Emergency help and advice

This content applies to England only. Why is this important?

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. This page applies to England only. Get advice relating to Scotland

This section gives information about getting help and advice if you are homeless. It is important to get advice as early as you can. If there's no time to get advice before you become homeless, it is still worth getting advice once you are homeless. You might have rights or housing options you don't know about.

How an adviser can help

Getting advice could help you to keep your current home or could help you find somewhere to stay as quickly as possible. If you need emergency housing, an advice agency can tell you what is available in your area. They may contact accommodation providers, such as hostels, on your behalf. An advice agency can also tell you if you have rights to get help from the council housing department or whether social services can give you any assistance.

Specialist and generalist agencies

If you are in a crisis situation and need help immediately, the following agencies may be able to help:

• Shelter's free national helpline (homelessness and general housing advice)
• housing aid centres (specialist advice about housing issues)
• Citizens Advice (general advice about most issues)
• council housing department (advice on housing and homelessness)
• council tenancy relations services (advice on harassment by landlords and illegal evictions)
• social services (help for families with children, young people, older people and some people with health problems)
• Women's Aid (advice for women experiencing violence from a partner)
• local police (advice in emergency situations, eg if you are facing violence)
• local advice agencies (general or specialist advice).

Shelter's free national helpline

If you need advice and help in an emergency and you are not sure what to do, phone Shelter's free national helpline on 0808 800 4444 to talk to a housing adviser who can:

• explain your rights
• tell you your options
• tell you what (if anything) is available in your area.

Advice by email

If you would like to request advice by email, you can ask Shelter's advisers a question. You will receive a response within three working days. Shelter's email advisers can help by:

• explaining your legal rights
• giving practical information and advice to help you solve your housing problem
• providing information about other agencies that may be able to help.

Local advice agencies

Advice agencies vary in the type of help that may be offered. Some can give basic advice, others very detailed. Some agencies will only be able to give information. Some will be able to do practical things such as making phone calls to the council or hostels on your behalf. Contact details and opening times (which may vary) can be found in the Advice Services Directory.

Council advice centres

Local councils have to give advice to people who are homeless or will be homeless soon. Different councils fulfil this duty in different ways. All councils should operate a 24 hour a day service for people in emergency situations. Use the Advice Services Directory or contact an advice agency for information about out of hours council services in your area.

Depending on your circumstances, the council may also have a legal duty to help you. This might include providing temporary accommodation for you. Use our free online assessment to find out more about your rights.

Finding an agency

You can search for details of local and national advice agencies and local council offices using the Advice Services Directory.

You should contact the agency that is most convenient for you. It is best to contact the agency by telephone to find when they are open and how you can get to see an adviser. Some agencies have answerphones where you can leave a message and ask an adviser to call you back. The answerphone message should also tell you when the agency is next open. You should call in or phone back during the times given if possible.

The ways in which you can get to see an adviser can vary and can include:

• appointment systems
• drop in sessions (where you turn up and wait to see an adviser)
• telephone advice
• home visits
• sessions with specialist advisers who are expert in a particular area.

If possible, get advice in person so that you can show them any documents that you have. The adviser can also give you as much advice as possible in one session.

If there is no adviser available at the agency you have contacted or it is not convenient for you, try another one. You could also contact Shelter's free national helpline for advice.