Help with housing due to domestic abuse

If you are thinking about ending an abusive relationship and are concerned about what will happen to your home, it's important to get up to date advice. Don't hesitate to contact our Housing Options Team on 01263 513811. We will work with you in a sympathetic and confidential way and can provide you with support and guidance on tenancy issues, including:

• occupation orders
• joint tenancies
• homelessness

How can we help

We know every case is different, so we will advise you of your options. We will give you information about other agencies that offer further advice and support and, with your permission, refer you for help.

Help in remaining in your home

Help is available in remaining safe in your own home - along with legal measures to stop the abusive person from coming into your home. There may be steps taken to help make the home safer. If you are a victim-survivor of domestic abuse and want to stay living in your home, please contact the Housing Options Team on 01263 513811 to discuss the Sanctuary Scheme.

Access to safe accommodation

We can help you access Refuge or safe accommodation. Most refuges are safe houses for women to escape domestic abuse and are for women on their own or with their children. You don't need to have experienced physical abuse to stay in a refuge. Very few refuges are for men, but we can provide details of several domestic abuse charities that support men.

Leaving your home

We understand that when someone plans or makes their exit is often the most dangerous time for them and their children. You can contact us at any time if you feel that it is becoming unsafe for you to stay at home.

You don't have to decide about your tenancy immediately if you can't stay there because of domestic abuse – we can talk through all your options with you.

Making a homeless application

Contact the Housing Options Team on 01263 513811 as soon as it is safe for you to do so.

A Housing Officer will discuss the situation with you. You will automatically be assessed as in ‘priority need’ if you are eligible for homelessness assistance and the victim of domestic abuse.

It means that if you have no reasonable and safe accommodation to occupy, we will help you find alternative accommodation. The accommodation offered will depend on your circumstances. You may be referred to a refuge or placed into emergency accommodation while we look at longer-term options.

If you are fleeing domestic abuse, you can make a homeless application to any local council. You will not be passed back to your local council where you live if you are at risk of further abuse upon your return.

Safe accommodation

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires local authorities to publish a strategy to protect and assist survivors of domestic abuse in safe accommodation. We have worked with Norfolk County Council to help them do a needs assessment about domestic abuse. This assessment has formed the basis of a new Norfolk wide Support in Safe Accommodation Strategy.

• increase the amount and flexibility of safe accommodation
• improve engagement with victim-survivors of domestic abuse
• improve the quality of support and safe accommodation
• support children in safe accommodation
• improve intelligence of domestic abuse, especially for men

Refuges

Several refuges in Norfolk and across the country offer somewhere safe to stay for you and your children if you have any if you need to escape abuse. Refuges provide a space to have a break and make decisions without fear. They offer a supportive and understanding environment, and the locations and phone numbers are kept secret. You can find out about spaces in refuges and make arrangements with them yourself without going through the Police or North Norfolk District Council.

Leeway is a Norfolk based charity that supports adults and young people looking to break free from domestic abuse.

Keeping your information private

We will not give your details, or the information you provide, to anyone without your permission unless there are serious concerns for you or your children’s safety. In cases where there are safeguarding concerns, we have a legal responsibility to share information.