Are you homeless now?
You don’t have to be sleeping on the streets to be homeless. If you are staying somewhere you have no legal right to occupy (like a friend's house), or somewhere that is not safe for you (where you are at risk of violence), then you are homeless.
There are some basic options that may be available to you, depending on your age and circumstances. Please contact our Housing Team on 01454 765 for more detailed advice.
All applicants over 18 can apply to our homelessness prevention fund. You may also wish to bid on properties through Gloucestershire Homeseekerplus, although this is very unlikely to be an immediate solution to your housing need.
If you are at risk of domestic violence in your current accommodation, please click here for more information.
16-17 years old
You need to get in touch with either the Youth Support Service on 01453 763 993 or the Housing Team at Stroud District Council as soon as possible. Our first step will be to refer you to Children's Social Care (Social Services) for a Child in Need assessment. Children's Social Care must help most homeless 16-17 year olds. You do not have to accept their help if you do not want it. However, we would recommend talking this through with the Youth Support Team before making a decision.
In an emergency both Stroud District Council and Social Services will provide a safe place to stay for the night and work with you to resolve your situation.
18-21 years old
You may be eligible for supported accommodation. In Stroud this is provided by Season House, Ark House and Open House. For more information or to be referred please get in touch with the Housing Advice Team.
The Housing Team can help you get set up in a private rented tenancy of your own – you are likely to be subject to the single room rate. For more information please see our HPF leaflet and the housing benefit scheme section.
Depending on your situation counselling may also be an option for you.
In an emergency Stroud District Council may be able to arrange a safe place for you to stay for the night – this is likely to be with a host family. This is subject to eligibility criteria and would be arranged through Nightstop. This is available to single people up to the age of 25.
21-35 years old
You may be eligible for supported accommodation in Gloucester. Supported Accommodation for applicants in this age bracket does not exist in Stroud District however we can refer you to projects in Gloucester and reconnect you to Stroud once they have assessed you as ready to move on. Please be aware waiting lists for these projects are usually quite high.
The Housing Team can help you get set up into a tenancy of your own – you are likely to be subject to the single room rate. For more information please see our HPF leaflet and the housing benefit scheme section.
Depending on your situation, counselling may also be an option for you.
In an emergency Stroud District Council are unable to provide you with temporary accommodation unless we believe you are likely to be priority need (as defined by the Housing Act). For more information on this please see Homeless application process.
Over 35 years old
You may be able to claim Housing Benefit against the cost of a room at a B&B. For up to date details of B&B’s that accept this method of payment please contact the Housing Team.
The Housing Team can help you get set up into a tenancy of your own, as you are over 35 you are no longer subject to the single room rate under Housing Benefit rules. For more information please see our HPF leaflet and the housing benefit scheme section.
You may be able to access supported housing outside of our district, for more advice on this please get in touch.