Homelessness Service

If you think you may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, and you haven’t been successful in obtaining the advice you need through our 24/7 advice service, the earlier you contact us, the sooner we will be able to advise you, and support you to remain in your home or move to another home.

We will talk to you about your circumstances to help us to understand your current situation. This may also involve us speaking with your landlord, relatives or other relevant parties so please have contact details to those associated with your housing available to provide for when you contact us. 

Where we determine that another service or local authority is more suitable to address your circumstances or advice you, we will signpost you or refer you to that service where appropriate. 

If you require our assistance with housing, we will ask you to provide us with a list of documents such as:

• Proof of ID - such as a passport, birth certificate, driving licence, Biometric Residence Permit or Citizen ID card for all household members seeking homelessness assistance.
• Proof of your household income – such as recent benefit statements of all benefits you are receiving, or 3 months of recent wage slips or both. As this depends on your household’s circumstances, please provide proof of all income of your household, for example your partner’s income or relative’s pensions if they reside with you and you plan to continue to reside together.
• Proof of parental responsibility for any children under your care – this can be a Child Benefit statement.
• Proof of your last settled address – a tenancy agreement in your name, official letters or utility bills covering a period of 6 months.
• Proof of your National Insurance Number – this can be a letter, benefit statement or card with your NINO and details on it.
• Other relevant documents – such as your Army documents, Police investigation reference, documentation from the Environmental Health Team or Eviction Notice with associated documents, depending on your circumstances. If you have been served with a non-fault eviction notice you can check if it is valid here: How to check a section 21 notice is valid - Shelter England

We will require your cooperation throughout the life of your homeless case. Your case may be closed if you stop engaging with us or fail to provide information we reasonably request.  

The information we gather will enable us to ascertain your circumstances, provide advice, and where appropriate, carry out a homeless assessment and complete a personalised housing plan with you.  

This plan will set out reasonable steps you are expected to take, and reasonable steps we can support you with, to address your housing needs.

You will need to let us know of any changes to your circumstances and any updates to your Personal Housing Plan (PHP).

We will also ask you to complete our Consent Form and an Income and Expenditure Form, which we will provide to you.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 significantly reformed England’s homelessness legislation by placing duties on local housing authorities to intervene at earlier stages to prevent homelessness in their areas, and to provide homelessness services to all those who are eligible.

Additionally, the Act introduced a duty on specified public authorities to refer service users who they think may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to local authority homelessness/housing options teams. 

This duty is effective from 1 October 2018 when the list of public authorities came into force.

Public bodies with a Duty to Refer are: 

• Prisons;
• Young offender institutions;
• Secure training centres;
• Secure colleges;
• Youth offending teams;
• Probation services (including community rehabilitation companies);
• Jobcentre Plus;
• Social service authorities;
• Emergency departments;
• Urgent treatment centres;
• Hospitals in their function of providing inpatient care;
• Secretary of State for defence in relation to members of the regular armed forces

If your organisation is not listed above you can still make a referral to our service.

Please make referrals on the Housing Jigsaw website here 

If you are a current or a former member of the armed forces we can offer help and support to seek accommodation. 

Doncaster has signed up to the Armed Forces Community Covenant and we have made a commitment to supporting the armed forces in Doncaster.  The covenant encourages Councils to offer support to the local Armed Forces community and aims to make it easier for service personnel, families and veterans to access the help and support available.  

You can apply for Council Housing by registering to join the housing register here. You must provide proof of your service record. 

If you're homeless or threatened with homelessness, or are preparing for service discharge you may be given extra housing priority to assist in finding accommodation. 

You can also receive help and support from SSAFA. 

SSAFA provides lifelong support to men and women in the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force and their families. 

SSAFA also work with veterans of all ages to help them settle into life and work outside of the Forces. 

Visit SSAFA or call 0800 731 4880. 

In addition to SSAFA, the Veterans Gateway is a huge network of organisations supporting the Armed Forces community. 

Doncaster Council has signed the Armed Forces Convenant, proudly supporting those who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces along with their families. 

The community pack contains a guide for veterans and includes dedicated local contacts specifically within Doncaster. 

We can provide advice, help, and support to anyone who is rough sleeping.

If you're sleeping rough or know someone who is sleeping rough you can contact our Housing Options Team for help and assistance or use Streetlink.

Doncaster Homelessness Outreach Service is provided by Riverside to provide help for anyone sleeping rough.

They work directly with people sleeping rough between 6am and 1pm and 6pm and 1am on the No Second Night Out project.

If you know or see someone who is street homeless contact Riverside and their rapid response team will assist you.

They can be contacted on telephone number 01302 558014 or email nsno.doncaster@riverside.org.uk  

There is a daily drop-in service at Wharf House. Wharf Road, Doncaster, DN1 2ST.

Anyone sleeping rough is offered overnight accommodation during severe weather (SWEP) period. 

This is usually when the temperature falls to zero degrees or below for three consecutive nights.

If you see someone who is sleeping rough who is in distress or unwell call 999. 

If you are homeless and sleeping rough or think that you are going to become homeless and will have to sleep rough, you should contact us as soon as you can.

If you are experiencing or been affected by domestic abuse you can access the following services. 

Doncaster Domestic Abuse Service can offer support whether you are experiencing domestic abuse yourself, concerned about someone, or want to change your own behaviour, call Doncaster Domestic Abuse on 01302 737080 (all calls are confidential), or find details about all the services that can help you on this website. 

We have also signed up to Domestic Abuse Pledge.  

Women’s Aid 

Women’s Aid is a national charity who working towards ending domestic abuse against women and children.  They can offer help and support to people suffering domestic abuse. 

Visit Womens Aid or call their 24 hour helpline on 0808 2000 247

Riverside 

If you are experiencing domestic abuse or if you want help to change your abusive behaviour you can call the confidential domestic abuse helpline on 0800 4701 505 or email domesticabusehelpline@riverside.org.uk 

The helpline is open from 9am to 10.30pm Monday to Friday, and all calls will be answered by experienced advisers who understand your situation and who will be able to refer to the most appropriate service to get further help. 

You can also report domestic abuse by calling the Police on 101 – Remember - if you or someone you are concerned about are at immediate risk of harm, you should always call 999.

If you are homeless or at risk of homelessness in connection with domestic abuse and have not been able to resolve the situation with the help of the above services, you should contact us as soon as you can.

If you're in hospital and you are unable to return home because of your ill health, it may be possible for your home to be adapted to help you to stay there. Housing adaptations can help you to stay mobile in and around your home. 

Housing Adaptations can range from small items, such as grab rails and lever taps, to major alterations.

If you think that you could benefit from Housing Adaptations you will first have to be assessed and advised on how best to meet your needs in accordance with government guidelines. After this we will arrange for the work to be carried out.

If you have no place to return to when you are discharged from hospital you can register to apply for rehousing at Doncaster HomeChoice as well as look for private rented and housing associations accommodation. 

We will work together with the hospital to ensure that suitable accommodation is available for you where appropriate.

It is important to make contact as soon as possible to allow time for assessments to be completed and accommodation to be identified. Please contact Housing Options Team and liaise with your hospital Occupational Therapist.

If you are a professional referring a patient, please do so via the Housing Jigsaw system.

If you are being forced to do things that are illegal, dangerous, and/or degrading, and you feel you need to escape from the situation, report this to the police and reach out to someone from a charitable or community organisation that you trust as soon as possible. 

If you are a victim of trafficking or modern slavery (you have been moved from one place to another by people who want to exploit you) or if you believe someone you know is, you can contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or the police on 101.

In an emergency always call 999.

You can also contact the Salvation Army's free 24-hour confidential helpline on 0800 808 3733 as well as reach out to other organisations such as Victim Support. 

If you are fleeing Modern Slavery or Trafficking and are at risk of homelessness or homeless as a result, we may be able to assist you with finding housing.  

We offer interpreter services via telephone as well as at the One Stop Shop at the Civic Building to ensure we can understand your circumstances and be clear about the support and advice we can offer.  

Generally, landlords need to apply for an eviction order from court before they can ask bailiffs to evict you. Before they can do this, legally they need to serve you with an appropriate eviction notice. 

Your landlord may use two types of eviction – section 21 or section 8. 

Section 21 Notice on Form 6A 

Section 21 is a ‘non-fault’ notice, where your landlord does not need a reason to evict you. This may be due to them wanting to sell their property or move in themselves, for example. 

If you have been handed a section 21 notice: 

• Your landlord should give you 2 months’ notice before eviction. 
• Try to get in touch with your landlord to persuade them to allow you to stay longer 

If you are facing homelessness as a result of a section 21 notice, we will need documents listed below to check that the notice is valid and legally binding: 

Eviction notice on Form 6A 

• Copy of the tenancy agreement 
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) dated within 5 years of the notice 
• Gas Safety Certificate dated within a year of the notice  
• Copy of the deposit certificate if the deposit/bond was paid 
• Copy of the How to Rent Booklet provided with your tenancy or a confirmation that you have received this as part of your tenancy agreement 
• Electrical Safety Certificate if available 

If any of the above documents are missing, the notice may not be valid and therefore you will not have to leave your home.

It is therefore crucial that you contact us as soon as you receive the notice to ensure there is time to carry out additional investigations.

This is important because in the event you leave your home in the absence of a valid notice and without an alternative settled, long-term home to move to, you could be making yourself intentionally homeless which could impact on what support options are available to you in the future.  

Section 8 Notice on Form 3 

Section 8 is a notice where your landlord gives a legal reason to end your tenancy, for example rent arrears (debt) or damage to property.

If you have been handed a Section 8:

• Your landlord must give you a reasonable amount of time to evict; it can vary from 2 weeks to 2 months, depending on the legal reasons (grounds) for eviction. 

If your landlord starts a court action, you must keep all the letters and documents sent by the court. You will be invited to fill out a defence form against your landlord’s possession order.

This will allow to court to assess whether you should be evicted or not. To seek legal help, you could contact a local legal adviser if needed. This is a free service. If you choose to contest the eviction, you should attend all court hearings unless you have a good reason, e.g., attended hospital.

Your landlord could use a mandatory ground if you owe at least 2 months' rent both when you get the notice and at the hearing. Try and reduce or pay off any arrears by the time of the hearing.  

If you face homelessness from being handed a section 8 notice, we will need documents listed below to ensure the notice is valid: 

Eviction Notice on Form 3

We may also ask for documents such as: 

• Bank statements and proof of income
• Rent account statements
• Income and expenditure forms to assess affordability 

In any case, please seek help from our Home Options team as soon as you get handed your eviction notice or are concerned about falling into rent arrears.

If you find yourself homeless, contact our team as soon as possible. 

If your asylum claim was successful, you will likely have recourse to public funds and homelessness services.

After the Home Office grants your refugee status, it is likely they will issue you with a notice to quit the asylum accommodation you would have been staying in up to this point so it important that you find somewhere else to live.

Depending on what status you have been granted, your local council can help you to make a homeless application, search for private rented accommodation and/or apply for social housing. 

It is important you seek help from the council where your status was granted.

To speed up your application, we ask you provide: 

• Your eviction notice
• ID (Visa, BRPs etc)
• Home Office correspondence relating to your status as a refugee 

You must apply for National Insurance number before you can apply for Universal Credit and/or housing benefit if you are struggling for a source of income.

We offer interpreter services via telephone as well as at the One Stop Shop at the Civic Building to ensure we can understand each other and your circumstances.

If your asylum application was rejected, your local council may not be able to help you if you do not have the recourse to public funds.

In such case, you can seek specialist advice from places such as the Housing Rights website or access other immigration advisory services.