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Introduction

If you are homeless, we can work with you to find a new home. We can also try to help you keep your current home if you are threatened with becoming homeless within the next 56 days.

We can also provide advice on a wide range of housing issues.

Leaflets

Please read our Homeless in Merton leaflet.

Please see the factsheets below, which contain housing advice specifically tailored to your needs:

Help to stay in your current accommodation

We can help in the following ways.

  • Advising tenants of their rights of occupation, or negotiating with landlords on their behalf. Where customers are having trouble affording their rent we provide advice and help claiming benefits.
  • Providing advice on court proceedings for Private, and Housing Association tenants.
  • Intervening in cases where a Landlord is harassing tenants or threatening to evict them illegally.
  • Providing advice and assistance to people who have difficulties paying their mortgages.
  • Providing legal advice on relationship breakdown
  • In cases where young people have been asked to leave by their parent or guardian, we offer mediation to help them resolve any difficulties.

Help with finding alternative accommodation

We can help in the following ways.

  • We have referral rights to a number of local hostels some of which provide supported housing.
  • We run a service called Housing Solutions that provides private sector tenancies to customers who we would likely have a legal duty to house.
  • Some people that are threatened with homelessness are given additional priority on our housing register so homelessness is prevented by an offer of a Housing Association home where possible.  The rules that concern who gains additional priority are complicated and are set out in our Register and Nominations policy; it will depend on whether your household falls into a specified priority group. If you are threatened with homelessness and you fall into a priority group your case will be referred to an Housing Options Adviser who will visit you and check all your circumstances before giving you additional priority. Unfortunately there is a chronic shortage of Housing Association properties. This, coupled with the large number of applications received for housing, means that demand far outstrips the supply of properties that is available, particularly for large family sized properties. There is no guarantee that we will be able to re-house you before you are actually homeless.

What to do if you think you may become homeless

If you think you may be going to be made homeless, contact us as soon as possible for advice on your housing options.

If you wait for a long time before contacting us there is an increased chance that you will become homeless.

Contact us

Housing Options
3rd Floor
Civic Centre
Morden
SM4 5DX

Telephone: 020 8545 3636

Out of hours: 020 8770 5000 (provided by Sutton Council)

Email: housingadvice@merton.gov.uk