If you are homeless or think that you are about to become homeless, you may be able to get help from the council. The help you can get will depend on your circumstances and how you became homeless. This page tells you how to apply for help and gives details of the kind of assistance you might be entitled to.

This page explains what kind of help the council can offer you if you ask them for help because you are homeless or think you are about to become homeless. You may be offered advice on your housing options, help to find a new home, somewhere to stay temporarily, or a permanent home.

If you have nowhere to stay or are worried about having to leave your home you can ask the council for help by making a homeless application. This page tells you how to contact the council in order to make an application.

The council has to accept an application for help from anyone who appears to be homeless or is likely to become homeless within two months. However, some people, such as asylum seekers, are not eligible for help. This section explains who is eligible, and what you can do if you can't apply.

This section explains what happens when you go the council to make a homelessness application. You will need to fill in a form and have an interview with a homelessness officer.

Once you have made your homeless application and been interviewed by a homelessness officer, you should be offered somewhere to stay while the council makes inquiries into your situation. If necessary, the council should also store your belongings for you while you are staying in temporary accommodation.

Unfortunately the council cannot offer a permanent home to everyone who makes a homeless application. The council prioritises the help it gives to homeless applicants using four tests (the four hurdles).

Once the council has made a decision about your homelessness application, it must send you a decision letter (sometimes called a notification letter) explaining the reasons behind the decision and what happens next. If you're not happy with the decision, you may be able to challenge it.

Everyone who makes a homeless application and is eligible for help will be entitled to advice and assistance from the council. This page explains more about the type of advice and assistance you can expect to receive.

When you make a homeless application to the council, you will be provided with somewhere to stay while the council carries out its inquiries into your situation. If you do not pass all the homelessness tests, you should be allowed to continue to stay in this accommodation, to give you an opportunity to find somewhere else to live.

If you pass all the council's homelessness tests, you should be offered a permanent home. This page explains what permanent accommodation consists of, how the offer will be made and what you can do if you're not happy with the offer.

If you are homeless and the council's housing department has told you that it can't help you, there may be other options open to you. This section explains what you may be able to do in this situation. It explains your emergency options, your long term housing options and how you may be able to get help from the social work department.

If you disagree with a decision the council has made on your homeless application, it may be possible to challenge the decision and get it overturned.

This page looks at specific issues affecting disabled people who are homeless. It explains what happens when you go the council and what you can do if the council won't help you.

Becoming homeless can be particularly traumatic if you have a family. This page looks at how the council can help you, and where you can get additional support.

If you come from a country that was a member of the EU before May 2004 then you will have the right to enter the UK.   However, you will have to meet certain criteria if you want to live and work in the UK.   This section outlines when you can expect to receive help if you become homeless.

If you come from a country that became a member of the EU on 1 May 2004, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Sloveni, also known as the A8 accession states. From 1 May 2011 you will have the same rights as EU nationals.

On 1 January 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU. Nationals of these countries are usually referred to as A2 nationals. This page outlines when you can expect help if you become homeless.