At risk of being homeless

Being homeless doesn't always mean you are living rough or sleeping on the streets. You may be homeless or at risk of being homeless if you are:

• staying between friends and family
• struggling to pay your rent or mortgage
• being asked to leave by your family or landlord
• experiencing domestic violence, abuse or coercive control
• sleeping on the streets
• living in a home that is not suitable for your needs.

Get help now

If you have nowhere to sleep tonight or are sleeping on the streets you can contact us at anytime:

• telephone (8.30am to 5pm): 01623 450000 (select option 1 then select option 6)
• telephone (out of hours): 01623 450000.

Ways we can help you

If you are or at risk of becoming homeless we can help you to make a plan (this is called a Personal Housing Plan) to remain in your home or find a new one. This plan may include, understanding your legal rights, talking to your landlord, help with budgeting and applying for housing.

We can offer help to those who are eligible. This means you are able to get assistance from the public welfare system. If you are at risk of being homeless you do not need to have a local connection, but if you are already homeless you do need one. This means that you have:

• lived in Ashfield for 6 of the last 12 months
• lived in Ashfield for 3 of the last 5 years
• permanent employment in Ashfield
• immediate family who have lived in Ashfield for 5 years, or
• have another special reason that you would need to be in the area.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse you don't need a local connection to the council you want to get help from. It is important that you approach a council in an area where you will be safe. If it is safe for you to stay in Ashfield we may be able to make you current home more secure through the Sanctuary Scheme:

• link: Domestic violence page - Sanctuary Scheme

We can also help you if you are in or leaving care, if you are leaving prison, if you are a serving or former member of the Armed or Reserve Forces, or if you are leaving hospital. We also have mental health help available.

• link: Leaving care page
• link: Prison leavers page
• link: Leaving the Armed Forces page
• link: Mental ill health page

We may stop working with you if we lose contact, you don't complete the actions in your plan, or you refuse an offer of suitable housing.

Private renting

Due to limited social housing stock the quickest route to rehousing is through the private rented market.

We recognise that not everyone will have the funds to be able to access this market immediately and therefore have a number of ways to help. For example, a bond guarantee scheme which can be given to a landlord instead of cash.

More information is available in the document 'private renting and the bond or deposit' from the related documents section of this web page.

Talk to an advisor

The best way to let us know about your situation and to get advice is to register with Homefinder. When you have registered you will see on your account that you can complete a triage assessment. Once you have completed this your case will be passed to an advisor who will contact you.

If at any point you need to speak with an advisor you can contact us in the following ways:

• telephone (8.30am to 5pm): 01623 450000 (select option 1 then select option 6)
• email: housingoptions@ashfield.gov.uk
• post:

Ashfield District Council
Housing Options Service
Urban Road
Kirkby in Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG17 8DA.