You don't need to be sleeping rough or not have a roof over your head to be considered homeless.

We'll consider you to be homeless under a range of different circumstances, and may have a legal duty to help with your housing.

Such circumstances include:

• you're sleeping rough
• you're at risk of violence and/or abuse
• you're at risk of losing your home
• you cannot afford to stay where you live
• you're currently living in very temporary accommodation
• you're staying with friends or 'sofa surfing'
• you've been locked out or illegally evicted
• you're living in poor/dangerous accommodation
• you have nowhere to put your houseboat or caravan

If one or more of the above apply to you, our Customer Advice and Support Team may be able to help.

We'll draw up a personal housing plan so you can work with us to solve your housing problem.

Who we can help

1. You must have a reason to believe you might be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. At this point you can make a homeless application.

2. You must be eligible - normally having lived in the UK long-term and not subject to immigration control.

3. We must be satisfied you're homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. When we're satisfied you meet the criteria to make a homeless application, we'll draw up your personal housing plan. If you're homeless and have nowhere to stay, we'll decided whether to provide you with temporary accommodation while we work together to solve your housing problem.

If your housing problem remains unresolved after a certain period of time (on average, 150 days), we'll close your personal housing plan and make a final decision on your homeless application based on the following factors:

• whether you're in priority need - eg have children, physical or mental health disability, vulnerable for other reasons, such as domestic abuse
• whether you've made yourself intentionally homeless - ie made yourself homeless on purpose or were responsible for events which led you to become homeless, eg criminal or anti-social behaviour, or failing to pay rent
• whether you have a local connection to the borough (though, in cases where you're escaping from domestic abuse, this may not apply)

If you meet the above criteria, we have a duty to offer you a suitable home in the private rented sector (eg with a private landlord or estate agency).

What next?

Our Customer Advice and Support Team can help you explore all of your housing options.

You can register with us on Housing Jigsaw, our online housing portal.

We'll make an appointment for you to be interviewed by a member of the team, either face-to-face or on the phone. You can decide which and bring a support worker or friend with you to the interview.

We'll also let you know which documents you need to support your application. For more information visit the 'How to make a homeless application' section on Shelter's website.

If you're homeless today, please visit the Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV21 2RR as soon as possible. Out of office hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), call our emergency number on (01788) 579706.