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Homelessness, housing support and mental health
If you're homeless or facing homelessness, your local council must help you. This includes supporting you to stay in your home or find accommodation.
Your council may also have to provide somewhere for you to live. But this depends on your circumstances.
This page covers:
- What does being homeless or facing homelessness mean?
- Getting help if you're homeless and have mental health problems
- How can a local council help me if I’m homeless or facing homelessness?
- How can I challenge a homelessness decision?
- Getting healthcare if you're homeless
- Homelessness support organisations
Living on the streets made my condition even harder to deal with, and my condition made living on the streets harder, too
What does being homeless or facing homelessness mean?
The legal definition for homelessness is either:
- You have no accommodation available for you to live in
- It's not reasonable for you to live in that accommodation, for example if you'd face a risk of domestic abuse there
'Being homeless' can mean sleeping rough on the streets. Or it could mean staying for short periods of time on a friend's sofa because you don't have a home. This is often referred to as 'sofa-surfing'.
Being homeless also includes living in unsuitable accommodation, or with a violent partner.
Being 'threatened with homelessness' means that it's likely that you'll become homeless within 56 days (8 weeks). For example, if you've been given a notice of eviction.
What does 'intentionally homeless' mean?
Being intentionally homeless is where you deliberately did something which means you can no longer live in your home. For example, if you harassed your neighbours.
It also applies if you deliberately failed to do something, like paying your rent.
If a local council believes you're intentionally homeless, it may only offer you support for a short period of time.
If the reason you lost your home was linked to your mental health problems, providing evidence of this could help you. We have more information about challenging a council's decision.
Tell your local housing authority
This will usually be your local council. If you don't have a local connection, you can ask any local council for help if you're homeless.
You can search for any English or Welsh council using the UK government's 'find your local council' tool.
It helps to give the council evidence of why you're homeless. This could be an eviction letter or a notice from your landlord.
Let the council know:
- About your mental health problems and the effect they have on your day to day life
- Any other disability you have
- If you have particular needs, such as children who need to attend school or nursery nearby
Providing this evidence can affect the 'priority' you're given, and how much help you will receive.
You can only make a homelessness application to a local council if you have mental capacity to do so. But someone may be able to do this on your behalf. See mental capacity and housing for more information.
Visit Shelter's information about asking your local council for help with homelessness to find more advice. This includes a template letter that you can send to your council.
Get legal advice
If you're at risk of losing your home, you may be able to get free legal advice.
You could use the UK government's tool to find a legal aid adviser. To find a legal advisor to support you homelessness, select 'Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service'. You may also be referred for specialist debt or money advice, if you need it.
You can use this service no matter what your income is.
How can a local council help me if I'm homeless or facing homelessness?
If you're facing homelessness, the council must make reasonable steps to help stop this happening.
For example, the council may be able to arrange mediation with your family, neighbours or landlord, if there's been a relationship breakdown. Or it could help you claim benefits so you can pay back any rent arrears.
The definition of what is a 'reasonable step' depends on your circumstances. It could help if you explain any mental health problems you have. You should also tell the council if you have any particular needs or disabilities.
The council might be able to organise an advocate for you. An advocate can help you express your views and speak up for your rights if this is hard for you.
If you're homeless or do become homeless, the council must help you get suitable accommodation for at least 6 months.
The council will then decide if it has a duty to find you longer term accommodation. This depends on your needs and whether you meet certain criteria.
Shelter has more information about homelessness in England and homelessness in Wales. This includes local council support, both in the short-term and longer term.
How can I challenge a homelessness decision?
When a local council decides whether you're homeless and qualify for help, it must give you a letter with reasons for its decisions. You can ask for an internal review if you think the decision is wrong.
Visit Shelter's website for a list of decisions that can be challenged via internal review in England. Or a list of decisions that can be challenged via internal review in Wales.
Requesting a review
- Normally you must request this review within 21 days of hearing about the decision. You can ask for an extension, but it's up to the council to decide whether to give one. If you ask for an extension, explain any exceptional circumstances. For example, if your mental health was the reason you didn't respond sooner.
- Check the decision letter to see if you think the council has made any mistakes. Or if it hasn't considered relevant information.
- Ask the council to share a copy of your housing file. The information in it might help to inform your review.
- If you don't think the council considered relevant information highlight this. For example, if you think the council didn't consider your mental health problem. Explain how this might affect your housing needs and behaviour. It helps if you can provide more information and evidence, such as letters from professionals.
Outcome of a review
For most decisions, the council should let you know the outcome of the review within 8 weeks. Or let you know if it needs a time extension.
There are different timescales if the review is about the 'reasonable steps' the council took to prevent homelessness. Or if it's about the council's decision to end its duty to prevent homelessness. In either case, the council must respond within 3 weeks.
Example
Joe asked his local council for housing support. He'd been sleeping on a friend's sofa since he'd been evicted from his home. The council said that it couldn't help Joe as he'd been evicted due to antisocial behaviour. So, he was intentionally homeless.
Joe contacted his local Mind. They helped him contact a local law centre too. With their support, he was able to show that his behaviour wasn't something he'd deliberately done. It was due to his mental health problems at the time.
Joe had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He gave the council a letter from his GP about his mental health.
The council reviewed its decision and changed its position. It found that Joe hadn't made himself intentionally homeless. And it owed him the main housing duty. That meant the council would help Joe to get accommodation.
Appealing the outcome of a review
You can appeal the outcome of a review to the county court. But this appeal has to be about the way the council made the decision. For example, if it didn't carry out the review correctly or ignored relevant facts.
You cannot appeal just because you don't agree with the decision.
You need to apply to the county court within 21 days of getting the internal review decision.
If you've asked the council for an internal review of its decision and the council doesn't respond to you within 8 weeks, you can apply to county court. You must do this within 11 weeks of you handing in your request for review. So from the 8 week 'deadline', you have 3 weeks to apply.
You can read more on Shelter's website about appeals to the county court in England or appeals to the county court in Wales.
It's advisable to get legal help. Legal aid is often available for homelessness cases.
If you need a solicitor, you can get information about where to seek specialist advice from the Law Society or Civil Legal Advice. Or there may be a law centre in your area that could help. Local law centres are listed on the Law Centre Network or the LawWorks websites.
Even if the time limit for an internal review or county court appeal has expired, you could still seek specialist legal advice. They could help you to see if there are any routes to challenge the council's decision.
Getting healthcare if you're homeless
Anyone can register with a GP to receive treatment and support for their health. You don't need to have a fixed address.
But it can still feel harder to register if you're homeless. This information may help:
- The NHS guide to registering with a GP has information about accessing a GP practice in your area.
- The homelessness charity Groundswell's My Right to Healthcare card may help if you're struggling to register with a GP.
- Groundswell and Mind also have a guide to your rights to mental health support if you're homeless (PDF - new window).
Homelessness day centres might be able to help you access healthcare services. Some centres may arrange for you to talk to a doctor or nurse at the centre. You can search for day centres in England on Homeless Link's website.
Our page on hospital stays also has information on leaving hospital if you're homeless.
Crisis
crisis.org.uk
Provides a wide range of services for homeless people, including Crisis at Christmas centres.
Homeless Link
homeless.org.uk
Membership charity for organisations working with homeless people. Includes a directory of services for homeless people in England.
The Pavement
thepavement.org.uk
Advice and information for homeless people including a directory of local services.
Streetlink
0300 500 0914
streetlink.org.uk
Connects people who are sleeping rough with local services.
See more on housing and mental health
Social housing and mental health
– Homelessness, housing support and mental health
Housing disrepair and mental health
Published: October 2024
Next review planned: October 2027
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.
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