Finding Accommodation
What to do if you think you're homeless

If you think you're homeless or are likely to become homeless in the near future you should approach your Local Authority Housing Advice and Homelessness department. If you want advice and/ or support to assist you to do this you could contact an agency such as C.A.S.S.. (Click on the link on the left-hand-side for the contact information of agencies, which might be able to assist).

• Local Authority Housing Advice and Homelessness departments:
• Tel; Carlisle; (01228) 817499; out-of-hours or emergencies; (01228) 511061
• Tel; Workington; (01900) 702660; out-of-hours or emergency; (01900) 871080
• Tel; Whitehaven; (01946) 598431 or 598432; out-of-hours or emergency; (01946) 815500
• Tel; Penrith; (01768) 861400/ 817817

In some circumstances Local Authority departments can provide temporary accommodation however, not everyone who is homeless/ threatened with homelessness is entitled to this provision. Homelessness Officers have standard criteria against which to assess somebody's application. Based on these criteria a decision is made as to eligibility and subsequently, the amount of temporary accommodation a person is owed.

For Example:

• If you are:
  eligible for assistance
  homeless/ threatened with homelessness
  deemed to have a priority need and
  deemed to be unintentionally homeless
  the Local Authority will owe you a full duty which means that they must provide temporary accommodation until you are permanently re-housed. 
• If you are:
  eligible for assistance
  homeless/ threatened with homelessness
  deemed to have a priority need but
  deemed to be intentionally homeless
  the Local Authority only has a duty to provide temporary accommodation for twenty-eight days.

A Local Authority may provide temporary accommodation before a decision has been made if they feel that you are likely to have a priority need, however, this temporary accommodation may change or end once a full decision has been made.

You don't have to be literally sleeping on the streets to be classed as homeless. You might also be legally homeless if you are:

• staying with friends or family temporarily
• staying in a bed and breakfast/ hotel/ hostel
• living in overcrowded conditions
• you are at risk of violence in your home

If your Local Authority Housing Advice and Homelessness department doesn't owe you a duty but you're still unhappy with your housing circumstances, agencies which provide housing-related advice and support might be able to assist you in improving your current situation or securing alternative accommodation.