Helpful resources for individuals and organisations that help homeless people, private renters and social housing tenants
Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) has decided to create a bank of resources, which we hope will be useful for people who are homeless, at risk of eviction or in housing need and for the front-line advisors who support them.
We provide information for private renters as well as social housing tenants.
These documents were prepared by our housing solicitor, Kathy Cosgrove.
The resources are free to use, and we hope they will be shared widely.
Web-based resources can never replace face-to-face advice
With such high demand for housing advice and with so few able to offer it, we hope that this information will empower people: to better help the community understand their housing rights, to identify when they are being treated unlawfully and when a legal challenge might be the only solution.
Why are we doing this?
We hope that all these resources might make it less likely that people in urgent need of help are not simply turned away or sent elsewhere.
GMLC is committed to working and fighting together with individuals in housing need and their frontline supporters for justice and real change.
Whilst we hope the information on these web pages is useful and helps people better access their rights – it is no substitute for legal advice.
We welcome any feedback as to whether the resources are useful, how the template applications and handheld records work in practice and how we can continue to work together in the future.
Please contact development@gmlawcentre.org.uk with feedback.
New housing information resource portal
This link will lead you to a home page for this new service: https://www.gmlaw.org.uk/housing/
You will find three links to guide you to different advice sections.
Information for homeless people
The advice for homeless people web page contains links to:
- detailed advice for people making a mainstream homelessness application and as well as for those who don’t qualify for assistance from the housing department but might be entitled to housing assistance from social services, asylum support or other sources.
- template applications that people or their supporters can fill in and take to the local authority when they ask for help. We hope using these template applications will help people prepare for the questions they are likely to be asked, make sure that full and accurate information is recorded and avoid the risk of the local authority being in any doubt about the assistance that is being requested.
- attached to the template applications are handheld records for people to take with them to the local authority and other advice agencies to keep a record of the dates and times they have attended and the information and advice that they have been given.
Information for private renters
Information for private renters can be found here: https://www.gmlaw.org.uk/housing/private-renters/
Information for social housing tenants
Information for social housing tenants can be found here: https://www.gmlaw.org.uk/housing/social-housing-tenants/
