If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness we can help you:
If you are homeless now or may be at risk of being homeless in the next 56 days please contact the Housing Options Team, who will look at the following five homeless tests:
Not everyone who is homeless is eligible for help with their housing. The law says that certain people from abroad are not eligible for housing assistance. However, you are likely to be eligible if you are:
If you can't get benefits, are subject to immigration control or are an asylum seeker it is unlikely that you will be eligible.
Broadly speaking you may be homeless if you:
Normally you would only be considered as homeless if you were going to lose your home in the next 28 days, but if the housing options team get involved earlier they may be able to prevent you from becoming homeless.
To be considered a priority need you must be one of the following:
You may be considered to have made yourself homeless if you:
If you are found to be intentionally homeless, the council may not have a duty to find you somewhere to live and may only provide you advice on the options you have.You will need to take the following information with you:
You will need to have a local connection to Wolverhampton, so you will need to be able to show one or more of the following:
If you have no local connection to Wolverhampton but you satisfy some of the other criteria and a full housing duty is owed to you, you will be referred to a council where you do have a local connection (unless you are at risk of violence in that area).
If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness you can contact us in one of the following ways:
Online: Using our contact form
Visit us: Monday - Friday between 9am and 5pm at the Wolverhampton Homes One Stop Shops, located in:
In an emergency out of office hours: you can call 01902 552999.
If a homeless assessment is required you will be offered a date, time and convenient location to meet with a member of the team. We would ask that you provide the following information for all members of the household where appropriate:-
In addition to the above information, you should bring the following with you (if relevant to your situation):
You may need to provide other information to help the assessment of your need, this will be made clear to you.
The Homelessness Reduction Act came into effect on 3 April 2018 and it adds two new duties in addition to the main housing duty.
The two new duties are:
1. Prevent: Duty to take steps to prevent homelessness:
We can help you if you are at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days. This means you can get help if you've received a valid notice from your landlord and if you are struggling to find somewhere else to live, or in other circumstances where you are likely to become homeless. (Under the terms of the Homelessness Reduction Act, you must cooperate with the steps and efforts Wolverhampton Homes takes to prevent you from becoming homeless.)
2. Relieve - Duty to take steps to relieve homelessness:
We will help all eligible households who are likely to become homeless to find suitable accommodation. We are here to help, but it does not mean that we are required to provide a home for everyone. (Under the terms of the Homelessness Reduction Act, you must cooperate with the steps and efforts Wolverhampton Homes is taking to relieve your homelessness.)
Main housing duty
The main housing duty remains the same, this means that after 56 days, the relief duty comes to an end if you have not been able to secure alternative accommodation. We will then assess whether or not a main housing duty will be owed to you after the relief duty ends.
The main housing duty is owed to anyone who:
We will be under a duty to source suitable alternative accommodation for anyone who is owed the main housing duty. The offer of accommodation can be made in the private rented sector, in housing association property or in council accommodation depending on availability of suitable accommodation.
Personal Housing Plans
We will work with you to agree a Personal Housing Plan which will outline the actions for you and/or Wolverhampton Homes to take, which will help prevent you becoming homeless and/or help you find a new home.
Homeless advice and temporary accommodation