If you find yourself in a situation where you are homeless immediately or are rough sleeping, please call us on 01730 266551 between the hours of 9am-1pm and 2pm-5pm (Monday to Friday) when an initial assessment of your needs can be completed over the phone.
An out of hours service for emergency cases is available outside of these hours. In this instance, please call 07850 358156.
We would advise that you contact the team at the earliest opportunity to give the maximum amount of time to prevent your homelessness.
We do not have a duty to house every homeless person but we do have a duty to provide advice and assistance to anyone who wants it.
You may be homeless or threatened with homelessness if:
- you have nowhere to stay
- you have been given notice to leave your home
- it is not reasonable for you to return or remain in your home
- you have been illegally evicted.
If you fall into one of the above categories then you need to contact us to get advice and information about your legal rights and housing options.
If you are facing homelessness within the next 56 days
If you are threatened with homelessness within 56 days, you should contact us on 01730 266551.
We will arrange a short triage interview over the telephone to establish what assistance you are looking for and your circumstances. If appropriate we will arrange a further booked appointment.
This booked appointment will allow us to conduct a full personalised assessment and will take approximately 1-2 hours.
You will be asked to bring a range of information with you to support your circumstances and prove your identity. Failure to provide the requested information on this day, may result in a delay in the assistance we are able to provide to you.
You will be notified of the outcome of the personalised assessment within 10 days.
What happens after my booked interview?
Once we have completed a personalised assessment with you we will establish if we have a duty to assist you.
This will fall under a ‘prevent duty’, a ‘relief duty’ or no duty.
Emergency and temporary accommodation
If you need emergency accommodation itis likely to be bed and breakfast accommodation. You may get a private bedroom, but you may have to share bathroom facilities.
There are limited cooking facilities, if this is available you probably will have to share it with others. Some establishments do not allow guests to stay in their rooms during the day.
Staying in bed and breakfast is expensive and you will expected to claim benefit or make payments to cover the rental and service charges, which cover things like breakfast, gas and electric and water and are not covered by benefits.
In some instances the bed and breakfast may be outside the district, please refer to this document regarding out of area placements.
- Temporary accommodation placements policy (word 32 kb)
What are my responsibilities?
Once a personalised interview has taken place, you will receive a personalised housing plan.
This will set out what your housing advisor will do to assist you but also what actions you are required to do to improve your own circumstances.
An example of this could be to register on Hampshire Home Choice or contact local letting agents to find a private rented property.