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I need to move home quickly

Sometimes we need to, or have to, move out of our current home. The following pages offers advice and guidance which might help in these circumstances.

If your landlord has served you notice for any reason and you wish to know what your options are please see our homelessness page, you may also find useful information regarding your rights as a tenant on our private rented.

If you are threatened with eviction for any reason, please get in touch with us as early as possible, we may be able to work with you to prevent you from becoming homeless.

 

If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, dial 999.

If you need to make a silent 999 call, please use a mobile phone. If you don't speak or answer questions, press 55 when prompted and your call will be transferred to the police. Pressing 55 only works on mobiles and doesn't allow the police to track your location. If you don't press 55 your call will be ended.

You can find support and advice from the Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) on 01452 726 570.

If it is no longer safe for you to remain in your home please get in touch with GDASS or the Housing Advice Team as soon as possible. We can arrange safe temporary accommodation for you and other family members and help you plan for the future.

New housing benefit rules mean council and housing association tenants won't be able to get housing benefit to pay for all their rent if their home has 'spare bedrooms'. This has been called the 'bedroom tax'. If you are affected by bedroom tax you will need to consider the following options:

  • Paying the difference: If you can afford the extra rent then there is no reason for you to move. If you need support with managing your finances please see our Money/Debt Advice page.
  • Homeswapper: Free to all SDC tenants! Homeswapper can be used to find opportunities to exchange tenancies.  find out more here.
  • Private rent: Leaving social housing is never something we would encourage. However, due to the shortage of properties and increasing demand for housing private renting is a very real option. For more information please see our private renting page.
  • Move through Homeseekerplus: If you are underoccupying you may wish to register on Homeseekerplus and bid for smaller properties.
  • Take in a lodger: You can avoid being charged for an extra bedroom if you have someone living in it. You can find out more information on renting out your spare room from Shelter.

Does your home no longer meet your medical needs? If so you may wish to consider the following:

  • Adapting your current property: For more information on this or to access funding please visit the Government's website. Alternatively you could contact Adult Social Care on 01452 4268 68 and discuss your situation with an Occupational Therapist.
  • Private renting: Advice on this can be found on our private renting page.
  • You may wish to start looking for suitable social housing through Homeseekerplus and if you are over 60 you may wish to consider sheltered accommodation.

For advice on mortgage arrears please contact the Housing Advice Team.

Further information can also be found on the Shelter website.

Relationship breakdown
We understand that unfortunately relationships do not always work out and remaining in the same property is not always easy if you have nowhere else to go. If this sounds like your situation here are some things you may wish to consider.

It is important to try and manage your move in the event of a relationship breakdown as becoming homeless does not always guarantee accommodation.

Relationship counselling
The housing advice team is able to provide relationship counselling at no cost to you. Please see our counselling page for more information.

Private renting
Please see our private renting section for advice on this option.

Ending/removing your name from your tenancy
If you do not have alternative settled accommodation arranged we do not suggest ending or removing your name from a tenancy without seeking advice. You could be found intentionally homeless if you willingly give up accommodation available to you.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse please refer to our domestic abuse section.

If you need more in depth advice or you need to move home for any other reason not listed in this section please contact us for more advice.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties for any reason there is help available. The Housing Advice Team at Stroud District Council is able to refer you to our specialist money advice service run by the Citizens Advice Bureau.

To access this service get in touch now! You might also find solutions in the links below:

Foodbank
The housing advice team are providers of foodbank vouchers. We can issue these to individuals or families in crisis situations, each voucher can be exchanged for food parcels from the foodbank.

We are unable to provide this service over the telephone and each applicant will be required to collect their voucher from the council offices. Further information and a full list of providers can be found on the foodbank website.