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Threatened with homelessness

You may find yourself at risk of being homeless for a variety of reasons. Do not wait until you become homeless. You can contact us on 01325 405333, we may be able to prevent you becoming homeless.

staff in the market square

I’m worried I might become homeless

Contact Darlington Housing Options Team as soon as possible on 01325 405333.We will arrange an appointment, or call in to the Town Hall if you are homeless tonight. The Housing Options Team will assess your current housing situation. They will also work out what your needs are.

We will provide you with a Personalised Housing Plan outlining what we will do. We will also outline what we expect you to do to resolve your housing issues. 

I’m currently homeless and need help/advice

If you can stay with family and friends then make an appointment as soon as possible. You can call us 01325 405333. We will provide you with a Personalised Housing Plan. You will also have and a dedicated caseworker to try to relieve your homelessness . We will try to resolve your homelessness within 56 days. If we cannot then we will assess your application further. Depending on your circumstances we may then owe you a full homeless duty.

If appropriate we will place you in temporary accommodation. We will offer this until you find somewhere to move to. This may be a Bed and Breakfast if nothing else is available.

  • ID - a current passport; driving licence or birth certificate
  • Proof of address - utility bill or tenancy agreement
  • Proof of income - this may include payslips or benefit letters
  • Any relevant information or correspondence about your current housing situation. For example If you have received a Notice to Quit or any other relevant letters from your landlord

We may be able to help with a one-off loan payment to assist with costs. This can be used to pay a bond or rent in advance to a private landlord.

You can find private renting options at Letslet.[external link]

We can also provide a referral to a Money-Advice team.

We will help you apply for Social Housing through our housing allocations scheme. We will assess and band your application to reflect your housing situation.

If your landlord has asked you to leave, they must give you the relevant notice.
 
There are specific documents required for your notice to be valid. This depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have in place and it’s terms. For example they may be have to provide you with a gas safety certificate, an energy certificate and a copy of the How to Rent Guide. [external link]
 
 
If your landlord has served you the correct notice you need to get in touch with Housing Options at your earliest opportunity.
 
You can telephone our Customer Contact Centre on 01325 405333 or email us at [email protected] and you will be contacted by one of our Triage Officers.
 
You will be asked to provide evidence of your risk of homelessness, you can do this by providing a copy of the notice served to you by your landlord. If your notice is valid you will be offered a face to face or telephone appointment with a Housing Options Officer.
 

What will happen at my appointment?

 
The officer who contacts you will assess your current housing situation and provide you with a personalised housing plan taking into consideration your housing needs. This plan will outline what is expected of you and what you can expect from us to resolve your housing problem. We will help you apply for social housing. You can save time by making an application before your appointment through our housing allocation scheme 

The council will provide free of charge information and advice relating to:

  • prevention of homelessness
  • securing accommodation
  • rights of homeless people
  • services available to homeless households
  • how these services can be accessed
  • how services are developed to meet the needs of a number of groups 

If you need support to maintain your Tenancy, or around a specific issue, for example

  • domestic abuse
  • substance misuse
  • supported accommodation

we will assess your needs by completing a needs and risk assessment. We will then refer you to one of our partner agencies to work with you.

The Darlington Gateway is an assessment tool used by the Housing Options Team. People who we help are currently homeless or have a threat of homelessness.

After completing a simple needs assessment we will ask you some personal questions. The team works with other support agencies, to help you with any extra support that you may have. For example drug or alcohol problems. 

We will keep you informed about housing choices by supporting you. This will help you find permanent accommodation.

If you would like to speak to us about the Darlington gateway please contact us. During office hours you can speak to the Housing Options team on 01325 405333.

With your consent any support service or organisation can contact the Darlington Gateway. They can do so on your behalf. If you are unable to leave your home, we can arrange for someone to visit you.

If you need help about homelessness outside of these hours you can call 01642 524552. Alternatively you can call Minicom: 01642 260346.

Please find contact information if you are threatened with homelessness [pdf document]

What if I am not satisfied with the response?

We hope that we can work together with our residents and listen to their voices and resolve any problems, but if you are unhappy with the response from the Housing team we have a complaints procedure you can follow and you can contact our Complaints Team by:

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