Homelessness Advice for People Leaving Prison
If you are recently released from prison and do not have a home, you can apply to Stratford-on-Avon District Council for housing assistance as a homeless person. It is important that you provide the Council with details about your accommodation and health history. This information helps the Council decide whether it owes you housing duties.
Help from the Council if You Are Single and Homeless or Threatened with Homelessness
If you are eligible, usually resident in the UK, and homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the Council has duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. If you are threatened with homelessness, the Council must help prevent you from becoming homeless. If you are already homeless, the Council has a duty to help relieve your homelessness, but it may not have to provide temporary accommodation while doing so.
If the Council accepts a duty to prevent or relieve your homelessness, you will be invited to complete a Personalised Housing Plan with a housing professional. This plan will outline the steps you and the Council will take to help resolve your housing situation.
For the Council to be legally required to provide temporary accommodation, it must be satisfied you that there is a reason to believe you are homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need.
Priority Need
When deciding if you have priority need, the Council looks at whether you are vulnerable due to:
- Old age
- Mental illness
- Learning disability
- Physical disability
- Having spent time in care
- Previous service in the armed forces
- Fleeing violence or threats of violence
- Having served a custodial sentence
In some circumstances, the Council may decide you are in priority need because you have spent time in prison or on remand. The Council will consider whether you should be regarded as being vulnerable by virtue of the fact that you are homeless. This has a particular meaning for homelessness applications and is not the same as being categorised vulnerable in prison.
Simply having been in prison does not guarantee priority need status. The Council will assess your evidence carefully.
Being recently released from prison can sometimes qualify you for priority need, the Council will assess factors including:
- Length of time spent in prison
- Support from probation, youth offending teams, or drug and alcohol services
- Evidence of homelessness vulnerability
- Time since release and efforts to find and keep accommodation
- Support networks such as family or probation officers
- Other vulnerabilities like mental health or substance misuse
Intentional Homelessness
If you are found to be intentionally homeless— for example, evicted due to criminal or antisocial behaviour or rent arrears accrued during imprisonment — the Council's housing duties may be limited.
You should seek housing advice, especially if your imprisonment was related to issues like:
- Limited mental capacity
- Mental illness
- Frailty
- Substance abuse problems
Local Connection
You must have a local connection to Stratford-on-Avon or Warwickshire to get housing assistance from the Council. This connection may be established through residence, work, or close family in the area. Time spent in prison does not count as a local connection.
If you do not have a local connection, the Council may refer you to the authority where you do.
Emergency Accommodation
If you have no accommodation on release, you may need emergency accommodation like a hostel or bed and breakfast. The Council only has a duty to provide emergency accommodation if we are satisfied that there is a reason to believe that you are homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need.
There are no direct access hostels in Stratford-on-Avon. Nearby options are in Coventry, Leamington Spa, or Birmingham. Contact the Housing Advice team for support.
Private Rented Housing
You can try to find housing in the private rented sector. The Housing Advice Team can help you find available housing and refer you for support to apply for Universal Credit or Housing Benefit to assist with costs. Deposit and rent in advance assistance may be available through the Council's grant schemes.
Social Housing
You can apply for housing association homes through Home Choice Plus:
Social housing demand is high, especially for one-bedroom properties, so offers may take time.
Support from Probation Services
If you served 12 months or more and are released on licence, your Offender Manager may assist you in finding accommodation. Contact them early for help and referrals.
Financial Help on Release
Those who have spent at least two weeks in Prison as a sentenced Prisoner receive a Subsistence Payment (formally known as discharge grant) on release to help with initial costs.
Prison governors can also make a discretionary payment of up to £50 direct to a housing provider if this will give you somewhere to stay on release.
You may also be eligible for benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions. Contact them directly for advice and further information if you may be eligible for an advance payment or crisis loan.
Warwickshire offers a Local Welfare Scheme for crisis support:
Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme – Warwickshire County Council
You may need to open a bank account so you have somewhere to get your wages and benefits paid into.
Read Shelters guide on how to open a bank account if you're homeless.
Local Support Services
P3 (People, Potential and Possibilities)
A Housing-related support service to those aged 25 and over in Warwickshire
St Basils
Housing-related support to those aged 16 to 25 in Warwickshire
Stratford Foodbank
Emergency food parcels, referrals through the Housing Advice team.
Stratford-upon-Avon Foodbank | Helping Local People in Crisis
Floating support for ex-prisoners.
Other Support Available
Unlock are a charity for people with criminal records and have useful online information advise including how prisoners and people on release can get ID and open a bank account.
St Giles Trust
National charity using real-life past experiences to provide advice, training and support to people facing challenges. Community based services and support for prison leavers.
Get help from St Giles using their online form.
Women in Prison is a national charity that supports Women in Prison and the community.
If you have any questions please contact The Homeless Prevention Team:
Contact Centre - 01789 267575
Homelessness - 01789 260126
Housing Advice Team - 01789 260861
Email: homeless@stratford-dc.gov.uk