Homelessness and housing advice

A guide to our services

Prevention first

Our first priority is to try and prevent homelessness actually occurring. In order to do that we have a team of specialist advice staff who will try and help you in the first instance.

If you have nowhere to stay now, or in the near future then either:

• phone the Housing Advice Service for assistance on 01752 305950. This service is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (4.30pm Fridays)
• go to Midland House, Plymouth City Council’s Housing Advice Service at Notte Street, Plymouth PL1 2EJ. A drop-in service is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (4.30pm Fridays)

Opening times (see links opposite)

If you become homeless outside these hours, or on a Bank Holiday, please ring 01752 668000. This is for emergencies only and not if your situation can be resolved when the office is open.

Our service at Midland House

At the Service Desk, depending on the nature of your enquiry, you may be asked to complete a short questionnaire. If you are then offered an interview right away, it will be because your circumstances are that you have nowhere to live that night.

You may be given an appointment, or the opportunity to complete an application form and return it by post. This will be because you are likely to be homeless in the near future.

An officer will be appointed to look into your situation, and will advise you whether or not the Council has a duty to assist you with finding alternative accommodation. Any assistance will depend on your circumstances, but may include arranging for you to stay in temporary accommodation, should this be necessary, until any enquiries are completed.

You will be notified of any decision made by the Council in writing, as quickly as possible, and this should be within 33 working days. Any decision against the interest of the applicant must give the reasons for that decision, and inform the applicant of their right to request a review of that decision.

Questions we will ask

The officer appointed to assist you will need to make reasonable enquiries in order to decide what we will do and will ask you some questions. Some of the questions we may ask are:

• where have you lived for the last 12 months?
• are you subject to immigration control?
• how did you become homeless?
• have you got somewhere to stay tonight?
• where did you stay last night?
• if you are not homeless tonight, when will you be homeless?
• what is your date of birth?
• do you have children living with you, either under 16 or 16 to 18 years old and in full-time education?
• are you, or any member of your family, pregnant?
• do you have any physical or other disability, or some other serious health problem?
• have you been looked after, accommodated, or fostered by Social Services; been a member of the Armed Forces; or been in prison?
• have you been a victim of domestic violence or harassment?
• have you completed, or are you in the process of completing, a drug or alcohol rehabilitation programme?

What you can do to help us deal with your application

Please bring with you or supply:

• proof of identity of you and your partner, if you have one, and your children, if you have any living with you. For example: Birth Certificates; Passport etc
• proof of pregnancy if you or anyone living in your family, is pregnant
• any medical reports you may have
• proof of any income, eg wage slips; benefit books including the Child Benefit Book if you have children
• a Notice to Quit or Notice Seeking Possession of your accommodation, if you have one
• a Possession Order, if you have one
• a Bailiff ’s Warrant, if you have one
• if you have to leave accommodation provided by relatives or friends, please ask them to write a letter to you stating the date you must leave and why, and confirm how long you have lived at that address
• confirmation of your asylum or immigration status, eg Passport; SAL1; SAL2, if you are subject to immigration control
• if you are suffering harassment, domestic violence or other form of violence, please supply any information you have such as Police Log Numbers; Police reports or any involvement with the Domestic Violence Unit

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

Homelessness - a guide to our services - leaflet containing a guide to our services and a map illustrating the location of Midland House. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 118KB

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