If you are homeless or in danger of losing your home in the next 56 days the council might have to help you. In some situations the council may offer you emergency housing while they are deciding what other help to give you. This is sometimes known as ‘emergency’ or ‘interim’ accommodation.
The council has to provide you with emergency housing while they look into your situation only if they have reason to believe you may be:
Each of these terms has a special legal meaning.
The council doesn’t have to be certain that you meet each of these criteria, they just have to have ‘reason to believe’ that you might meet them. If the council is in any doubt about whether you meet them, they should provide emergency housing whilst they decide what other help to give you. This is the case even if the council suspects that you may not have a local connection with the area or may have made yourself homeless intentionally.
If you think the council should have offered you emergency housing but have not done so then get help immediately.
The type of emergency housing provided varies from council to council and might be a hostel, a refuge, Bed & Breakfast or even a flat owned by a private landlord.
The emergency housing should be suitable for you and your household. When deciding what is suitable, the council should consider the circumstances of you and all members of your household, including:
Councils should offer Bed & Breakfast accommodation as a last resort and only for very short-term stays. If the council do offer you a Bed & Breakfast for emergency accommodation check that you will be able to use the room during the day and that you will have somewhere to cook a meal. Ask how long you are likely to be there and ask the council to move you somewhere more suitable as soon as possible.
If you are 16 or 17, or are a family with dependent children or are pregnant, you should only be placed in Bed and Breakfast in an emergency, and should not have to stay there for any longer than six weeks.
If you are offered somewhere that you don’t think is suitable, you should tell the council why you don’t think it is suitable. If the council doesn’t offer you anything else, get help. An adviser may be able to help you to convince the council that you should be offered something more suitable for your needs.
For more advice about the suitability of accommodation offered by the council, click here.
Instead of moving into emergency accommodation, you may prefer to stay put where you are for a temporary period whilst the council are deciding what other help to give you. This could be, for example, sofa-surfing with friends, or staying with family.
To do this you will need to get the council’s agreement and make sure you stay in touch with them to check they are still dealing with your application. The council should treat you as ‘homeless at home’.
The council might decide you’re not legally homeless if they think you can live with friends or family in the longer-term.
Yes, you will have to pay rent and you may have to pay other charges for things like meals or cleaning services. The rent and charges must be reasonable and the council should consider whether it is affordable for you before they offer it to you.
If you are on benefits or a low income you may be eligible for housing benefit or universal credit housing costs but this may not cover all your rent and it won’t cover any other charges.
You should be able to stay in the emergency housing until the council makes a decision about whether they can give you more help. The council may decide:
If you are being asked to leave emergency housing then get help quickly.
If the council gives you emergency housing they also have to take reasonable steps to protect your belongings. This only applies if your property is at risk and you cannot make arrangements to protect it yourself. This could be because:
Most councils will put your household goods (such as furniture) into storage. They must make sure they are safe until you are able to protect them yourself or the council no longer has a responsibility to provide accommodation for you. The council will probably charge you for looking after your belongings.
For more advice on protection of your belongings, click here.
If you:
the council can decide not to offer you anything else while they continue to make enquiries and work out what other help they can give you.
If you do not think the emergency housing is suitable, or, if you have problems in the accommodation (such as being harassed by other residents) you should inform the council and get help as soon as possible. An adviser may be able to help you to convince the council that you should be offered something more suitable for your needs.
Being placed in temporary emergency accommodation may leave you feeling isolated and stressed. We have put together a few tips that can assist you in our Temporary Accommodation Survival Guide :
You can also get advice from Shelter Cymru’s expert housing advisers by ringing our helpline or using our webchat.
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.
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
This page was last updated on: January 11, 2023
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.
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