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If you are eligible and in danger of losing your home in the next 56 days, the council must help you to try and keep your current home or to take steps to stop you from becoming homeless. This is known as the duty to help to prevent homelessness, or “the prevention duty”.
The prevention duty is owed to all eligible applicants regardless of priority need, intentionality or local connection.
Your local council must try to help stop you from becoming homeless if you are:
You are threatened with homelessness if you are likely to become homeless within 56 days. This would apply, for example, if you are a tenant who has received a valid notice from your landlord that he or she wants to evict you.
You do NOT have to be in priority need to receive help under the prevention duty and help should be provided regardless of the reasons why you became at risk of homelessness.
If you are likely to lose your home in the next 56 days you should contact your local council and ask to make a homelessness application.
The council should take an application from you, carry out an assessment of your housing needs and, if you are eligible, offer you some help to try and stop you from becoming homeless.
The council should tell you in writing whether or not they are going to help you. The letter must either be sent to you or left at council offices for you to collect.
If the council decides not to give you any help the letter must explain the reasons why. You may be able to ask the council to review its’ decision. If you want to do this get advice immediately. The procedure can be complex and you have to ask for a review within 21 days of receiving the decision letter.
Once the council has decided that you are eligible and threatened with homelessness, it should take reasonable steps to help you:
This does NOT mean that the council has to provide you with a new home, only that it must help you by taking reasonable steps to stop you from becoming homeless.
The council can give the help itself or it can arrange for someone else to help you, such as a specialist housing or debt adviser.
When deciding what are ‘reasonable steps’, the council should look at the circumstances and particular needs of your household. The council should talk to you about what steps would be appropriate in your case and agree the steps to be taken with you.
Examples of the steps a council could take are:
These are just examples of what steps the council might offer to take for you. They may offer other help which is not on the list. If there is some help that you think the council can provide which would stop you becoming homeless then talk about that help with them.
The council should agree with you the steps that are going to be taken. Some councils may agree a Personal Housing Plan with you. Ask for a copy of this so that you can see what has been agreed. If you do not have a Personal Housing Plan ask the council to write down the steps that have been agreed and give you a copy.
You should make sure you do everything that is agreed on the plan and go to any appointments that are arranged for you.
Once the council has accepted it has to help you prevent your homelessness it must provide you with help until one of the following things happens:
Before the council can decide that they are not helping you they should look at all of your circumstances and try to find out why you are not co-operating. If you need some help or support to do the things the council are asking of you then they should try and provide this. For example, you may need a support worker to explain things to you or to help you get to appointments etc.
If the council are thinking about ending their duty to help you they should tell you in advance so that you have the chance to start co-operating. The council may send you a letter warning you that they are thinking of ending their duty to help you and give you the opportunity to put things right. If the council say they are no longer going to help you because you are not co-operating with them then get advice. At the very least the council should still give you some basic advice about housing options.
If the council decides that it no longer has to help you to prevent your homelessness then it must inform you in writing. The letter must tell you the reasons why the council have made this decision and that you have a right to request a review of the decision within 21 days.
For further advice about challenging the council’s decision click here.
If you have a housing problem, call our expert housing advice helpline
08000 495 495
If you have a non-urgent problem and would like to speak to an adviser
email us
We are sorry that we cannot provide this information in Welsh, however if you would like to speak to an adviser in Welsh please contact 08000 495 495.
This page was last updated on: Rhagfyr 3, 2020
Shelter Cymru acknowledges the support of Shelter in allowing us to adapt their content. The information contained on this site is updated and maintained by Shelter Cymru and only gives general guidance on the law in Wales. It should not be regarded or relied upon as a complete or authoritative statement of the law.