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Help and complaints

Housing and homelessness

Housing applications, help with homelessness and council homes. This guide explains your rights, where to get urgent help and how to complain.

We cannot make a complaint for you

SocialCareScore cannot make complaints for you or take up individual cases. Rating a council is not the same as making a complaint. To have something put right, contact the organisation that runs the service.

Councils in Wales must give free advice about housing and homelessness, and must help people who are homeless or who may lose their home soon. Councils are also landlords to their own tenants, so they deal with repairs, conditions and tenancy problems.

Getting urgent help

If you have nowhere to sleep tonight
Contact the council’s housing department and ask to make a homelessness application. Shelter Cymru says all councils should have a service for emergencies that runs 24 hours a day, so ask for the emergency or out-of-hours number if the office is closed. Source
More information
Shelter Cymru advice line
Free housing advice for people in Wales, including homelessness, eviction and court action. Source
Telephone: 08000 495 495 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm)
More information
Live Fear Free
Free, confidential support for anyone experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence in Wales, and for friends, family and workers. You can speak Welsh. Source
Telephone: 0808 80 10 800 (24 hours a day)
More information
Llamau Youth Homeless Helpline
Help for young people in Wales who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including help to find safe temporary accommodation. Source
Telephone: 0800 328 0292 (5pm to 9am Monday to Thursday, and 5pm Friday to 9am Monday)
More information

Your rights

You can ask for help before you lose your home

You are treated as threatened with homelessness if it is likely you will become homeless within 56 days. You do not have to wait until you have nowhere to go before you ask the council for help. Source

The council must try to stop you becoming homeless

If the council is satisfied that you are threatened with homelessness and eligible for help, it must help to stop suitable accommodation ceasing to be available to you. This is often called the prevention duty. Source

Help to find somewhere if you are homeless now

If the council is satisfied that you are homeless and eligible for help, it must help to secure that suitable accommodation is available for you. Source

Somewhere to stay while the council looks into your case

If the council has reason to believe you may be homeless, eligible for help and in priority need, it must secure suitable accommodation for you while it makes its enquiries. Source

You can ask for a decision to be looked at again

You can ask for a review of most homelessness decisions, including whether accommodation you were offered was suitable. Ask within 21 days of being told the decision, or within a longer period if the council agrees in writing. Source

Your home must be fit to live in and kept in repair

If you rent from the council, your landlord must keep the structure and exterior in repair and keep service installations in working order. The home must also be fit for human habitation. Source

How to complain

  1. Ask the housing team to put it right

    Raise the problem with the person you are dealing with first. Many things can be sorted out straight away, and you can still complain formally afterwards. Source

  2. Make a formal complaint to the council

    Welsh councils follow the Ombudsman’s model concerns and complaints policy. The council should acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and deal with most complaints within 20 working days. Tell it if you need help, a different format, or to use Welsh. Source

    Time limit: Normally within 6 months of the problem

  3. Check whether a review is the right route

    A complaint is about how you were treated. If you disagree with a homelessness decision itself, ask for a review instead. You can do both, but the review has a short deadline. Source

    Time limit: 21 days from being told the decision

  4. Take it to the Ombudsman

    If the council has not put things right, you may be able to complain to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. It expects you to complain to the council first and to give it a reasonable time to reply, which it puts at about 12 weeks. Source

    Time limit: Normally within 12 months of knowing about the problem

If you are still unhappy

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
Independent. Looks at complaints about councils in Wales, including homelessness services and councils acting as landlords. Source
When: After you have complained to the council and given it a reasonable time to reply.
Time limit: Normally within 12 months of knowing about the problem
Telephone: 0300 790 0203
Welsh Language Commissioner
Deals with complaints that an organisation has not met the Welsh language standards, for example if you could not deal with the council in Welsh. Source
When: If your complaint is about Welsh language services rather than the housing decision.
Time limit: Normally within 1 year of becoming aware of what happened
Telephone: 0345 6033 221

Free, independent advice

Shelter Cymru
Free, independent housing advice in Wales by phone and webchat. Source
Telephone: 08000 495 495
Advicelink Cymru (Citizens Advice)
Free advice on housing, benefits, debt and money, funded by the Welsh Government. Help is available in Welsh. Source
Telephone: 0800 702 2020
StepChange Debt Charity
Free debt advice, including rent arrears. Covers the whole of the UK. Source
Telephone: 0800 138 1111

Share your experience

You can rate your council’s housing and homelessness anonymously. Ratings help other people and are published as monthly scores.

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Last reviewed: 15/09/2026