Homelessness
Get advice as soon as possible
Contact us as soon as possible if you are worried about your housing situation or about becoming homeless. We will work with you to try to prevent you from losing your home. The sooner you contact us, the more we can do to help.
- Call our Housing Options Team on 0300 126 7000 or, in an emergency, visit our offices in Northampton, Daventry or Towcester. We are available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. The earlier in the day you contact us, the more time we will have to support you.
- You can also register online for help and advice. You will need your email address and will be asked to set up a password to register before providing details of your circumstances. A member of our Housing Options Team will then contact you to discuss your circumstances. This may be helpful if you cannot wait to get through on the telephone.
- If you have nowhere to stay tonight and need help after 5pm, please call our out of hours service on 0300 126 7000
- If you or someone you know are at risk of domestic abuse or feel unsafe at home, please see our domestic abuse advice page.
- We hold monthly drop-in services at many of our libraries and community facilities.
Get help with money problems
If you are worried about paying your rent or mortgage, you can contact our Debt and Money Advice Team.
If you are a Housing Association tenant and are struggling to pay your rent, please contact your Housing Association landlord first as they all have money advice teams that can help you.
You can find money advice from the main Housing Associations in our area here:
You can also get advice from:
There is a lot of information about local sources of support and help available on our cost of living support pages. This includes help with food, bills and staying warm, if you are struggling financially.
If you are worried about someone who has nowhere to sleep tonight
If you are worried about someone who maybe sleeping rough, or are sleeping rough yourself, you can let us know by using Street Link . This is a national service that informs local authorities about people sleeping rough in their area and helps to connect people to local services and support. Reports of people within West Northants come through to our Outreach team.
You can also email our Outreach team at [email protected].
If you have the app, What Three Words, you can email the location this gives you to let us know where we might find someone.
Our Outreach Team works with local charities and agencies, to provide a full range of support, quickly, to anyone who may be sleeping rough or at risk of needing to. This includes help with urgent health care, mental health and addiction issues, as well as practical support to access food, money and other essentials.
Duty to refer
We encourage all our partner agencies to use the referral portal on our duty to refer page. Public authorities have a duty to refer to us people using their services who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness, where they have consent to do so.
Young people under 18
If you, or someone you know, is 16/17 years old and either homeless or facing homelessness, we will work with them as outlined in our 16/17 year old joint protocol.
This sets out the responsibilities of Children's Social Care, Housing and partner agencies. Its purpose is to safeguard the well-being of the young person and to prevent homelessness.
Prepare for your housing appointment with us
We will be able to help you more quickly if you have relevant paperwork with you.
If we need to speak with you by phone, please make sure your phone is charged and you are in a quiet, private area to discuss your needs.
Documents we may ask you for
You'll need to bring proof of identity - this can be:
- full birth certificate
- passport
- a document confirming your National Insurance number
- photo driving licence
- Biometric residence card
- Proof of settled immigration status
We'll need to see details of any income you receive:
- bring any recent statements of all bank and building society accounts including current and any savings accounts, held by you and your household
- if you are employed, bring payslips for the last five weeks or two months, depending on whether you are paid weekly or monthly
- bring proof of all benefits you get
If you've got a child or are expecting a child please bring:
- a full birth certificate for any child who is to be included in your application for housing
- any divorce or separation papers that show arrangements concerning children
- a maternity certificate or hospital notes confirming your pregnancy, showing your estimated due date
- proof of Child Benefit
We'll need to see documents that tell us about your tenancy - this will include:
- the tenancy agreement that you were given at the start of your tenancy
- any other contract that you were given later
- if you do not have a written tenancy agreement, a rent book or letter from your landlord confirming the tenancy
- any notice given by your landlord to leave your home
If you're selling or have sold your home we'll need to see confirmation from your solicitor - this should detail:
- the value of the property
- the amount of mortgage still outstanding
- the amount of capital you are likely to receive when the property is sold
If there is legal action being taken to repossess your home, we'll need to see:
- the court summons for possession with details of the application for possession
- any court order for possession
- any bailiff's warrant for possession
How we use your data
Homelessness Data England is a research project by the Ministry for Housing and Communities (MHCLG).
The project aims to understanding more about the causes of homelessness and how well services meet people’s needs.
- Privacy notices for homelessness research at GOV.UK
- WNC Housing Options and Homelessness privacy notice
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy
See our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy.
Last updated 28 November 2024