Housing, Homelessness & Housing Disrepair

If you’re homeless, at risk of losing your home, experiencing housing problems, or living in a property with serious repair issues, there may be options available to help.

This page provides information about:

  • Homelessness and threatened homelessness
  • Rough sleeping support
  • Housing disrepair
  • Problems with social landlords
  • Problems with private landlords
  • Court proceedings and eviction hearings
  • Where to get further housing advice

Homeless or Threatened with Homelessness

If you are homeless or think you may become homeless soon, you should contact your local council as soon as possible. Your local authority should carry out an assessment of your circumstances and explain what help they can provide. This may include emergency accommodation where appropriate.

If your local authority refuses to carry out an assessment or you are unable to access support, you should seek further housing advice.

If you are being harassed by your landlord or have been unlawfully evicted, contact your local authority immediately. Outside normal office hours, you should contact the police.

Help in Bury

Housing Assessment Team

  • Telephone: 0161 253 5537
  • Online referral: www.bury.gov.uk
  • Address: Bury Town Hall, Knowsley Street, Bury
  • Emergency out of hours number: 0161 253 6606

If the council cannot assist and you have nowhere safe to stay, Shelter can provide emergency housing advice.

Rough Sleeping

If you are sleeping rough or are concerned about someone who is, you can make a referral through StreetLink:

https://thestreetlink.org.uk/start

Red Door in Bury town centre can also provide:

  • Housing advice and support
  • Wellbeing support
  • Laundry and shower facilities
  • Free breakfast and lunch

Help in Bolton

Housing Options Team

  • Telephone: 01204 335900
  • Email: housing.options@bolton.gov.uk 
  • Address: Bolton Town Hall (back entrance)
  • Out of hours emergency number: 01204 337777

Rough Sleeping

Support is available through:

  • Bolton Council’s homelessness service
  • StreetLink
  • Urban Outreach Bolton

Urban Outreach can provide advice about accommodation options and operates a drop-in service at the Urban Restore Centre, Pool Street, Bolton.

 

Housing Disrepair

Landlords have legal responsibilities to keep rented properties in good repair. These duties include maintaining:

Internal Repairs

Examples include:

  • Boilers
  • Baths and sinks
  • Toilets and cisterns
  • Radiators
  • Gas and water pipework
  • Electrical sockets and wiring

External and Structural Repairs

Examples include:

  • Roofs
  • Gutters and drains
  • External pipework
  • External walls
  • Windows
  • External doors

Landlords also have duties to ensure that occupants and visitors are kept reasonably safe from hazards caused by disrepair where they are aware, or should reasonably be aware, of the problem.

If You Have a Social Landlord

This includes housing associations and local authority landlords.

Step 1: Report the Problem

Report the repair issue to your landlord as soon as possible. It is best to do this in writing and keep copies of all correspondence.

Step 2: Use the Complaints Procedure

If repairs are not completed, or are completed to an unacceptable standard, make a formal complaint through your landlord’s complaints procedure.

Step 3: Escalate the Complaint

After exhausting the landlord’s complaints process, you may be able to seek assistance through your MP and, where appropriate, the Housing Ombudsman Service.

Other Options

You may wish to seek advice from a solicitor specialising in housing disrepair. Solicitors can advise on getting repairs completed and whether compensation may be available.

If You Have a Private Landlord

Contact Housing Standards

You can report serious housing disrepair issues to your local council’s Housing Standards team, who may investigate and require the landlord to carry out repairs.

Consider Legal Advice

You may also wish to seek advice from a solicitor experienced in housing disrepair claims.

Bringing a Housing Disrepair Claim

To bring a successful housing disrepair claim, you will usually need to show that:

  1. You reported the problem to your landlord.
  2. The landlord failed to carry out repairs within a reasonable period.
  3. You suffered loss, damage, inconvenience or expense because of the disrepair.

Keep copies of letters, emails, photographs, reports, invoices and receipts that demonstrate the impact of the disrepair.

A solicitor may send a formal notification letter to the landlord and follow the Housing Disrepair Pre-Action Protocol before court proceedings are considered.

Court Proceedings and Eviction Hearings

If you have received court papers relating to your housing situation, it is important to seek advice as quickly as possible.

You may be able to obtain assistance from:

  • Shelter
  • A duty solicitor at court
  • A housing law solicitor

If you intend to use a duty solicitor, arrive at court at least 30 minutes before your hearing. 

Useful Organisations

Shelter

Housing and homelessness advice.

StreetLink

Report rough sleeping and connect people to local support services.

Law Society

Search for a solicitor specialising in housing law.

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