A Personal Housing Plan (PHP) is a document which sets out the steps that are going to be taken to help prevent you becoming homeless or help to secure you accommodation.

If the council has decided that they are going to give you help to prevent your homelessness or help to secure accommodation then they should talk to you and agree what ‘reasonable steps’ need to be taken to help you. Although they do not have to, many councils will write these steps down in a Personal Housing Plan.

What goes into a Personal Housing Plan should be agreed between you and the council. It should include the steps that you have agreed will be taken by:

• the council
• you, or a member of your household
• someone else.

The council should discuss any plan with you and make sure you understand what they are going to do and what action you have agreed to take yourself. If you do not understand something in your plan, or you think that you cannot do something in the plan, then make sure you tell the council.

The plan should make it clear to you what is going to happen next.

Make sure you ask for a copy of any Personal Housing Plan that is written 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.

If you are getting help from social services, you might already have a care and support plan and the council should work with social services to make sure the two plans are linked.

Once a Personal Housing Plan has been drawn up both you and the council should carry out all of the steps that have been agreed on the plan.

You should make sure you go to any appointments that are arranged for you and take any action that you agreed to do on the plan.

If you cannot do something that is on the plan then make sure you tell the council straight away and explain why you cannot do it.

If your circumstances change, for example you become homeless or your health needs change, then your Personal Housing Plan must be reviewed. Make sure you tell the council of any changes in your circumstances so that they can look at the plan with you again, agree new actions or add to the existing actions to be taken.