housing duties will be owed.

Rough sleeping 

Rough sleeping represents the most severe aspect of homelessness. Contact StreetLink if you are experiencing rough sleeping and want to find out about local support services that can help. 

Contact StreetLink for local support 

Emergency accommodation

During extreme weather when temperatures are forecast to fall below 0°C, we will open additional emergency accommodation for people living on streets.

No one will be asked to leave accommodation during these times.

Page last updated: 15 Mar 2024