Housing Advice for Young People
The most common cause of homelessness is people having to move out of the current home due to a breakdown in the relationship with families or friends. This can particularly affect young people. Aguements with family, or other issues such as drugs or alcohol being used in the home, can often lead to homelessness.
We want to make sure young people have access to all the advice and support they need to avoid becoming homeless. However there are a range of housing options to ensure they have a safe place to live if they do need to leave home. It is preferable to plan a house move, because the Council may not be able to house.
You can also find lots of useful information on the Broxtowe Youth Homelessness website.
Contents
- If you are under 16
- If you are aged 16 to 17
- Temporary accommodation
- Housing benefit for young people
If you are under 16
If you are under 16 and homeless, you cannot live alone and you must have an adult responsible for you. Rushcliffe Borough Council does not have a duty to provide you with accommodation. This is the duty of the Children and Young People’s Department at Nottinghamshire County Council. If you are under 16 and you do not have anywhere to live, you should contact them on 0300 500 8080. If it is overnight or a weekend, you should call their emergency number – 0300 456 4546.
If you are aged 16 to 17
If you are aged 16 or 17 and you do not have anywhere to live, you should first contact the Children and Young People’s Department at Nottinghamshire County Council on 0300 500 8080. They will determine whether they have a duty to offer you support as a potential child in need. If you do not need assistance with any matters except housing, they may then refer you on to Rushcliffe Borough Council. We will then ask you to come in for an interview to talk about your housing situation. We will agree what you are going to do and agree what we can do to assist you. For more details on what happens next, please see our homelessness page.
Temporary accommodation
There is a small amount of temporary accommodation that we may be able to refer you to. However, you will not be able to have a permanent tenancy of a property until you are 18 years old. Or unless you have an adult who is willing to act as a guarantor. This is to pay your rent if you fail to pay it and to be responsible for the cost of any damage. This may mean that you have to stay in temporary accommodation for a long time. This is not something that most people would want to do.
Housing benefit for young people
If you do find private rented accommodation, and you are not in work you want want to claim Housing Benefit. You need to bear in mind that if you are under 35, you will only be eligible for the rent for cost of a room in a shared house. This may not be enough to afford a property on your own.