This content applies to Scotland only.

Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. Get advice relating to England

If you apply to the council as homeless, the council must make inquiries into your situation to see whether you pass certain 'tests'. This will determine what kind of help the council can give you. This page gives an overview of the inquiry process.

The run up to 2012

The rules that govern homelessness legislation are due to change at the end of 2012. The major change will be the ending of the priority need test, which will mean that everyone who is assessed as unintentionally homeless will have the right to a home.

Councils will achieve this in different ways, so whilst the information in this section is correct as of now, when you contact your council the criteria that they used to assess your homeless application may have changed. If you have any questions you should contact your council or an advice agency. 

What does the council have to check?

In order to work out what help it has to give you, the council will have to look into your personal situation in detail. The council first has to check whether you are:

• homeless, and
• eligible for assistance.

If the council believes that you meet these criteria, it has to offer somewhere temporary for you to stay from the date you make your application until it has finished making inquiries into your situation.

It has to check whether you:

• are in priority need
• are intentionally homeless
• have a local connection to the area you have applied to.

It's important that the council carries out these inquiries in order. For example, it cannot decide that you have no local connection to the area before first deciding whether you are in priority need or became homeless intentionally.

What information will the council look at?

The council will look at the information you provided when you made your application, and at any documents you bring with you. You can download a checklist of things to take with you to your  homeless interview. Get advice from a Shelter advice centre or Citizens Advice if you want help providing the information the council needs to make its inquiries.

The council may also contact people and organisations that know about your housing situation to find out more about your circumstances. This might include:

• your previous landlord or mortgage lender
• your doctor
• any agencies that have provided support for you in the past, for example, social work.

If there are people you do not want the council to contact, because for example, you have been experiencing violence or threats from them, you should say so at your interview.

The homelessness officer may also need to visit your current accommodation to see whether it is reasonable for you to stay there.

How long will it take?

There is no time limit for how long it may take the council to do this, but councils aim to have completed their inquiries within 28 days. It may take longer if your case is complicated.

Remember, the council has to provide temporary accommodation from the date you apply until it finishes its inquiries if it believes that you may be:

• homeless, and
• eligible for assistance.

If the council refuses to provide accommodation while it makes its inquiries and you have nowhere to stay, get advice immediately. Use the Advice Services Directory to find a Shelter advice centre, Citizens Advice or other advice agency in your area.

What will I get?

The pages outlining the tests explain in detail what happens when you 'pass' or 'fail' each test. Briefly:

• The council must give you advice about your housing situation if:
  • you are not homeless
  • you are not threatened with homelessness.
• The council must give you advice and help in finding a new home, and let you stay on in temporary accommodation for a short while to give you an opportunity to find a new home if:
  • you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, but
  • you are not in priority need.
• The council must give you advice and help in finding a new home, and let you stay on in temporary accommodation to give you an opportunity to find a new home if:
  • you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and
  • you are in priority need, but
  • you became homeless intentionally.
• The council may refer you to another area to be housed if:
  • you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and
  • you are in priority need, and
  • you are not intentionally homeless, but
  • you have no local connection to the council's area.
• The council should offer you a new permanent home if:
  • you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, and
  • you are in priority need, and
  • you are not intentionally homeless, and
  • you have a local connection to the area.

You can use our online assessment tool to work out what help you're likely to get.