Housing help for care leavers

Social services at your council must help you with:

• housing and money if you are 16 or 17

• advice and support until you turn 25 if you ask for it

You must have been in care for at least 13 weeks since you were 14 to get this help.

This must include at least one day when you were 16 or 17.

Leaving care

You can leave care at 16, but you do not have to leave until you're 18.

Contact Childline if you are under 16 and need help and advice about being in care.

Your pathway plan and personal adviser

Before you leave care, a personal adviser works with you to make sure you're ready.

You talk together about:

• where you want to live

• money help and practical support you need like finding a home

• your plans for work, education or training

You should get a pathway plan with goals.

The plan should be looked at every 6 months, or when there is a big change in your life.

You have this support until you’re 21. You can ask for support again before you're 25.

Finding somewhere to live

If you leave care before you turn 18, social services must find you somewhere to live.

Your housing options should be in your pathway plan. Ask to visit any new home before you move in.

The council must look at what you want and make sure your home meets your needs.

Your personal adviser should visit you in your new home to see how you’re getting on.

Tell them if you’re unhappy about anything.

Staying in foster care

You can sometimes stay in your foster carer’s home after you’re 18.

This is called staying put. Ask your council about it if you want to stay.

Supported lodgings

If you do not feel ready to live on your own, ask your adviser about supported lodgings.

This means you have a room in someone's home. You learn to cook, clean and manage your money before you move out.

If you're a full time student

Social services must give you housing or money to rent somewhere if you can only stay in your student housing during term time.

This keeps going until you turn 25 if you're in full time higher education or studying and living at college.

If you are homeless

If you're 18 or over, you can ask your council for help.

This is called 'making a homeless application.'

The council must usually give you emergency housing if you're:

• pregnant or children live with you

• under 21 and spent time in care when you were 16 or 17

• 21 or over and vulnerable because of your care history, a disability or other reason

You count as having a priority need for housing.

If you're 16 or 17, contact your personal adviser or emergency contact in your pathway plan.

If you cannot contact them, the council's homeless team must give you emergency housing until children’s services finds you somewhere to live.

Housing advice from social services

You can ask your personal adviser for support if you're homeless up until you're 25.

The council's homeless team must look at your housing needs and help you.

But social services must give you support under your pathway plan if you ask for it.

For example, because you are:

• behind with your rent

• at risk of homelessness

• dealing with abuse

Benefits and help with rent

If you're aged between 16 and 17, social services gives you an allowance for things like:

• food

• clothes

• transport

Your personal adviser should make sure you get the right amount. It should not be less than you would get from benefits.

You cannot get benefits until you’re 18 unless you’re a single parent or cannot work because of a disability or illness,

When you are 18

Once you're 18 you can usually claim universal credit (UC) to help with rent and living costs.

You can get the local housing allowance rate for a 1 bedroom home if you're a care leaver under 25 and renting privately.

This is paid as part of your UC.

If your benefits do not cover your whole rent, ask your adviser if the council can help top up your benefits.

Still need help?

Find out more about your rights as a care leaver: