What to do if the council's homeless team will not help

Your council should not refuse to help without looking into your situation.

When you ask them for help, they should:

• look at your situation

• give you advice on your options

• tell you how and when they can help you

• make sure you understand their advice

• ask if you need more help to understand the system

For example, you could ask for an interpreter or for information in a language or format you can understand.

You could also ask to talk to the council's homeless team in person if you have a disability that makes it hard to use the internet or talk by phone.

What to say if the council will not help

The council might tell you that you:

• can stay where you are

• are not in priority need

• need to wait for your landlord to evict you before the council can help

• must show ID or other important documents

• are not from the area or do not have a local connection

These are not reasons for the council to do nothing.

Tell the council to:

• let you make a homeless application

• give you time to get documents they want, for example, bank statements

• check if you count as homeless or if you're about to lose your home

Use our letter template if you're turned away

This template uses legal language to remind the council about the rules they must follow.

Copy our letter template into an email to the council:

You can print off the template to take in person or send as a letter:

• Word template: Council refusal to take homeless application (docx 23kb)

• OpenDocument template: Council refusal to take homeless application (odt 9kb)

Tell the council if you need urgent help

Some councils make an appointment to talk to you on another day.

But they should help you straight away if you're:

• at risk of domestic abuse

• street homeless with children

• at risk because of serious repair problems

Explain why you cannot wait for bailiffs

The council might say they can only help after bailiffs evict you.

But they should help sooner if being evicted by bailiffs would make things much worse.

For example, if:

• the court costs would cause you very serious money problems

• you need an adapted home because you are disabled

The council should check if your landlord will stop the eviction or if you could challenge it.

For example, if:

• you pay off rent you owe to the landlord

• there could be a defence to the eviction

They should also check if the property is suitable and you can afford the rent.

Council help after a relationship breakdown

Check your rights if you:

• need homeless help after your relationship ends

• are homeless because of domestic abuse

Get help to deal with the council

You might need someone to help explain why you need help soon.

You could ask for help from a:

• refugee charity

• domestic abuse charity

• housing adviser or solicitor

• local councillor

Make a formal complaint

You can complain to the council.

For example, if you did not get any help or faced long delays.

This can take time.

If you're not happy with the council's response, you can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).