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No-one should have to choose between their pet and a safe place to sleep.
Find support for you and your pet.
It can be really scary to find yourself in a situation where you may be without a safe place to stay.
We’ve put together this quick guide to help you start to get the help you need.
In England, contacting your local council is the best place to start. They have an obligation to help if you’re legally homeless or you’re going to become homeless within the next 8 weeks.
The term legally homeless can include the following situations:
- You're not able to access to your home, for example your landlord has locked you out
- it’s not safe for you to stay in your home, due to the risk of violence or abuse
- Your living conditions are very poor or overcrowded
If you’re not sure how to contact your local council, don't worry, you can search for them here.
Depending on your circumstances there are different types of support your council could offer you. That can start with some advice and lead on to help with emergency housing, support to find longer-term housing or possibly even help so you can stay in your home.
The type of help you can get will depend on your individual circumstances so the council will assess your eligibility for assistance. They will look at things like what led you to become homeless so they are able to decide if you are in priority need That tends to cover situations such as:
- You or someone you live with is pregnant
- You have ‘dependent children’ living with you (under 16s or under 19s if they’re studying full-time)
- You’re 16 or 17 years old or you’re under 21 and were in care between the ages of 16 and 18.
- Other reasons for being classes as vulnerable include old age, disability, domestic abuse or you’re homeless after a flood, fire or other disaster.
If you are a permanent UK resident, you should be eligible for some assistance.
If you’re not a UK resident, we’d recommend contacting Shelter who can give help and advice on the best options for you. You can contact them here: Immigration and residence restrictions.
If you have the added pressure of needing to find somewhere safe for you and your dog then we understand this can make things seem even harder so although we’re not able to provide accommodation ourselves we’re here to guide you in the right direction to get help.
The first step would still be to contact your local council so you can register as being homeless so you can get all the support you need.
With our Dog Champions Scheme, we’re working hard to help make sure as many hostels and temporary accommodation providers are dog friendly as possible. Please note, we are unable to secure fostering or kennelling for dogs.
To find services in your area who are willing to accept dogs you can use the Homeless Link website. You can find their helpful search tool here: Homeless England | Homeless Link
It’s worth bearing in mind that many temporary accommodation providers need you to be referred to them which is why going through your local council is the best way to get started.