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Visit our siteHomelessness and Prevention
Homelessness can affect anyone. The definition of homelessness is not having a home. This means you can be classed as 'homeless' or 'threatened with homeless' if you're:
- staying on the streets
- staying with friends or family
- staying in temporary or emergency housing
- living at risk of abuse or violence in your home
- living in conditions that affect your physical or mental health
- have been served with a notice to leave your current property
We're committed to helping anyone who finds themselves without a home, for any reason.
If you find yourself in this situation, please talk to us. You can do this by calling us on 0800 028 6231, at any time of the day or night.
What we will do
The help we can give you will depend on your circumstances. Our Prevention service will always try to help you stay in your own home. We want to support you to find the answer to your housing problem.
Once you contact us, a Housing Options Officer will respond to your enquiry the same day (in emergency cases) or the next working day. They'll go through your housing options, which may lead to a Homeless application
If you've nowhere to stay while we try to help:
- We can arrange temporary accommodation.
- Temporary accommodation isn’t free, but we can help you apply for housing benefits to cover some or all of the cost. This will depend on your income. We'll always tell you how much you'll be expected to pay before you move in.
You can choose whether to accept the temporary accommodation offered or make your own arrangements, for example with friends or family. You do not need to come into temporary accommodation to make a homeless application or to be accepted as homeless.
Temporary homeless accommodation
It's always our aim to offer you accommodation that's suitable to your needs and in an area of your choice. However, this is not always possible. Our main objective is to provide you with a safe place to stay until your homelessness is resolved. Accommodation is offered on a Fife-wide basis and initially Hostel/Shared accommodation, particularly in emergencies.
What is temporary accommodation?
Temporary accommodation may be run by the council, a housing association or a voluntary organisation. We have different types of temporary accommodation throughout Fife, including:
- Hostels and Projects: This will include shared kitchen, bathroom and lounge facilities with access to a TV
- Shared flats (SAP flats): this will include a shared kitchen, bathroom and lounge facilities.
- Sole occupancy flats (scatter flats) this will include only white goods, beds and sofas. It will be your responsibility to access bedding (including duvet & pillows), towels, small electrical items (e.g. kettle, toaster), cutlery and crockery, pots and pans, television
On occasion, a B&B or Hotel may be provided. However, this is only in exceptional circumstances, and you should not expect to stay in this type of accommodation for any longer than seven days.
Who looks after temporary accommodation?
There will always be a staff member to support you in the accommodation you're in, regardless of who runs it. Officers who manage the temporary accommodation can help customers with tenancy support and practical advice about arrears issues, neighbour disputes, repairs and (for SAP or scatter flats) home visits.
How long will I be there for?
This will depend on the decision that's made about your homeless application. In general, you will stay in temporary accommodation until either:
- we have made you an offer of settled housing
- your homelessness has been resolved
Further Information
You'll be able to take personal items such as clothes and toiletries with you to temporary accommodation, however, you should make arrangements for larger items, such as furniture, to be stored elsewhere. If you are unable to do so, the council can give you details of approved contractors for you to make your own storage arrangements. Costs can be given by the contractor.
Unfortunately, no pets, with the exception of guide dogs, are permitted in any type of temporary accommodation.
Partner Agencies
We work with other agencies who may also be able to provide advice and assistance to you: