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Housing Advice

General

If people are homeless and are considered to be in priority need (which may be the case for people with mental health problems), local authorities have a duty to provide temporary accommodation while they consider if there is a duty to provide permanent accommodation. Often people go to the housing office with a social worker, but people can contact the housing office direct, in which case the office will need to contact the relevant mental health professionals. If a homeless person who is not local is discharged from psychiatric hospital, the local authority may still have a duty towards that person, but could refer them to an authority where they lived previously.

If people with mental health problems are not homeless but want to be
rehoused by the local authority, they can go to the Housing Department to put their name on the Housing Needs Register. Sometimes medical problems may be counted as additional points when that person’s application is considered.

If you have a social worker, discuss it with them. If not, go and discuss the situation with your local housing department. (There are other organisations which provide temporary direct access accommodation for homeless people).

You can get advice on housing (including help with finding it) depending on where you live:

Cambridge  |  Peterborough  |  Huntingdon

© Lifecraft Mental Health Handbook 2005
Last revised 8 February 2009

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