Emergency help from the council

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

If you have had to leave your home due to domestic abuse or violence and you have nowhere to go, you can get help from the council.

Am I classed as homeless because of the violence?

The law says that the council should consider you homeless if you have no accommodation that you have a right to occupy. However, if even you do have accommodation that you have a right to occupy (eg a joint tenancy), the council should consider you homeless if you cannot return there because it is likely that you, or anyone else you live with (eg one of your children), will be at risk of violence or domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is abuse from another person who is, or has been:

your intimate partner, regardless of gender
a family member
another member of your household (eg a carer, or a friend that you normally live with).

You need not necessarily have been a victim of physical violence. If there have been threats of violence that are likely to be carried out, you should also be considered homeless. The definition of domestic abuse includes:

psychological abuse
financial abuse
emotional abuse
sexual abuse.

If you are in short-term accommodation (eg you are staying with a friend or relative, or in a refuge) because you have left your home because of violence or threats of violence, you should also be considered to be homeless.

What should the council do?

As long as it has reason to believe that you are homeless, the council should take a homelessness application from you. You can make a homelessness application to any council. It should not turn you away or tell you to go to another council because you do not have a local connection.

If you have accommodation that you have a right to occupy, the council may offer you other options to help you remain in your home, such as an occupation order or sanctuary scheme. However, if you will not feel safe doing this, tell the council, and it should take a homelessness application.

Interviews

The council will interview you about what has happened. They should offer you the choice of being interviewed by a person of the same sex. If you feel that the person interviewing you is not being sympathetic or not taking you seriously, tell them, or ask to speak to their manager.

Evidence

The council may ask you for some evidence of the violence, for example a crime reference number. However, if you cannot supply evidence, it should take your word that you have been a victim of violence or threats of violence. It may ask you to sign a statement stating what has happened. Sometimes councils ask for a formal document, called a statutory declaration, detailing your circumstances; this should not really be necessary, but it is sometimes easier to get one than argue with the council about it. The local county court or a solicitor can draw up a statutory declaration (a solicitor may charge for the service, but county courts will usually do it for free).

Inquiries

The council will then make further inquiries into your situation to establish if it has to rehouse you. It may contact the police, your friends and relatives, your landlord, your doctor, or anyone else you have told about or who may know about the violence. However, it should not contact the person who has been violent against or threatened you, as this could put you at risk. It should normally complete its inquiries and make a decision (which it must give to you in writing) within 33 working days.

Who is entitled to accommodation?

If it has reason to believe that you are homeless, eligible for assistance, and have a priority need for assistance (see below), the council should give you emergency accommodation. The rules are quite complicated but you can use our free online assessment to find out whether the council should house you.

If you've recently arrived in the UK, the Housing Rights Information website has more information about your housing rights.

The emergency accommodation may not be ideal, but should be suitable for you. It may be in a hostel, refuge, or a bed and breakfast hotel. If you have children, bed and breakfast should not be considered suitable, except for a maximum of six weeks if nothing else is available.

If it decides that it has a duty to rehouse you (ie because you are homeless, eligible for assistance, have a priority need, are not intentionally homeless), it will give you temporary accommodation until it can give you settled accommodation (usually an offer from its waiting list). It may consider whether to refer you to another council if you do not have a local connection.

What does 'priority need' mean?

People with dependent children, pregnant women, most 16-and 17-year-olds, and people who are under the age of 21 and were in care after the age of 16 automatically have a priority need for accommodation.

If you do not fall into one of the automatic priority need categories, you may have a priority need if you are vulnerable. There are many reasons why you could be vulnerable, but you may be considered vulnerable simply because you have left accommodation due to domestic abuse or threats of violence or abuse. The council should take the following into account when deciding if you are vulnerable as a result of domestic abuse:

The nature of the abuse, violence or threats of violence. If there have been lots of incidents, or one very serious incident, you may be considered vulnerable.
The impact of the violence on you. For example, if you have mental health problems that have been made worse by the violence, you may be considered vulnerable.
Your existing support networks. For example, if you do not have any friends or family who are able to help you out, you may be considered vulnerable.

What does 'intentional homelessness' mean?

The council should not find you to be intentionally homeless if it has decided that you are homeless because you have left your home because of domestic abuse.

What does 'local connection' mean?

If the council accept a duty to rehouse you, but you do not have a local connection with its area, it may consider whether to refer you to a council in an area where you do have a local connection. However, it should not refer you to a district where you will be at risk of abuse or violence.