Any action taken by a landlord, or someone acting on her/his behalf, to evict a tenant from all or part of their home without following the correct legal procedure. This includes: changing the locks, forcing you to leave, physically throwing you out or barring you from parts of your home. Illegal eviction is a criminal offence.

• See Harassment and illegal eviction

The legal status that defines whether a person is allowed to be in the UK or not, and if so, whether there are any restrictions on how long they can stay and/or what they can do while they are here.

• See Eligibility for assistance for an example
  

Any money you have coming in, which may be taken into account if you apply for benefits or other financial help. Income includes wages, benefits and tax credits, pensions, maintenance payments, grants, bursaries, student loans and any income you receive from investments.

• See Housing benefit calculations for an example

A legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. If an IVA can be agreed with your creditors it will enable you to make payments which you can afford. IVAs are normally in place for up to five years, after which time any outstanding debt is written off.

• See Alternatives to bankruptcy

A court order that prohibits someone from doing something, or orders them to do something. Examples include: an injunction ordering someone to stop harassing you, or preventing someone from going near your home, or an injunction ordering a landlord to carry out essential repairs within a certain time.

• See Civil remedies (domestic abuse) for an example

Deliberately doing something, or failing to do something that causes you to become homeless from accommodation that you could otherwise have stayed in.

• See Intentional homelessness

Emergency accommodation from the council. When you make a homeless application, the council must offer you this sort of accommodation while it looks into your situation if you are homeless, eligible for assistance and you may be in priority need.

• See Emergency housing while the council makes enquiries

A scheme providing discounted rents for certain eligible households to help them live in the area they want. The scheme only applies to housing association properties. The rents are set between those charged by social landlords (ie a council or housing association) and private landlords.

• See Intermediate renting

Independent financial advisers offer impartial advice on personal finances and help you find the right products or services (such as mortgages, insurance, savings plans and pensions). They do not normally advise on other issues such as debt or arrears.

• See Choosing a mortgage

A tax-efficient savings plan. ISAs are sometimes linked to an interest only mortgage.

• See Repayment options

When you take out a mortgage or other loan, as well as paying back the capital you borrow, you will also have to pay interest on the loan. This is a percentage of the amount you still owe and may be calculated on a daily, monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Different loans, mortgages and cards charge very different interest rates so shopping around could save you lots of money.

• See Interest options

A type of mortgage where you take out a loan to buy your home but only pay back the interest to the lender. You don't repay any of the capital until the end of the mortgage term. Instead, you pay into a long-term savings plan, such as an ISA (see above), which should clear your mortgage debt when it matures.

• See Repayment options

The special legal rules that are used to decide who should inherit property and assets if someone dies without leaving a will.

• See Rules of intestacy

A one-year trial council tenancy. An introductory tenancy gives you most of the same rights as a secure council tenancy, but you can be evicted much more easily. As long as the council don’t take you to court while you are an introductory tenant, you will automatically become a secure tenant.

• See Introductory council tenancies

A list of any furniture and equipment provided by a landlord, and the condition it is in. Inventories are normally drawn up at the start of a tenancy and checked at the end.

• See Making an inventory