Important: if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, you should contact your nearest Housing and Property Office immediately to get help and advice and to complete a homeless application if necessary. The Highland Council has a legal duty to help homeless people and is also committed to preventing people becoming homeless. Advice from the Housing Office may prevent you becoming homeless.
In emergencies, outside office hours, you can get assistance from the Housing Emergency Line - 0845 700 2005
Frequently Asked Questions
For a quick guide to homelessness, please go to Frequently Asked Questions.
Advice and Information
You may have housing difficulties which mean that you are threatened with the loss of your home or you may actually become homeless. Being homeless does not necessarily mean sleeping rough. It may mean that you have nowhere permanent that you can stay.
What can I do?
As soon as you have housing difficulties, whatever your housing circumstances, please contact the Council for help and advice. This can help to avoid a crisis, as the right advice and information may stop you from becoming homeless.
For example, you can get:
- Money advice if you are having trouble paying your mortgage or rent.
- Advice on your rights if you are a tenant.
- Advice if you are separating from your partner.
If you are worried that you may become homeless in the future – Act Now. Contact your local Housing Office or Service Point for help and advice. You may also want to seek independent advice from one of the agencies listed below.
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What happens if I become homeless?
We have certain legal duties towards people who are or who may become homeless. We will make sure that you get free advice and information about your situation.
If you are homeless we will provide you with accommodation. This may be temporary depending on your circumstances. If you are homeless, or think you are going to become homeless, we can give advice and assistance with the following:
- Housing, including Council housing, housing associations, private renting and home ownership.
- Emergency/temporary housing (and women’s aid refuges).
- Assessing your legal rights under homelessness law.
- Getting support to stay in your home or to move.
- Referring you to specialist services for further advice and help, e.g. Money Advice.
- Rent including rent arrears and housing benefit.
Exactly what the Council can do for you is set out by law. For example if you are homeless and in what is called ‘priority need’ then we will normally give you temporary housing until we can house you permanently. ‘Priority need’ means that you (or someone who will be living with you) is considered to be vulnerable, for example, because of age, illness or disability.
If you are not in ‘priority need’ we will usually give you temporary housing so that you have some time to find somewhere to stay.
Even if you are in priority need, you should note however, that we will also need to consider the reasons why you became homeless when we assess your situation.
If we think that you have made yourself homeless because of something you have or have not done, we may say that you have made yourself homeless "intentionally". This means that even if you are homeless and in priority need, we do not have a legal duty to find you another home. However, we will give you advice, information and assistance to help you find housing. We will also normally give you temporary housing for a limited period of time. This is to give you time to find alternative housing yourself.
We consider each case separately and on its merits, but you can see below some of the circumstances in which we may decide that you have made yourself homeless deliberately:
- If you have been evicted for not paying your rent or mortgage even though you could afford to do so. This is why it is very important that you take up offers of money or benefit advice.
- If you choose to sell your home when there was no risk of losing it.
- If you voluntarily gave up suitable accommodation either here or abroad.
- If you were evicted for anti social behaviour, for example, harassment.
Don’t delay in contacting the Council for help – ask at your local Service Point or Area Housing Office to arrange an appointment.
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Looking for help at night or the weekend?
If you become homeless and need urgent help out of office working hours you can contact The Highland Council’s Emergency Helpline for help and advice. They can be contacted by phoning 0845 700 2005.
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Homeless Day Centre, Waterloo Place, Inverness
The Day Centre in Inverness provides safety, warmth and shelter. You can also get practical help and advice on many issues including housing, health and personal support. We will also work with you to get help from other services.
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Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse includes physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse. If you have to leave your home because of domestic abuse you will get help from the Council. However you may also want to seek help and support from Women’s Aid. There are currently three Women’s Aid Refuges (Inverness, Dingwall, Wick). There is also a Women’s Aid Group which offers support in Lochaber. You can get help or support wherever you live as the Women’s Aid Groups provide an outreach support service across all of the Highlands.
They can provide temporary accommodation for single women and families in the refuges. They also provide support for people who do not want to leave their home. You can contact either of the refuges by phone or you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline – see the phone numbers listed below.
Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline 0800 027 1234
Womens Aid Inverness - 01463 220719
Womens Aid Ross-shire - 01349 863568
Women’s Aid Lochaber - 01397 874216
Women's Aid Caithness and Sutherland - 07891 737870
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Where can I get more information?
Advice Agencies
Specialist organisations can also provide support and advice to you. Some of these are described here. Many will also have information on their websites. You can get free access to the internet at most libraries.
Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) and independent advice and information organisations offer free, independent, confidential advice and information on a whole range of subjects including housing and homelessness, legislation, tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities, debts and welfare benefits. You can find your nearest office in the telephone directory. Their website address is http://www.cas.org.uk/ They also have an Advice Guide which is available at http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/ You have to ensure when accessing this website that you are looking at the information for Scotland.
Shelter provides free independent housing advice and assistance to anyone who is homeless and they also help anyone who has a housing problem. They have a 24 hour free national advice helpline.
Call freephone: 0808 800 4444
Their website address is: http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/home/
Housing Options in the Highlands provides a wide range of information about possible housing options available in the Highlands. There is a manual available in each Service Point and Housing Office. Just ask the staff. It is also on this website.
Streetwise Highland is a directory of services which anyone facing homelessness may find useful. It gives information about the many different housing, support, health and other useful services and how to contact them. It is available in all the Service Points and Housing Offices. Just ask the staff. It is also on the internet at: http://www.streetwise-highland.org/
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What is the Council doing?
The Council has drawn up a Homelessness Strategy and Action Plan which sets out the measures the Council is taking to alleviate homelessness.
For more information, please e-mail: housingandproperty@highland.gov.uk
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