About homelessness

Advice about homelessness

We offer support and help whether you're homeless or worried about becoming homeless.

From 3 April 2018 the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came into force. The act puts a legal duty on councils to offer more support to a wider range of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness - and to intervene earlier.

There are fact sheets on GOV.UK about the Homelessness Reduction Act.

Preventing homelessness

If you're homeless or threatened with homelessness, we can help. We'll always try to prevent you from becoming homeless in the first instance.

There are lots of services to help you to stay in your current home, including help with financial difficulties, tenancy matters or relationship breakdown.

If staying in your current home isn't an option, we can help you look for a new home or other alternatives.

We also offer services to help if you're experiencing domestic abuse.

You can search online for more information about organisations and services relating to housing problems and homelessness.

Contact us

During office hours you can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01629 761287.

Our office hours are Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm.

If you would like to see someone face-to-face, please contact us before coming to the office as we operate an appointment-only service.

Derbyshire Dales District Council
Town Hall
Bank Road
Matlock
DE4 3NN

Advice from other agencies

If you are worried about paying your rent or mortgage, Shelter, Derbyshire Law Centre and Citizens Advice Bureau can all provide advice to help prevent problems getting out of hand.

You can contact Shelter on:

You can also contact Derbyshire Law Centre:

You can contact Citizens Advice Bureau

  • Telephone: 0808 2787954
  • Web: Citizens Advice Derbyshire Districts website

Out of hours

If you are homeless owing to an emergency situation outside of office hours or at the weekend, please call P3 for advice and assistance - telephone 0808 1692 333.

All applicants regardless of their situation will need to fill out the Housing Assistance Referral Form, and we advise that you do this as soon as you become in any kind of housing difficulty. It will give us basic information about your housing circumstances and enable us to give you the best advice. Please complete the Housing Assistance Referral.

The Duty to Refer

The duty to refer requires public authorities in England to notify a local housing authority, such as Derbyshire Dales District Council, of service users they think may be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Charitable and voluntary groups are also welcome to refer such cases to us.

Please complete the online form below to notify us of such cases, so we can provide the appropriate support to the household.

If you wish to refer someone to us, you must get their permission first. You can use the referral form here: Duty to refer.

Reporting rough sleepers

If you've seen someone sleeping rough, we can help. We work with the homelessness charity Streetlink to meet with rough-sleepers, carry out assessments and provide support.

We look at options to reconnect people to their own area or to support them to find accommodation, usually in the private rented sector. There are some categories of rough sleepers we cannot assist due to immigration restrictions. In these cases, we'll try to reconnect them with their country of origin.

If you spot a rough-sleeper in your local area or have concerns about people sleeping rough or using the streets, contact Streetlink. You can find out more on their website Streetlink.

A-Z of services