Homelessness help from Newham Council

Contact Newham Council's Homeless Prevention and Advice Service as soon as you are homeless or about to lose your home — it cannot turn you away without looking at your situation, and asking early gives it more ways to help. In Newham you apply online, completing an application form and submitting your documents through the council's website; if you cannot get online, the council's contact centre on 020 8430 2000 can help you start. If you have nowhere safe to stay tonight, tell the council explicitly. The interim accommodation duty applies where it has reason to believe you may be homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need, including outside office hours.^[18] The published contact-centre hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm; the pages checked do not publish a dedicated out-of-hours homelessness number. Use the online application or enquiry route and keep your reference.^[15] If you are sleeping rough, or have nowhere to stay before you can reach the council, StreetLink can alert local outreach services and Shelter and Citizens Advice give free advice.^[15]

Newham says its Homeless Prevention and Advice Service can help negotiate with a landlord, mediate with family or friends, and prepare a personal housing plan.^[15] For eligible applicants, the prevention duty applies when threatened with homelessness and the relief duty when already homeless. The council must assess your circumstances and record the steps it and you should take.^[18] If you already have an application, Newham asks you to use its online enquiry form to chase progress or report a change, rather than submit another application.^[15]

If the council has reason to believe you may be homeless, eligible and in priority need, it must secure interim accommodation for you while it looks into your case. Anything it provides must be suitable for your household.^[18] If Newham has already placed you in temporary accommodation, it asks you to contact its Temporary Accommodation Service rather than make another homelessness application. If another council placed you in Newham, contact that council first about a threat of homelessness.^[15]

Newham's online enquiry form is for updates and questions about an existing application.^[15] To challenge a decision, follow the review instructions in your decision letter: a section 202 review normally must be requested within 21 days of notification. A county court appeal on a point of law may follow.^[18] Get advice promptly from Shelter, a law centre or a housing solicitor; legal aid depends on financial eligibility and the merits of the case.^[27] Complaints about how the council handles homelessness go through its complaints process and then potentially the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, not the Housing Ombudsman. A complaint does not replace a review or appeal.^[24]