Help from the council's housing department

This content applies to Scotland only.

Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. This page applies to Scotland only. Get advice relating to England

Nowhere to stay, sleeping on a friend's sofa, got a notice to quit? You may be able to get help from the council. If you don't have a home of your own, you cannot stay where you are, or you're worried that you will have to move out soon, the council may be able to help you stay in your home or find somewhere else to live. To get this help, you need to go to the council's housing department and ask to make a homeless application.

This section has details about help the council can give to anyone who has nowhere to live or is faced with losing their accommodation. It explains what should happen if you ask the council for help. If you're not sure whether you're eligible for help, use our online assessment tool to find out.

If your council won't help, or you are not satisfied with the help you are given, go and see an adviser at a housing aid centre, Citizens Advice Bureau or other advice agency. An adviser can check that you are getting all the help you are entitled to. Use the Advice Services Directory to find an agency near you.

Overview of council duties

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. Read more 

How can the council help?

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. Read more 

Contacting the council

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. Read more 

Who can apply?

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. Read more 

Making an application

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. Read more 

After applying

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. Read more 

Homelessness tests

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). Read more 

The council's decision

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. Read more 

Advice and assistance

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. Read more 

Temporary accommodation

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. Read more 

Permanent accommodation

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. Read more 

Other options

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. Read more 

Challenging the council

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. Read more 

Applying if you're disabled

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. Read more 

EU Nationals

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. Read more 

Homelessness jargon

This page looks at some of the terms you might come across when making a homeless application to the council, and explains what they mean. Some of the terms may be unfamiliar, but other terms that are familiar may have specific meanings in homelessness law. Read more