We understand that facing homelessness is extremely difficult.
If you’re a single person or a couple with no children, and you don’t meet the legal criteria for priority need, you are unlikley to be eligible for emergency housing (temporary accommodation) funded by the council, unless during severe weather.
People may have priority need if they:
- Have dependent children living with them,
- Are pregnant,
- Are aged 16–17 or a care leaver aged 18–20,
- Are vulnerable for special reasons - find out more.
The law sets strict rules around who qualifies for emergency housing and in order to qualify you must have priority need - you are unlikley to be considered priority need if you:
- Don’t have dependent children that live with you (shared care or weekend care arrangements are not considered dependent children), even though we recognise how important this type of contact is. If your children have another settled address, having children that visit you will not mean you have priority need.
- Are not considered vulnerable under homelessness law - we will assess your situation individually and may ask you to provide medical or other supporting evidence. Where needed, we may seek advice from Now Medical, an independent clinical assessment service, to help us understand whether your health needs meet the legal threshold for vulnerability.
- Are fit and able to manage without support.
This doesn’t mean your situation isn’t serious - it simply means that temporary accommodation is reserved for those with the most urgent and complex needs.
So, what are your options?
Even if we can’t offer temporary accommodation, we’re still here to help guide you toward housing in the following ways. Here are realistic next steps:
Help you to keep your existing home
- If you are threatened with homelessness, but haven't yet been made homeless, we can help you to see if you can keep your home.
- This can include liaising with your landlord, supporting you with finances, or supporting you to get other help you need - find out more.
Staying with family or friends
- Sometimes staying with family or friends, until you have found somewhere else to stay - for example a private rent or even through our housing register is a really good option.
- If this is difficult, talk to us - we can sometimes help mediate or support short-term arrangements - find out more.
- If you are considering staying with family or friends whilst you bid on the housing register, it is worth considering the current housing register waiting times to help inform your decision - find out more.
Private rents, rooms in shared houses and lodging
- We can help you to look for rooms, flats, or shared homes (HMOs) in the private sector - find out more.
- You may be able to get help with a deposit or first month’s rent through local schemes - find out more.
Hostels and supported accommodation
- Hostel rooms may be available - these tend to be in Birmingham, Derby or Nottingham - find out more.
- If an hostel, private rent or shared house isn't suitable as you need additional support, for example with substance use or if you are leaving prison, we can help you consider supported accommodation - find out more.
The key thing is that you will need to be open-minded ...
You might need to:
- Look outside your local area to find something affordable
- Consider shared accommodation (HMOs)
- Take on short-term solutions while you work toward something longer-term
How we can help
Even if you’re not in priority need, we can:
- Help you to look for potential properties.
- Help you apply for Universal Credit or housing benefit, including the housing element to cover rent - find out more.
- Help you to apply for financial support to cover a deposit, moving costs and even the first month's rent.
- Give advice on budgeting and tenancy - find out more.
- Support you in looking for private rented accommodation.
- Help you access job and training support as the system is designed to encourage independence and work.
Need help - talk to us
We know this isn’t easy, but you're not alone.
Our housing team is here to talk things through, explore your options, and help you plan your next steps - contact our team.
Important - accepting a room or shared housing may affect your homeless status
If you choose to move into a shared house (HMO), or accept any form of settled accommodation that is suitable for your needs and available for you to occupy, your homelessness application and housing register application may be closed.
This is because, under homelessness law, you may no longer be considered homeless.
If you're unsure whether a housing offer is suitable, please speak to us first – we're here to help you understand your rights and make informed decisions.