Homeless prevention
If you are homeless tonight
Emergency accommodation is scarce and if you have accommodation that is suitable and safe for you to remain in, it is essential that you stay there while we offer you advice on your housing situation.
If however, you have nowhere safe to stay or are at risk of becoming homeless tonight, please call 01283 595795 or email housing.triage@southderbyshire.gov.uk during office hours and we will contact you back the same day. Outside of office hours, please call 0808 1692 333 or email: outofhourshousing-derbys@p3charity.org.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse
If you are experiencing domestic abuse and it is not safe to stay in your home, please call 01283 595795 or email housing.triage@southderbyshire.gov.uk during office hours. Outside of office hours, please call 01629 532600 or 0845 6058058.
You can also seek additional advice from Derbyshire Domestic Abuse Support Line (men and women). Call the team on 0800 198 668 or email derbyshirehelpline@actionorg.uk.
In an emergency always contact the Police on 999.
If you are worried about being homeless in the next few days
If you have somewhere safe to stay tonight, but are worried about becoming homeless in the next few days (perhaps you have been told you are being evicted by your landlord), please call our customer services team on 01283 595795.
We will take your details and pass them to our housing team, who will contact you back within 5 working days, unless it is clear you need us to contact you sooner.
Because we are helping lots of customers at the moment, we can’t promise a same day response, but we will contact you as soon as we can and before the date you are set to become homeless.
If you are worried about losing your home longer-term
If you have somewhere safe to stay for the short-term, but are worried about losing your home longer-term, we may be able to help. We can provide free information, advice to landlords, tenants and owner occupiers to help keep you in your home or find an alternative. We can:
- negotiate with friends and family on your behalf to enable you to stay where you are for longer while we help you to find something more suitable.
- provide debt counselling services with independent financial advisors.
- negotiate with your landlord if you have arrears.
- see whether you are eligible for mortgage advice.
- help you to find a rented property in the private sector. In some cases we can help with a deposit.
- help you to apply for social housing.
- help single people to access hostel accommodation.
- provide practical help and support if you need to leave home because of violence or abuse.
If your homelessness enquiry is not an emergency you can contact us by submitting an online response request.
Want to apply for a council house?
If you have somewhere safe to stay in the short-term, but want to apply for a council house for a long-term home, find out more about our housing register.
About temporary accommodation
If we cannot prevent you from becoming homeless, we may be able to provide temporary accommodation. This could, in emergencies, be bed and breakfast accommodation, or it could be supported accommodation, reserved for use by homeless families. The type depends on demand on when you become homeless, and where there is a vacancy.
Being provided with temporary accommodation is not a guarantee that permanent Council or housing association accommodation will be offered to you long-term. You are expected to look for your own accommodation, as well as registering on our housing register.
Our homelessness duty and strategy
Our duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 are explained in a fact sheet and a Code of Guidance produced by the Government. We also have a Homelessness Prevention Strategy (pdf, 410kb) to outline how we are working with our partners to reduce and prevent homelessness.
The Duty to Refer
The Duty to Refer requires public bodies to notify the Council of service users they think may be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Charitable and voluntary groups are also welcome to refer cases to us.
Please email referrals to housing.triage@southderbyshire.gov.uk if you wish to refer someone to us, you must get their permission first.