Housing and accommodation services

Homlessness advice

You can apply as a homeless person if you can't stay in your home. The council has to give you advice about finding somewhere to live. You are entitled to apply to any local authority and you will not be referred back to your local authority of residence if there is a risk of violence if you return.

You will not be considered ‘intentionally homeless’ if you leave your home or have left your home because of domestic violence. If the council has a duty to find you somewhere to live you will be asked to provide details of your situation. You may be asked for supporting evidence, which could include details and dates of incidents. You can take a friend or an adviser with you for support.

Everything you share with your case worker will remain confidential and you will not have to report any incident to the police if you seek help from the council.

Homelessness advice for victims of Domestic Violence

Housing and accommodation support services

Housing and accommodation support services
Organisation	Support	Contact
National Domestic Violence Helpline (Refuge)	Run by Refuge, is a national service for women experiencing domestic violence, their family, friends, colleagues and others calling on their behalf. The Helpline can provide details of refuges that have space to accommodate women fleeing domestic violence and abuse. All calls are completely confidential. Translation facilities for callers whose first language is not English, and a service for callers who are deaf or hard of hearing are available.	Tel: 0808 2000 247
Shelter	Helps people struggling with bad housing or homelessness through advice, support and legal services.	Housing Advice helpline Tel: 0808 800 4444 London Public Advice Line Tel: 0344 515 1540
Stonewall Housing	Is the specialist lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) housing advice and support provider in England.	Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm Tel: 020 7359 5767 Galop Advice Line Tel: 020 7704 2040
Tower Hamlets Floating Support Service	The aim of the service is to prevent tenancy breakdown amongst residents and to support people to manage and maintain independent living. The service offers brief interventions and/or short-term targeted support to people in Tower Hamlets. These will include: people moving on from hostels or temporary accommodation, people who are at risk of domestic abuse, people with a learning disability who require some additional support and people experiencing substance misuse problems.	Sundial Centre, 11 Shipton Street E2 7RU. Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm. For more information or to make a referral please call: Tel: 020 3828 4916 Email towerhamletsfs@peabody.org.uk
Tower Hamlets Housing Options Team	Helps clients who are at risk of being made homeless. They can offer advice and assistance to victims of domestic violence who may need help with accommodation. The service is completely confidential, and interviews take place in private. They will try to ensure that clients are seen by an officer of the same gender and will provide translation where needed.	Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm Tel: 020 7364 7474 Out of hours Tel: 020 7364 4079

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VAWG service directory

You can find lots of other useful services on the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) service directory homepage.