View our coronavirus (COVID-19) housing advice

Help from the council's housing department

Nowhere to stay, sleeping on a friend's sofa, got a notice to quit? You may be able to get help from the council. This section has details about help the council can give you if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Housing laws differ between Scotland and England.
This content applies to Scotland only.
Get advice if you're in England

Are you homeless or at risk of becoming homeless?

I need help

How can the council help me with homelessness?

Find out what kind of housing help the council can offer you if you ask them for help because you are homeless or think you are about to become homeless.

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. Contact the council to make an application.

Who is eligible to apply as homeless?

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 are not eligible for help.

How to make a homeless application

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.

Homeless application process, what happens next?

After your interview with a homelessness officer, you should be offered accommodation while the council makes inquiries.They may need to store your property as well.

The council's homelessness tests

A council must make inquiries into your situation. This will determine what kind of help the council can give you. This section gives explains the inquiry process.

The council's decision letter

Once the council has decided about your homelessness application, it must send you a letter explaining the reasons and what happens next. You may be able to challenge their decision if they wont help.

Advice and Assistance for Homelessness Prevention

If you make a homeless application and are eligible for help you'll be entitled to advice and assistance for homelessness prevention from the council. Find out what type of advice and assistance you can expect

Temporary accommodation once the council has made its decision

On making a homeless application to the council, you'll be provided with somewhere to stay while the council carries out its inquiries.

Permanent accommodation

If you pass the council's homelessness tests, you'll be offered a permanent home. Find out what this means and what to do if you're not happy with the offer.

Other options if the council housing department won't help

If you are homeless and the council has said that it can't help, you may have other options. Find out what help you can get.

Challenging council homelessness decisions

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.

Making a homeless application to the council if you are disabled and homeless

Check if specific issues affecting disabled people who are homeless affect you. Find out what happens when you go the council and what you can do if the council won't help you.

Homelessness and children

Find out what help you can get if you are homeless and have children.

If you're still looking for help, try searching, or find out how to contact us