Homeless help from the council
Your personal housing plan
The council writes and agrees a personal housing plan with you as part of the assessment.
It sets out steps that you and the council need to take to either:
stop you becoming homeless
find you a place to live if you're already homeless
The council usually tries to help you stay in your home if it is safe and you can afford it.
They must help you find somewhere else if you cannot stay or you're already homeless.
Support to keep your home
The council could:
help you to claim benefits
advise on tenancy rights or debt
talk to your landlord or family so you can stay
tell you about grants or loans to pay off rent or mortgage arrears
advise you how to challenge a private rent increase that is above the local market rent
Steps for you to take
The council could ask you to:
look for a private tenancy
get benefits or debt advice
bid for suitable homes if you're on the waiting list
take part in mediation with your family or landlord
Tell the council if your situation changes. For example, if you have new health needs or someone else joins your household. The council must update your plan.
You can question things in your plan
If the council tells you to find a private tenancy yourself, tell them if you have already tried.
Let them know if you've found it hard because of:
a disability or health problem
You can ask for more help.
Help to find a new home
The council could:
offer you housing
support you to find a private tenancy
help with rent in advance or a deposit
ask a supported housing project to help you
If the council offers you housing
The council might find and offer you housing while they help with a personal plan.
This could be a:
private tenancy
council or housing association home
supported housing or a hostel
room in a shared house or HMO
You should accept any offer of housing.
You can ask for a review if you think it's not suitable.
How long does the council help for?
Council help should last as long as you are threatened with homelessness if you have a valid:
section 21 notice
section 8 notice
In other situations the council might end their help after 8 weeks even if you are still likely to become homeless soon.
If you become homeless
The council must check if you should get emergency housing.
They should update your housing plan and help for another 8 weeks.
If you're still homeless after 8 weeks, the council decides if you can get longer term housing.
Example: Lisa gets a section 8 notice
Lisa rents privately with her young children.
Her landlord gives her a section 8 notice because he wants to move into the property.
Lisa is threatened with homelessness if:
the notice is valid
it ends in the next 8 weeks
The council try to stop Lisa and her family becoming homeless.
They offer help with a deposit and rent in advance if she finds a new private tenancy. But Lisa cannot find anywhere she can afford.
When the notice ends
Lisa calls the council. She tells them she cannot afford the costs of being evicted.
The council speak to Lisa's landlord. But he says he needs to move back in and will go to court if Lisa does not leave.
The council decide that Lisa and her family are now legally homeless. It is not reasonable for her to stay while her landlord gets an eviction order.
The council offer Lisa emergency housing. After 8 weeks the council accept that Lisa and her family have a right to longer term housing.
When the council can stop helping
The council can stop helping if your housing problems are sorted out. For example:
you find somewhere else to live
your landlord or parents say you can stay
The council can only stop helping if there's a reasonable chance you will have somewhere suitable to live for at least the next 6 months.
The council could also stop helping if you refuse a suitable housing offer.
If you do not keep to your personal plan
The council might stop helping if they think you are not doing the things the plan tells you to. For example, asking letting agents about properties to rent.
They might call this 'deliberately or unreasonably refusing to cooperate' with your plan.
The council must warn you that they might end their help. They should give you time to do what is in your plan before they end their help.
They might still have to offer you longer term housing later on.
Ask for a review if the council end their help
You can ask for a review if you think the council has made a wrong decision.
Last updated: 1 May 2026
