What do I do if I have lost my home or think I face losing my home?
If you have lost your home or are facing difficulties within your home you should seek advice as quickly as possible. The homelessness and housing advice service is run by Housing Options Teams across the county. You should arrange to see them or seek advice from them as soon as possible.
Here are a few of the questions frequently asked by people contacting Housing Options:
What can I do if I can’t afford my rent or mortgage payments
If you fall behind with rent or mortgage payments you need advice and assistance immediately. You should inform your landlord or mortgage provider to make them aware of your situation and to see if they can offer advice or make future arrangements in regard to your payments. You may be eligible for help with your rent such as Housing Benefit, or other benefits in relation to your circumstances. You can approach the Shropshire Council Housing Options Team for this. Other agencies that offer advice are:
- Shelter, who run a freephone helpline 0808 800 4444
- the “Direct Gov” website
- CAS Citizens Advice Shropshire 08444 99 11 00
CAS offers free, confidential and independent advice on a wide range of issues, including housing.
What can I do if I am in fear of abuse or violence or I am suffering domestic abuse?
If you do not feel safe at home due to domestic abuse (which can involve threats, emotional abuse, psychological ‘mind games’, financial abuse or physical violence) from a partner, ex-partner or family member, help is available. If it is an emergency situation please call 999. You can also make reports to the police at any time if you feel this is the route you want to pursue. The police can refer you on to other support agencies, such as the IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor), Victim Support or Women’s Aid.
You can gain support and advice to stay in your own home, plan to leave, or leave in an emergency and you can be offered emergency accommodation. This can be a safe house or refuge and will remove you from your situation to a place of safety. You may also be referred to solicitors for legal advice for civil matters (e.g. injunctions, child contact issues, divorce, etc.). The Housing Options team can source safe accommodation and/or support for you while they assess your housing situation.
Support agencies that are available across Shropshire are:
- Women’s Aid run a 24 hour help-line 0800 783 1359
- Floating support service 01743 365 032
- Stonham run a dedicated line 07973 740 666
- Victim Support for victims of crime 01743 362 812
For men experiencing domestic abuse there is the Men's Advice Line, which is available on freephone number 0808 801 0327 (free from landlines & most mobile phones):
- Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
- 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm
You can leave a message when the lines are closed or busy, and they will get back to you as soon as they can. You can also send an e-mail to the Men's Advice Line: info@mensadviceline.org.uk
What can I do if I am going to receive / have received written notice to quit from my landlord?
If you have received written notice or your landlord has told you to leave even if s/he has not put anything in writing yet, you should contact a Housing Options adviser as soon as possible to see if there's anything you can do to keep your home. We will do all we can to help, but it is important that you contact us as soon as possible.
We can advise you about your tenancy and what steps the landlord has to take if he wants to end your tenancy, give you information about benefits and advise you about other accommodation if you do lose your tenancy. We may be able to advise about negotiation with your landlord to allow you to stay longer or if you have fallen into rent arrears.
What can I do if I am being harassed and/or taken to court by my landlord?
The law protects private tenants against harassment and illegal eviction by their landlord, agent or other people acting on behalf of their landlord.
Harassment could include the withdrawal of services, violence or threats, entering your property without your permission, and/or failure to carry out repairs. If you think this is happening to you, please contact the Housing Options Team, Shelter or CAB, who can advise you about your rights. It is advisable to keep a record/diary of incidents.
If you haven't left by the time any notice expires landlords usually have to apply to the county court for an order telling you to leave. This is known as a possession order. Most tenants are entitled to stay in their accommodation until a possession order takes effect.
What can I do if I have received an order for possession?
If your landlord has been granted a possession order of your property by the court, you should seek advice immediately.
Contact the Housing Options Team, even if you haven’t received the possession order from the court in writing yet.
Even if your landlord has been given an order, it may be possible to delay the eviction until you have found somewhere else to live. Keep copies of any rent statements or letters from your landlord, a copy of the possession order and any court papers (if you have received them).
We can advise you about this and give you information about how long you can stay, alternative accommodation, and what can happen when the order has expired.
Do I need to make an appointment to see or speak to someone at Housing Options?
You can contact Housing Options in an emergency and we will do our best to see or advise you on the same day, or arrange another appropriate time for an appointment as soon as possible. We do operate an appointments system to ensure that we try to allocate adequate time to consider an individual's circumstances. You may be asked to provide information to confirm your circumstances; these may include tenancy agreements, a notice that you must leave from your landlord, proof of pregnancy or dependants. The staff will advise you of what you need.
How will Housing Options help me?
Housing Options will give advice to everyone who is worried about losing their home or has lost their home.
We'll offer advice on benefits, on dealing with mortgage arrears and arrange free legal advice if you want it. We understand that everyone's situation is different and that you may need advice and help on issues other than housing. We will do everything we can to make sure that your other needs are also identified and can involve other specialists and agencies that could offer you help.
If we can't help you by offering a home we'll give you information about places to rent.
If you make a homelessness application, we may offer you a temporary home while we investigate your application. This will depend on your personal circumstances.
We may be able to find you somewhere to stay immediately.
What happens if I am deemed as homeless?
If we decide that you are homeless and in priority need, we will provide you with temporary accommodation for as long as it takes to find you permanent accommodation, unless you do something that means you lose the temporary accommodation we have provided.
If we decide that the Council does not have a homelessness duty and we can't offer you a permanent home, you will be asked to leave your temporary accommodation. We will give you a reasonable time to find somewhere else to live and we can assist you to do this.
What if I do not agree with a homelessness decision?
You have the right to request a review of any decision taken by Shropshire Council regarding your homelessness application.
There is also a further legal right for households to appeal to the County Court if they feel that the Council has made an error in homelessness law when determining their case.