Make a homelessness and housing advice application: step by step

We'll give you advice to help you find suitable accommodation. Depending on your circumstances, we may be able to offer temporary accommodation.

Once you have a temporary place, we can give you advice to help you find a new long-term home.

Check if you are eligible for help with homelessness before starting an application.

What we can help you with

We can provide support tailored to your needs.

Depending on your situation, we'll either:

give you advice about how to stay in your home, if it's possible
give you advice about finding a new home
offer temporary accommodation whilst you find a new home

We'll talk to you about what options are realistic for your situation.

There are currently approximately 9,000 households waiting for social housing in our area. The average waiting time for a property is three years.

Help to find a new home

We'll help you find a private rented home. This is when you rent from someone who owns the home you live in, known as a 'private landlord'.

Our support may include:

giving you advice about benefits you may be entitled to
helping you find landlords who will rent their properties to benefit claimants
showing you how to search for a home that fits your needs
sharing other organisations that can help
financial support including help with a deposit

If we can offer you temporary accommodation

If we decide you urgently need accommodation, we will provide temporary accommodation. This could be a temporary placement in:

a hostel
bed and breakfast
private rented accommodation
shelter
or other type of temporary accommodation

Living in temporary accommodation will not guarantee an offer for a council or housing association tenancy.

If you are offered temporary accommodation, you may need to:

•    move out of the area
•    move at short notice multiple times
•    stay somewhere with limited cooking facilities
•    share with other people, for example, in a hostel
•    rehome your pets

We can support you in finding accommodation you can afford in the private rented sector. This is likely to be a better solution to your homelessness.

Before you apply for help

To assess your application, we will need some evidence to understand your circumstances. If you bring a document from each of these categories to your booked appointment, it will be quicker to process your application.

What you need to provide

This isn't a complete list, as we may require more evidence based on your circumstances.

Evidence of eligibility

Check if you're eligible for help with homelessness

If you are eligible, please bring one of the following to your scheduled appointment:

passport or birth certificate (UK citizen)
visa (if applicable)
EEA national ID card

Evidence of homelessness

Please bring evidence of homelessness. This can include:

•    tenancy agreement
•    landlord notice
•    bailiff warrant or High Court writ of possession
•    notice of Seeking Possession
•    mortgage lender notice
•    interview if evicted by family or friends
•    discharge documents
•    court injunction or non-molestation order if your home is not safe to remain in
•    a report issued by the emergency services if you cannot return home due to an emergency such as fire or flood

Evidence of income

Please bring evidence of your income. This can include:

•    6 months bank statements for each account for each adult household member
•    evidence of any benefits
•    wage slips
•    tax returns to HM Revenue and Customs if you are self-employed

Evidence of priority need

These documents will help us to assess whether you meet priority need.

These include:

•    children’s full birth certificates or guardianship documents
•    evidence of your medical condition
•    care leavers plan
•    Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) referrals or crime reference numbers
•    evidence of service in the Armed Forces

Apply for help

If you are threatened with homelessness we will interview you and make an initial assessment on the day of your application or the next working day if outside working hours.

your landlord has asked you to leave
you are not getting on with the people that you live with
you cannot afford your mortgage, rent and/or bills or have other problems managing your tenancy or accommodation
you are currently homeless
your accommodation is not suitable because it is too small or in poor condition
your accommodation is not suitable because of a medical condition or disability
you are experiencing or are at risk of violence, abuse or harassment

Apply for housing on the Cumbria Choice website

What happens next

Once we have confirmed your circumstances and eligibility, we will contact you. A Homelessness Service Officer will discuss your needs and/or schedule further appointments.

Your initial Housing Needs Assessment

Housing Needs Assessments are by appointment only, after you have completed a homelessness and housing advice application.

Please let us know if you need any reasonable adjustments so we can support you during the assessment.

What to bring

You need to bring relevant documents to your initial housing needs assessment, if you have not already done so. This is to enable us to make the necessary enquiries into your housing circumstances.

What happens during your initial housing needs assessment

During your assessment, we will explain:

the legal guidance we must follow to assess your application
the stages of the application process
the type of assistance you should expect from the council to help prevent or relieve homelessness
the type of housing you should expect if we have a duty to assist you
if you are eligible for temporary accommodation whilst we assess your application

We will develop a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP). This will tell you the actions you need to take and how we will assist you. It will be updated as needed to reflect any changes in your circumstances.

During the enquiry stage of your application, your Homelessness Support Officer may contact you to:

review and update your Personalised Housing Plan
ask you to provide additional evidence to support your application

Please make sure you tell them about any change in your circumstances immediately, as this may lead to delays in assessing your application, or affect your assessment.

Enquiries we make on your application

You and any adult family member will be asked to provide signed consent for our enquiries to be carried out. Depending on your circumstances your caseworker may contact:

the Home Office
your current and previous employers
your current and previous landlords
benefit services
your children’s schools
your GP and medical professionals involved in your care
credit check
previous councils you have a connection with, or lived in
the police and probation services

Any other reasonable enquiries for the purposes of assessing your application will be carried out in addition to this.

Supplying additional information

Once we have completed an initial housing needs assessment, you may be asked further questions about your housing situation and the support you need.

You will need to provide a range of documents throughout your initial assessments. This is so we can make the necessary enquiries about your housing circumstances and homelessness.

You may be asked to provide further evidence throughout the assessment period. This is so we can give you the housing advice and options you need.

We may not be able to help you in resolving your homelessness if you do not respond to requests for information in time.

Assessment

At each stage of the assessment you will be advised in writing of the decisions made about your application.

Your Homelessness Support Officer will base their decision on:

the information you provided during your initial housing needs assessment
actions identified in your Personalised Housing Plan
documents submitted by you to support your application
information gathered from enquiries into your case

We will advise whether your case is being considered under our prevention, or relief duty.

If we do not have a full duty to assist you, the decision will explain the reasons in detail. It will provide you with information on how to request a review.

If you do not agree with how the decision has been reached, you will need to begin to find your own accommodation if you are in temporary accommodation.

Your housing options

At the end of our prevention and relief duties, if you are still in need of housing, we will send you a Section 184 decision letter. This will confirm if we have a full duty to assist you with housing.

If we have a duty to assist you, we will provide information about the available rehousing options. These may include:

long-term accommodation in the private rental sector
temporary accommodation
social housing

Please note that social housing is not guaranteed. It may take several years to become available. While waiting for long-term accommodation in the private sector, temporary housing may be offered.

Affordable housing is in high demand, and there is limited availability. We cannot guarantee that accommodation will be where you’d prefer to live. Any housing offer will be assessed to ensure it meets the needs of your household as outlined in your application. If you have specific preferences, you may want to explore private rental options. You may be better able to find a property that suits you and your family's needs.

To secure suitable accommodation, financial support may be available. This can include Discretionary Housing Payments. Your Homelessness Support Officer can provide advice on accessing support to find affordable private rental properties.

If you refuse an offer of suitable accommodation our duty to assist you may end.

If this happens, you will receive written notification. It will explain the reasons for our decision and information on how to request a review if you disagree. If you are currently in temporary accommodation, you will need to start making arrangements to secure housing independently.

Request a review of your application

If you disagree with a decision regarding your homelessness application, you have the right to request a review. Westmorland and Furness council is required to re-examine the decision once a review is requested.

How to request a review

If you want to request a review, you must:

request a review within 21 days of receiving the decision
request over the phone or by email but be clear that you are requesting a review
clearly identify the decision you want the Review Officer to reconsider
keep a copy or record of your request

The review process

A senior officer, not involved in the original decision, will handle the review.

The review will typically be completed within 8 weeks of your request. This timeframe may vary.

You will be given a deadline to:

provide reasons for your review request
submit any supporting evidence for Westmorland and Furness Council to consider

Temporary accommodation during a review

Westmorland and Furness Council is not obligated to provide temporary accommodation during the review process.

You may ask the review officer to provide or continue temporary accommodation - this will be considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Outcome of the review

The review officer will confirm the decision in writing, providing reasons if it is negative.

If you are dissatisfied with the review outcome, you can appeal to the county court on a point of law (for example, if the council made a legal mistake during the process)

Appeals must be submitted within 21 days of receiving the review decision. This process ensures that decisions are fairly reconsidered, and offers correction if legal errors are identified.

Contact us

If you want to request a review of the decision made on your homelessness and housing advice application please contact the team in your area.

Contact us out of hours

Out of hours telephone: 01229 833311