Helping people find homes

 Our goal is to help individuals and families secure safe, stable housing — whether they're already at risk of losing their home or currently homeless. We assess each person's situation and connect them directly with the housing association, local authority, or specialist charity best placed to help, drawing on relationships with organisations across London, Hertfordshire, and Essex. 

 We assess your situation and connect you with the right support — from local authority housing teams and specialist homelessness charities, to advice on retaining your current home. Our resource lists below also include shelters, advice hubs, and drop-in centres you can access directly. 

 Housing Need is funded through public donations, legacy gifts, and grant funding, which we use to run our assessment and referral service and, where funding allows, provide direct financial help such as emergency accommodation costs. Any information you share with us is held securely and is not shared with other organisations. 

 We continually gather and verify information from local authorities, housing associations, and charity partners about temporary and long-term accommodation options. Our resource lists below are kept current, and we welcome suggestions for anything else worth adding. 

 Housing Need is free to use and open to everyone. We prioritise families — especially young families — facing imminent eviction or homelessness, and people with health issues, but anyone concerned about losing their home or already homeless is welcome to contact us. 

 We assess each person's or family's situation — their current accommodation status, family circumstances, health, and financial position — and prioritise by urgency. We then connect them directly with the housing association, local authority, or specialist charity best placed to help, from a network that includes organisations such as Barnet Homes, Centrepoint, the Cardinal Hume Centre, and others across London and the South East. We follow up to check the right help was received, and provide further support if it wasn't. 

Homeless people are substantially more likely to report having chronic diseases such as asthma, chronic COPD, heart problems, and stroke. The longer someone is homeless, the more complex their problems become and the more difficult it can be to get back on their feet. Not having a stable and secure home can make it harder for people to find a job, stay healthy and maintain relationships. Experiencing isolation and alone, increasing their chances of taking drugs or experiencing mental health problems. Healthcare is only possible when someone is registered with a GP. Many GPs require an address to register an individual, which can be a huge issue to accessing services. Turning someone away because they do not have an address is now (thankfully) unlawful.  

 Need help outside our hours, or right now? Housing Need is a small team and are unable to offer a 24-hour service. If you're at risk of harm, call 999. If you have nowhere to stay tonight or need urgent housing advice, Shelter's free helpline is available on 0808 800 4444 (Mon–Fri 8am–8pm, Sat–Sun 9am–5pm), or contact your local council's emergency housing team — councils have a legal duty to respond to homelessness emergencies. We'll follow up with you as soon as we're able. 

What's your situation?

I'm about to lose my home, or I'm already homeless — Contact us on 07813 488017 [Mon-Fri 9-5] or info@housingneed.org. We'll assess your situation and connect you with an organisation that can help such as a housing association, council, or specialist charity who can help. If you can't reach us or it's outside our hours, see the box below.

I'm currently housed but struggling with bills or worried about the future — Contact us and we'll help you understand your options — including advice on staying in your current home — and direct you to the right support, such as Citizens Advice, if that's more suitable.

I just want to know what's out there — Browse our Housing Resources below for links and guides, no need to contact us first.