Advice about homelessness

On 3 April 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came into force. The act puts a legal duty on councils to offer more support to a wider range of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness - and to intervene earlier.

Here is some guidance produced by homelessness charity Crisis on what to expect when applying to the council as homeless, or when applying as threatened with homelessness.

Preventing homelessness

If you're homeless or threatened with homelessness, we can help. We'll always try to prevent you from becoming homeless in the first instance.

There are lots of services to help you stay in your current home, including help with financial difficulties, help with tenancy matters or help with relationship breakdown.

If staying in your current home isn't an option, we can help you look for accommodation in the private rented sector.

We also offer services to help if you're experiencing domestic abuse, including a sanctuary scheme (PDF, 99kb).

Southwark Council has partnered with Beam to help crowdfund people into secure accommodation and also skilled employment training. You can visit the Beam website to see what help is available.

You can browse the services for homeless people in London via the Pavement website. Browse services for homeless people in Southwark and other boroughs with Atlas.

If you've looked at all our options but still feel like you could become homeless, see the following chapters for advice and contacts

Page last updated: 05 January 2024

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