Homelessness ( LA help & advice)

Overview

If you are homeless, or think that you are about to become homeless, the council homeless team can provide you with help and advice.

If you need assistance in Ashford

Please contact Ashford Borough Council as soon as possible so that they can assess your situation in detail. 

The self-assessment website provides a wide range of advice for many housing related issue and for more urgent situations it will take you to a referral form.

For your quick access, you can find the self-help pages below, Advice if:

What happens next?

If you have been directed to complete the referral form, please wait to hear from the council

If you are homeless, they will contact you the same day to make an initial assessment and offer advice. If you are threatened with homelessness within the next 56 days, but do have somewhere to stay, even if this is short term, then they aim to contact you within 3 working days.

In both cases Ashford Borough Council will undertake a brief assessment and undertake checks to verify the information you have stated, relating to your housing issue. For example, you will be asked to supply the contact details of the person asking you to leave and/or provide any notices you have received.

Further assistance

If a more detailed investigation of your situation is required, you will be booked an advice appointment. Ahead of this appointment you will be required to provide documents such as ID, proof of income and any other evidence that you have which may help to explain what has happened.

For example, if your home is being repossessed because you have fallen behind on rent/mortgage payments then you be required to provide documents that show this.

If your circumstances trigger additional duties towards you, then we will work to support you with your housing issue, in line with these responsibilities and we will set out action that you will need to take to help retain your current home or secure alternative housing.

If you need assistance in Folkestone & Hythe

Folkestone & Hythe website will give you the answers to questions about your situation.

It will give you an early indication of whether you are likely to be helped by the council, and in what way. The sooner you know the likely outcome, the sooner you can prepare to take your next steps.

The more you can find out about the different support and help on offer from the council and other organisations, the better prepared you will be to act on recommendations and advice.

If you need assistance in Dover

If you are worried about becoming homeless, you must tell the council as soon as possible so that they can start looking at options to help prevent you losing your home.

You can access homelessness and housing advice on a range of different topics through the self-service platform below. It can advise on situations including relationship breakdown or issues with your landlord, and can help you see what options are available to you.

If you need housing assistance, you can complete the referral form below which will give you an indication of whether or not we can help you. Someone from the housing team will be in touch within seven working days.

Self Service Housing Advice

If you are already homeless, please call 01304 872265. You will still need to complete the referral form.

Complete homelessness referral form

If you’re not at immediate risk of homelessness but are struggling with your housing costs, you may be able to get extra help with a housing payment from the Crisis and Resilience Fund

The legal background

All Councils have a legal duty to provide anybody who is homeless, or threatened with homelessness, with advice and appropriate assistance. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 significantly amends the Housing Act 1996.

Under the Act, local housing authorities are required to intervene in order to prevent homelessness. They also have to take reasonable steps to help those who become homeless to secure accommodation.

(1) Duty to assess

If the council are satisfied that you are eligible for assistance and you are either homeless or threatened with homelessness, they will carry out an assessment. The assessment will look at the reasons why you are homeless (or threatened with homelessness), what your housing needs are, and what support needs you may have.

Following this assessment, the council housing team will work with you to agree a personal housing plan. The plan will record actions to be taken by both parties to obtain/retain suitable accommodation.

(2) Duty to prevent homelessness

All councils have a duty to take reasonable steps to help you – as long as you are eligible for assistance and are homeless (or threatened with homelessness) – to prevent you being evicted from your existing accommodation.

The prevention duty starts at eight weeks before the anticipated date of actual homelessness, and will last for a period of 56 days. However, it may be brought to an end earlier where they are satisfied that you have found suitable accommodation. They will consider if there is a reasonable chance that it can be occupied for at least six months.

The prevention duty can also end if you deliberately and unreasonably refuse to cooperate with the council, or become homeless. In these cases, you will proceed to the ‘relief’ stage.

(3) Duty to relieve homelessness

If you are homeless and eligible for assistance, the council will take reasonable steps to relieve homelessness by helping you to secure suitable accommodation. This duty applies to all eligible applicants, regardless of priority need and whether or not you might be found intentionally homeless. If you have no local connection to area, they can refer this duty to another local authority with which you do have a connection.

The relief duty lasts for a period of 56 days and can be brought to an end if you find suitable accommodation which is likely to last for at least six months. The duty will also end if you refuse an offer of suitable accommodation of at least six months’ duration or if you deliberately and unreasonably refuse to co-operate with the relief process.

The main homelessness duty

If you are a priority need, and are not intentionally homeless, the council will owe you the ‘main’ housing duty (under section 193 Housing Act 1996).

However, if you have refused a suitable final offer at the relief stage, the main duty will not apply and they will owe no further duty.

If you have deliberately or unreasonably refused to co-operate with the steps set out in your personal housing plan, they will only owe a duty to make a ‘final accommodation offer’.  This final offer will usually be a six months’ tenancy of private rented accommodation.

Last Updated on April 24, 2026 by Ashford Advice