Housing

If your housing situation has been affected by the crime you’ve experienced or witnessed, it’s important that you get specialist advice.

We work with housing experts, Shelter. The team at Shelter can help and support you to understand your housing options and rights. They can also support you to express your views and stand up for your rights if you need it.

Domestic abuse

If you’re experiencing domestic abuse or you’ve left an abusive situation, you have specific housing rights. We can explain this to you and introduce you to someone at Shelter to give you extra support.

If it’s not safe for you to stay at home and you have nowhere to go, find out how to access refuge. It may be dangerous if your abuser finds out about your plans to leave, this often causes the abuse to get worse. For more information and advice on how to leave safely, visit our domestic abuse pages or contact us for support.

Hate crime

You may have specific housing rights if you’re experiencing violence or harassment because of your:

• race
• ethnicity
• nationality
• religion, faith or belief
• sexual orientation
• gender identity
• disability or learning difficulty
• physical appearance
• or any combination of the above.

We know how distressing it is to experience hate crime. You have the right to be yourself and live your life without abuse and fear. We’ll support you to move forward and access the specialist advice you need.

Anti-social behaviour

We understand how difficult it can be to experience anti-social behaviour around your home. This could be:

• neighbour disputes or disturbance
• vandalism and graffiti
• damage to your surrounding area such as littering, dumping of large items or abandoned cars
• dangerous use of fireworks
• danger or disturbance from vehicles.

If the anti-social behaviour is also a crime, we can support you. We can:

• explain how to report the anti-social behaviour and what happens next
• help you to keep yourself and your home safe
• support you if the case goes to court
• help you to access mediation or Restorative Justice
• support you emotionally if you’re struggling to cope.

If the anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime, we’ll help you access specialist support near you.