Homelessness and rough sleeping
The first thing you need to do is contact us.
If you are homeless tonight, please call us on 0300 1234 000 (Option 3) and we will aim to make contact with you today.
You will need to provide us with documentation, so that we can understand what help you need.
If you are threatened with homelessness in the next 56 days, please contact our Housing Solutions team. One of our Officers will make an appointment with you to discuss your options, and find out how we can help you.
If you are at risk of being homeless, or are currently homeless, we can offer you advice and assistance - including advice on your legal rights - and work with you to try and prevent your homelessness.
One of our Officers may work with you to create a personalised housing plan.
If we're not able to stop you from becoming homeless, we might be able to provide you with temporary accommodation.
If you not already on the housing register, you may be asked to join it via Gateway to Homechoice. This will mean that you are considered for social housing, as and when it becomes available.
Your landlord must follow a legal process to bring your tenancy to an end.
Most private tenants have an assured shorthold tenancy, which means that your landlord must issue you with either a Section 21 or a Section 8 notice:
| Section 21 notices | You must be given two months notice, but your landlord does not have to give you a reason for asking you to leave. If your tenancy started after 1 October 2015, notice must be given using a legal document called the 'notice seeking permission' |
|---|---|
| Section 8 notices | You can given this notice at any time if you have rent arrears, if you are involved in criminal or antisocial behaviour, if you have broken a term of your tenancy agreement. A Section 8 notice period can be as little as 14 days |
A landlord cannot force you to leave when your notice expires, but must first gain a court order.
Shelter have published housing advice for private renters on their website.
If you have been served notice and need assistance, please contact our Housing Solutions team immediately.
In March 2024, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils both adopted the Joint Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy (2024 - 2029).
Both Councils share a vision that ‘homelessness and rough sleeping is prevented wherever possible and, where it cannot be prevented, it is rare, brief and non-recurring.’
To achieve this vision, we will:
- focus on embedding an early prevention and intervention approach with support systems to achieve this
- work with those who have lived experience through co-production; to influence services, options, process and policies
- develop a county wide, multi-agency approach to support people to rebuild their lives in settled and sustainable tenancies
The Strategy will be monitored and governed through its Delivery Plan (March 2024). The Plan will be under regular review, via quarterly updates and an annual review.
Background documents that fed into the development of the final Strategy: