If you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless

If you’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless we urge you to contact our Housing Options Team as soon as possible for help. Our team of experienced officers can provide you with advice and assistance to resolve your housing issue - whether it's to help you remain in your current accommodation or to find a suitable alternative.

• Complete our online application form
• You can also use this link as an organisation wishing to make a referral on behalf of someone including those with a Duty to Refer
• For emergencies when the office is closed, please contact 01524 67099

What happens next?

Once you have contacted us, we will offer you a triage appointment to gather some more information about you and your situation. This is to establish what you want from the council and what help we can offer.

Housing assessment

After the initial triage appointment, we may need to arrange to see you again to complete a full housing assessment with a Housing Options Officer.

We will ask you questions about your situation and will need you to provide evidence of your circumstances.

During the interview we will explore the following with you:

• your local connections in the area — close family, a job
• how long you have lived in the area
• whether you have been granted refugee status in the district
• the reasons for your homelessness
• your finances
• who else is in your household
• anything that makes you vulnerable 
• any special circumstances that may affect your application

During the 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 to help you prevent or relieve homelessness
• The type of housing you should expect if we have a full duty to assist you with housing
• Whether we will consider providing you with temporary accommodation whilst we assess your application

Documentary evidence you will need:

• Proof of your identity and the identities of everyone to be included as part of your household, such as birth certificates, passports, immigration documents
• Evidence that you are threatened with homelessness, such as a notice of seeking possession, possession order or bailiff’s warrant, or confirmation in writing that you are being made homeless if friends or family are asking you to leave
• Your current tenancy agreement and any previous tenancy agreements you have for other homes you have previously lived in
• Proof of your previous addresses for the last five years and your partner’s addresses if relevant, such as medical cards, bank statements, utility bills etc.
• Proof of your income and any savings or investments you have, such as wage slips, bank statements, benefit entitlement
• Evidence of any serious illness or disability that you or any member of your household have, such as letters from your GP, hospital consultant, details of any prescribed medication
• Evidence of any custodial sentence served
• Evidence of any armed forces service history

What the homeless team look at - Shelter England

How we decide what advice we can give you

The answers you give at your homeless assessment appointment help us work out the next steps and what homelessness duty we may owe you.

We may ask you, or the professionals who support you, for more evidence. It's important you give us this evidence.

If you qualify for assistance, we will:

• Try to help prevent you becoming homeless
• Offer advice and help to resolve homelessness

If you fit specific criteria and are homeless tonight we may provide you with emergency accommodation.

What we expect from you:

• Tell us truthfully everything we need to know to prevent you becoming homeless or to assess your homelessness application properly
• Co-operate as much as you can 
• Inform us immediately if your circumstances change
• Provide any evidence requested promptly
• Carry out the tasks agreed in your Personal Housing Plan
• Consider all available housing options including private rented sector, house shares, staying with family and friends etc
• Actively manage your Ideal Choice Homes application
• Speak to us politely and courteously, without being abusive

We won't be able to help if you:

• Refuse to work with us
• Provide us with false information
• Don't carry out the tasks agreed in your Personal Housing Plan

Decision

At each stage of the process, you will be advised of the decisions made on your application which will be based on:

• The information you provided during your interview(s)
• Actions identified in your personal housing plan
• The information we have gathered from our enquiries into your case

We will write to let you know about these decisions.

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Additional Support:

• Help for Rough Sleepers - Help for Rough Sleepers - Lancaster City Council
• Domestic Abuse - Domestic abuse - Lancaster City Council
• Harassment & Illegal Eviction -  Harassment and unlawful eviction - Lancaster City Council
• Finding accommodation - Finding accommodation and paying rent - Lancaster City Council

Last updated: 27 June 2025