If you are at risk of becoming homeless or are homeless now, we provide advice and assistance to help you either maintain your current accommodation, or where that is not possible secure alternative accommodation.
If you are not eligible for our services we can still provide advice and direct you to organisations who may be able to support you.
When to contact us
If you are threatened with homelessness or actually homeless please contact us as soon as you can.
If you think are at risk of losing your home you should contact us as soon as you can. This will give us more time to prevent you from becoming homeless or help you to find somewhere else to live.
Once you have contacted us, a member of our team will ask you about your situation and offer appropriate advice and explain your options. This may involve a telephone call or a face-to-face appointment at a community hub with our specialist housing team.
Tel: 029 2057 0750
Email: housing.solutions@cardiff.gov.uk
Our responsibilities
The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 covers what help we offer to eligible residents who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
Under this Act we must:
- Provide advice and assistance to anyone who is threatened with homelessness within 56 days.
- Carry out prevention work to assist people to remain in their current home where possible
- Offer everyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness access to meaningful help, irrespective of their priority need status, as long as they are eligible for assistance.
Unfortunately, not everyone is eligible for help under the act, for example, due to immigration status.
What happens at the appointment
If you are at risk of losing your home, we will arrange for you to have an appointment with one of our team.
How to prepare for your appointment
You will get an email or a letter telling you the date, time and location of your appointment, we will need to see you face to face so that we can provide the best support we can. We will need you to provide some information which usually includes:
- Proof of identification for you and anyone else living with you
- Proof of your income or benefits
- Proof of any medical conditions
- Contact details for your landlord or excluder (person who has asked you to leave)
- A copy of any notice to quit issued
- An Occupation Contract (tenancy agreement)
- Court documents
- Arrears letter
- Financial information
We may need to go through a financial assessment with you, so it would be useful to know much you spend on groceries, utilities, phone contracts, council tax, etc.
You can also provide information by emailing Housing.Solutions@cardiff.gov.uk or by visiting your local community hub.
At your appointment
We will go through all the information and discuss your current circumstances and assess your housing need. If you are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance (known as a Homeless prevention Duty – s66) we will work with you to take all reasonable steps to prevent homelessness from happening. This will be either to keep your existing home or by finding alternative accommodation usually in the private rented sector.
You will be expected to work with us to agree reasonable steps and create a housing plan together.
