How will the council help me?

Worried about becoming homeless

Find out what to do if you think you may become homeless. We will try and help you find a solution to your housing problem to prevent you from losing your home. Alternatively you can call us on 020 7527 2000 or email advice.housing@islington.gov.uk.

Once we have received your enquiry, we will contact you to make an appointment for an assessment to check what type of support you are eligible for. Shelter’s guide on housing rights helps you work out if you’re eligible for assistance and what you’re entitled to.

If the Housing Aid Team give you an appointment to visit the office, please bring the following documents with you:

• proof of identity - full birth certificates or passports for all the people in your household
• documents concerning the loss of your housing - for example, letters from your landlord or the court informing you that you must leave
• proof of income - for example, wage slips, benefit books, P45, bank statements and savings books
• details of where you have lived for the last five years - such as tenancy agreements, rent books or receipts for rent, postmarked letters, bills, bank statements, medical cards
• if relevant, documents confirming you are married or divorced, you have custody of children, you are pregnant, any medical information you have.

If you are already homeless

If you are already homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, one of our housing experts will talk you through your options and create a plan for you to help you resolve your housing issue. They will be your personal housing advisor and will support you to find a suitable place to live for up to 8 weeks from accepting our duty to help you. Find out more about what to do if you are already homeless.

If you fail to comply with the plan, we may end our duty towards you. This will mean that even if the council would normally have a duty to house you, you may lose your entitlement to longer term housing provided by the council.

If we cannot prevent you from becoming homeless we may have to provide you temporary housing.

In the first place this is likely to be hotel type accommodation as half of our temporary accommodation is outside Islington.

Councils no longer have to offer homeless people a council or housing association home but can instead offer a property with a private landlord. If you take up the offer to move into a property with a private landlord you can still join Islington’s housing register, even if the property is located outside of Islington. Your application will be assessed in line with the Allocation Policy based on your new home and you will be given points to bid for social housing in Islington. Your housing advisor can give you more details.

By law, all local authorities must find out if they have a responsibility to provide someone with long term housing. If you are still homeless after 8 weeks of tailored support from the council, we will make a decision on whether we have a duty to provide you with longer term housing.

To see if you are someone a local authority has a responsibility to house if they are homeless, please visit the Shelter website.