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Housing and safety

I have nowhere safe to stay tonight

How to ask your council for emergency help today, what to say, and what to try if they are closed.

What this means

You do not have to be sleeping on the street to be legally homeless. If you have nowhere you can safely stay tonight — including if staying where you are is not safe — you can ask for help now.

In England and Wales you approach your local council's housing options or homelessness team. In Scotland you make a homeless application to the council. In Northern Ireland you contact the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

BesideYou cannot arrange accommodation and cannot promise you will be offered somewhere. What we can do is help you ask clearly and know what to expect.

Your options

  • Contact the council's homelessness team today

    Ask for a homelessness assessment. Say plainly: 'I have nowhere safe to stay tonight.' Most councils have an online form as well as a phone line, which can be easier if speaking is hard.

  • Use the out-of-hours emergency number

    Every council in Great Britain has an out-of-hours number for emergencies including homelessness. Search your council's name plus 'out of hours homelessness'. In Northern Ireland, the Housing Executive has an out-of-hours service.

  • Get advice while you wait

    Shelter (England, Scotland), Shelter Cymru (Wales) and Housing Rights (Northern Ireland) give free, independent advice, including if the council says no or tells you to come back later.

  • If you are in immediate danger

    If you are at risk of violence right now, call 999. If you cannot speak, call 999 and then dial 55 on a mobile — this tells the operator you cannot talk safely.

Things you could do today

Small steps only. Add any of them to your plan — or none of them. Nothing is expected of you.

  1. Find your council's housing options page and note whether they have an online form.
  2. Write down where you slept last night and where you cannot go back to, and why.
  3. Send the message below, or read it out, whichever feels possible.
  4. If it is after office hours, use the out-of-hours number instead of waiting until tomorrow.
  5. Charge your phone if you can, and write the council number on paper in case your battery dies.

Information it helps to have ready

  • Your full name and date of birth
  • A phone number or email address they can reach you on
  • Where you stayed last night and where you are now
  • Whether anyone is with you, including children
  • Any health conditions, medication or support needs that affect where you can stay
  • Whether you feel unsafe, and who from, if you are able to say

If you do not have some of these, ask anyway — not having everything is not a reason to be turned away.

Words you could borrow

Edit, copy and send these yourself. Nothing is sent from BesideYou.

Message to a council homelessness team

Edit anything in [square brackets]. Only include what is true and what you want to share — nothing is sent from here.

What happens next

The council should take basic details and decide whether they have a duty to help, including whether to provide emergency accommodation while they look into it.

You may be asked for evidence later. Not having documents should not stop you making the application today.

If you are told there is nothing available, ask for the decision in writing and contact a housing adviser — decisions can be challenged.

More help

Where this information comes from