Housing and homelessness support for domestic abuse

If you live in Leicester city and you don’t feel safe at home due to domestic violence, you can contact our housing options team or STAR (supporting tenants and residents) team for help and advice.

All our housing officers are trained to help people affected by domestic abuse. You are normally considered to be legally homeless if it is not reasonable for you to occupy your home because of the risk or fear of domestic violence.

The officer you speak to will ask you some questions about your situation. You may be asked for supporting evidence, which could include details and dates of incidents, but you will not be turned away if you do not have this information. We look at each case carefully. If you need this, we will try to help you find somewhere safer to live in the short term.

If we can’t help you, we can put you in touch with others who may be able to help, for example. social services or the local support service for people affected by domestic abuse.

Help for council tenants

If you are a Leicester City Council tenant and you don’t feel safe at home due to domestic violence, contact your tenancy management officer who can arrange to see you at your home or at your local STAR office.

We can:

• Give safety advice and can install additional security measures if the person using abusive behaviour does not live at your home
• Help you to complete applications to move within the city, where this is safe and possible
• Liaise with colleagues in the housing options team to reduce your risk of homelessness
• Consider action against the person being abusive, including removing them from a joint tenancy, if this will help you.

Can I get help if I am not a council tenant?

If you live in Leicester city our housing options team may be able to help you get safer accommodation

• Call the housing options team on 0116 454 1008 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
• You can also call the housing options team on a free phone at any of our self-service and customer service centres
• Visit our Granby Street customer services centre and ask for an Options chat. You can ask for a private interview, with someone of the same sex, and you can bring a friend with you for support.

Emergency out-of-hours help

If you are homeless in an emergency after 6pm, please contact us on 0116 221 2770 for assistance.

If you think you are in immediate danger, ALWAYS dial 999 and ask for the police.

Making home safer

There might be more options than you think. Local support services can:

• Help secure your home
• Help you make a safety plan, understand your needs and think through what might help
• Help you find somewhere safer to live temporarily
• For women: Accommodate you in a shared, safe, women only refuge where specialist staff are on site
• For men: Help you find safe accommodation, and support you while you do so
• Help you find safe accommodation elsewhere if you are not safe in Leicester
• Help the person who is abusing you find somewhere else to stay, if that helps you, and they are committed to change.

Local support service helpline: 0808 80 200 28 Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, weekends and bank holidays 10am to 4pm. Calls are free and will not show up on your bill.

Leaving home immediately

Separation, or planning to move away from a person who is abusing you, can bring risk.

Try to speak to an adviser and consider all your options before leaving your home and giving up your legal rights to it.

If you are planning to leave, try to take some essentials with you such as a change of clothes, toiletries and any medication you need to take regularly. If possible, take important items such as your passport, bank and credit cards and mobile phone.

Give us feedback

Tell us about any of the local domestic and sexual violence support services you have used, so we can continue improving the help we offer.

Give feedback as a victim-survivor