Losing your home: how to ask the council for help

In England the local council helps when you are losing your home. The key point: you can apply not only once you are on the street, but when it is only threatened. The Housing Act 1996, amended in 2017, sets clear timeframes.

When are you 'threatened with homelessness'?

Under section 175(4) of the Housing Act 1996, a person is threatened with homelessness "if it is likely that he will become homeless within 56 days". That 56-day threshold was introduced by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and has applied since 3 April 2018. In plain terms: an eviction notice or an ending tenancy is already a reason to apply.

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What must the council do?

If the council is satisfied you are homeless or threatened with it, the "relief duty" under section 189B applies. The council must "take reasonable steps to help the applicant to secure that suitable accommodation becomes available". That duty lasts 56 days and ends after that period if the situation has not changed.

How do you apply?

Apply to the council of an area where you have a "local connection" — where you have recently lived, work, or have close family. Some groups do not need a local connection: serving and former armed forces members, care leavers under 25, survivors of domestic abuse, and bereaved spouses losing Ministry of Defence housing after a service death.

Prevention versus relief — what's the difference?

The law distinguishes two council duties. When someone is only threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the "prevention duty" under section 195 applies: the council "must take reasonable steps to help the applicant to secure that accommodation does not cease to be available" — that is, to keep the current home. Once a person is already homeless, the "relief duty" under section 189B applies — to help find a new home. Both run for 56 days. So coming to the council early triggers prevention — the gentlest route, while the current home can still be kept.

What about accommodation meanwhile?

If you have a "priority need" — for example children or serious vulnerability — the council must provide interim accommodation while it looks into your case. The council makes enquiries and gives a written decision.

The bottom line

Do not wait until you are on the street. The law deliberately allows 56 days to prevent homelessness — the earlier you apply, the more time the council has to help you keep or find a home.