At risk of losing your home
If you are worried about being made homeless or are about to be made homeless then contact our Housing Options team as soon as possible so we can try to help keep you in your current accommodation or find you somewhere new.
Contact Housing Options online now Contact Housing Options online
Other ways to contact Housing Options Housing Options
If you are at risk of becoming homeless, contact Housing Options and we will take initial details from you and arrange for you to be contacted by a homelessness caseworker who will carry out an assessment with you. If they are satisfied that you are at risk of homelessness and you're eligible for help, we will try to prevent you from becoming homeless by:
- helping you to stay in your current home
- helping you to delay having to leave your current accommodation
- helping you find alternative accommodation
As part of your assessment we will try and contact people relevant to your application, for example those asking you to leave to help us establish what your legal rights are and identify any potential options to prevent your homelessness.
- Help if you are a homeowner
- Help if you rent privately
- Help for the Armed Forces
- Homeless after leaving hospital
- Help for prison leavers
- Help if you are affected by domestic abuse
- Help for young people
- Our legal duty to you
Help if you are a homeowner
If you are worried about not being able to afford your mortgage it is important to get advice as soon as you get into difficulties. You should contact your lender first and they can discuss your options with you. Help and support is also available from a number of agencies: Find advice and support on debt
Help is also available from:
- Our Tenancy Support Unit - who can support you with housing related issues and assist to seek the most appropriate advice to sustain your home
- Shelter Cymru - who provide free, independent expert housing advice
If you are at risk of becoming homeless Housing Options will try to prevent you from becoming homeless and may be able to help you if you do lose your home.
Help if you rent privately
If you rent your home from a private landlord, you may be at risk of homelessness if:
- your landlord has served you notice to leave your property
- you are having difficulty paying your rent
- your property is in a state of disrepair
Help available from Housing Options:
- A homelessness caseworker will work with you to try and keep you in your home
- Work with you to maximise your income
- Advise you on your legal rights
- Mediate with your landlord
- If you can no longer stay in your current home, we will help you find a new one
If you need help please contact Housing Options as soon as possible.
The Wallich's Private Rented Sector Support Access team can also provide support, advice, information and assistance to people accessing private rented accommodation: The Wallich
Help for the Armed Forces
In Wales, if you will be homeless when leaving the Armed Forces you will have priority need for housing which means we must make sure you are offered suitable temporary accommodation, if needed, until our duty to help you ends.
If you need help or think you will be homeless on leaving the Armed Forces, please contact Housing Options as soon as possible.
If you are a veteran who has become homeless for any reason, please contact Housing Options and let the team know of your situation as your service will be taken into consideration.
We have an Armed Forces Community Covenant which brings together the provision of help and advice to members of the Armed Forces community: Armed Forces Covenant
Additional help is available from:
- National housing pathway for veterans of the Armed Forces (Welsh Government) (opens new window)
- SSAFA
- Veterans Gateway
- Change Step Wales
- Royal British Legion
Homeless after leaving hospital
If you are at risk of homelessness when you are discharged from hospital, please tell the hospital nursing staff as soon as possible. They will contact Housing Options for you so that we can assess your situation and see how we can help you.
Whilst we work with you to find a long-term housing solution for when you come out of hospital we may offer you temporary accommodation.
If you have a home already but it needs to be adapted, the hospital can refer you to our Housing Grants Team: Grants and loans for making home adaptations
Help for prison leavers
If you are at risk of homelessness when you are released from prison, the resettlement team in the prison will help you look at your options for housing. If you are going to be released to no fixed address they will help you submit a homeless application to Housing Options.
If you have left prison and find yourself homeless you should contact Housing Options for help and advice.
The Ex-Offender Resettlement Officer within Housing Options will work with you, your prison Resettlement Officer and the Probation Service to help you to find accommodation. We may have a duty to give you temporary accommodation when you are released from prison.
If you are going to prison or in prison it is important to sort out housing issues to help you keep your home if possible and to avoid problems when you are released. When you are in prison you can get housing advice from the prison resettlement team and service like Prison Link Cymru.
Additional help:
Crisis CTI Project - Critical Time Intervention (CTI) provides 1-2-1 support during the critical transition from engagement before leaving prison to living back in the community. The project will accept referrals from any agency.
Help if you are affected by domestic abuse
If you are suffering from or are in fear of domestic abuse then Housing Options can help you. The team can provide you with housing advice, assist you in making a homelessness application and help signpost you to specialist support. They can help you find somewhere safe to stay as well as helping you plan for the long term. Anyone can experience domestic abuse, and its important to remember it is not your fault and you are not alone - help and support is available.
Examples of abusive behaviour can include:
- physical violence
- verbal threats and put downs
- psychological and emotional abuse such as isolation from loved ones or humiliation
- sexual violence such as rape
- financial control such as withholding money
Please call the police on 999 if you, or someone you know, faces a serious and current or imminent risk to their personal safety or needs to leave home immediately.
If you are a Swansea Council tenant: Domestic abuse help for tenants
Help for young people
The BAYS+ Youth Homeless Service supports young people aged 16-21 who are homeless and potentially homeless with general advice, housing, discrimination and benefits: BAYS+ Youth Homeless Service
Our legal duty to you
Whilst the law states that we must advise you if you are likely to become homeless within 56 days, we want to help as soon as possible so please contact our Housing Options team.
The law (Housing (Wales) Act 2014), means we will make enquiries about your housing situation if you're at risk of losing your home. If you're eligible we may be able to prevent you from becoming homeless - our legal duty.
You may not be eligible for help, for example, due to your immigration status. If you are unsure, please contact Housing Options and staff will talk you through this.
If you are not eligible for help we will give you advice about other organisations who may be able to help or other ways to find suitable accommodation as we will be unable to provide you with accommodation.