Housing help for prison leavers
Find out what you can do to find accommodation, and what help and advice is on offer after your release.
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What you can do
Different types of housing offer different levels of support. You may want to consider:
- Private rented housing — using online searches such as Rightmove and Zoopla.
You may be able to get help with a deposit and apply for housing benefit to help pay your rent.
See the Local Housing Allowance rates to work out how much housing benefit you might get. - Hostels and other supported housing — these often have entry criteria based on things like your age, gender, local connection and needs. You will need a professional referral for a hostel — see 'How we can help' below.
- Social housing — sign up for social housing via Property Pool Plus. You must disclose your offending history when you sign up.
It's also important to ask family and friends to help you find somewhere to live.
How we can help
We can't help every homeless ex-offender, but we can help you if you have spent time in prison or on remand and we think you are vulnerable because you are homeless.
If you think you may qualify for support from us, please ask your support worker to make a housing referral on your behalf.
When your support worker completes the housing referral, they need to upload the risk assessment done on your release from prison, approved premises or a CAS3 accommodation placement.
Your probation officer may also refer you for help via the CRISIS accommodation for ex-offenders referral route.
What support do we give?
To make a proper assessment of your housing needs, we will need full disclosure of your offending history. If you are not willing to disclose your offending history, this may affect what help we can offer you.
Once we have assessed your needs, we may:
- refer you on to our Mainstay gateway system for access to temporary accommodation or an Offender Pathway hostel, if you qualify
- help set you up on Property Pool Plus to apply for social housing with some conditions, depending on your offending history
- give you advice on how to search privately rented property, and how to apply for help with housing costs
How do we assess your needs?
We'll review your housing referral and consider:
- how long you were in prison
- the support the probation service, youth offending team or drug and alcohol team give you
- whether you have been able to find and keep accommodation
- any support you have from family and friends
- any mental health problems, drug or alcohol misuse, or a history of having been in care
- anything else that may affect your ability to find yourself a home