Homeless ex-forces
Whether you’ll soon be leaving the forces, or it’s been some time since you were discharged, you’ll need to know your rights if you become homeless.
Does being ex-forces make a difference if I am homeless?
If you are a former member of the armed forces and are homeless or threatened with homelessness, you may qualify for help from a local council. The council will have to help you with both emergency and longer-term accommodation if you are accepted as homeless and in priority need. The council must consider if it has to help you using both:
- general rules that apply to everyone, and
- special rules that apply to people who were in the forces.
General rules
It can be easier to get help if you qualify under the general rules for people in priority need - for example, if you have children or are pregnant. The council should also look at if you are vulnerable in some way. This may involve showing how a disability, mental health problem, addiction or other issue impacts on you to make you less able to secure housing for yourself compared with other homeless people.
Rules for the armed forces
You should also be treated as being in priority need if you can show that you are a vulnerable former member of the armed forces. When deciding this, local councils may consider:
- how long you were in the forces and what role you had
- if you spent any time in a military hospital
- if you were released from service on medical grounds (and have a Medical History Release Form)
- if you have had accommodation since leaving service and if you have been able to obtain or maintain accommodation since you left
- how long it has been since you left service.
To help support your case, you may need to provide medical evidence from the MOD, including a Medical History Release Form (if you were given one). It can be hard to establish that you are vulnerable, and you may need to seek advice and help from one of the specialist agencies or a housing adviser with making your case or if you are refused.
The MOD's Joint Services Housing Advice Office produces a factsheet Approaching homelessness for people who are in the forces.
Can I be re-housed in the area where I was based?
To be accepted as homeless in the local council area where you were based, you will have to be able to show that you have a ‘local connection’. You may be able to show a local connection with that area if:
- you currently work in the area, or
- you have lived in the area for six out of the last 12 months or three out of the last five years, or
- you live with a partner who currently works in the area.
If you have left the forces and are not yet working for another employer in the area, you won’t be able to show a local connection through working in the area. However, you may still be able to show that you have a local connection as the time you spent living or working in the area may still count.
You should also consider if you are able to show a local connection with this or another local council area where you have close family connections.
Can I apply as homeless before I am discharged?
Local councils should not wait until you are made homeless before they help you, so make sure you approach your council for help before you have to leave.
Up to six months before you are discharged, you can ask the Ministry of Defence to give you a form called a Certificate of Cessation of Entitlement to Occupy Service Living Accommodation. There is a form for single people (also given to former partners following a relationship breakdown), and a form for families. A council should accept these forms as evidence of the date you will become homeless, without the need for a court order.
If you have not managed to find or get help with housing before you are discharged, you may need to stay in your accommodation as long as possible and wait for Defence Estates to evict you. Defence Estates have to give you a Notice to Vacate before they can take you to court. You can use this as important evidence for your homelessness application, along with any court order.
What if I’m single, homeless and on the streets?
Many single homeless people don’t qualify for help from the council. There is a range of services for people who find themselves homeless and on the streets, for example:
- day centres are a useful source of practical support – they provide a warm place to stay during the day and food, clothing, laundry facilities and showers
- Veterans Aid has a drop-in centre for ex-services personnel at 40 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London, SW1W 0RE and also runs a hostel in London
- the Royal British Legion funds a resettlement project for people from the ex-services in London. Access is through other homelessness organisations.
You can find other day centres and hostels in London and across the UK on the Homeless UK website.
