Get help from the council

Getting council help

You have the right to ask your council for help if you are homeless or about to lose your home.

The council must help if you're homeless or facing homelessness in the next 8 weeks.

You need to meet immigration and residence conditions.

You might be:

facing eviction and struggling to find a place to live
sofa surfing with family or friends because you have nowhere to go
facing or experiencing domestic violence in your home

Use our homelessness tool to check if the council can help you

Emergency housing

Some people can get emergency housing from the council.

Asking your council for help is called making a homelessness application.

Tell the council you want to make a homeless application when you contact them.

If you are under 18

The council must make sure you have a safe place to stay if you are under 18 and cannot live with your parents.

How can the council help?

The council can:

check that your eviction notice is valid
try to help you stay in your home by talking to your landlord
work with you to find another place to live
give you emergency housing

You're likely to get more help if you have a priority need but everyone must get some support.

Which council to ask

You usually ask your local council for help but you can ask any council.

You do not need a local connection to an area to ask for help. But some councils might send you to another council if you do not have local links such as family or work.

How to contact your council's homeless team

What is your location?

Keep trying

Keep trying if you cannot get through to your council first time, or if the council does not get back to you.

Councils are underfunded and extremely busy because of the housing crisis.

It is a good idea to go to the council in person. You can also call or email. Keep trying until you speak to someone, especially if you have to leave your home soon.