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General Advice Menu

• Home
• Homelessness
  • What is homelessness?
  • Homeless people's rights
    • Overview of homeless people's rights
    • Different people's rights
    • Benefits
  • Avoiding homelessness
    • Staying in your home
    • Leaving care
    • Domestic abuse
    • Evicted or asked to leave
    • On remand or leaving prison
    • Leaving home voluntarily
    • Debt problems
    • Mediation and counselling
  • Help in a crisis
    • Why get advice?
    • Where to get help and advice
    • Help for homeless people
    • I've nowhere to stay tonight
    • Practical information
  • Support for homeless people
    • What is Supporting People?
    • What type of support is available?
    • Help moving off the streets
  • Help from social services
    • Who can social services help?
    • What help is available?
    • Care leavers and young people
    • Asylum seekers
    • Challenging the decision
  • Help from the Housing Executive
    • Housing Executive's duty
    • How long will it take?
    • Making an application
    • Tests for homelessness
      • Overview of the tests
      • Homelessness test
      • Priority need test
      • Intentionality test
      • Eligible for assistance test
    • What will the interview be like?
    • What happens next?
      • What other help is available?
      • Challenging the Housing Executive's decision
      • Appealing to the County Court
      • Temporary accommodation
      • Permanent accommodation
      • Offers and suitable accommodation
      • Special acquisition of dwellings scheme
    • I'm not legally homeless
  • Relationship breakdown
  • Intimidation
  • Homeless under 18
• Rights when renting
  • Private tenancies
  • Lodgers and sub-tenants rights
  • Houses in multiple occupation
  • Housing Executive tenancies
    • Secure tenancies
    • Introductory tenancies
    • Housing Executive responsibilities
    • Your responsibilities to the Housing Executive
  • Housing association tenancies
    • Secure tenancies
    • Unsecure tenancies
    • Introductory tenancies
    • Housing association responsibilities
    • Your responsibilities
  • Student accommodation
  • Leaseholders' rights
    • Overview of leasehold law
    • Buying the freehold
  • Caravan and mobile home owners
  • Safety when renting privately 
  • Ending a tenancy
    • How to end a tenancy?
    • Ending a joint tenancy
    • Getting evicted
    • Ending a tenancy early
    • Passing on your tenancy
    • Abandonment
• Getting a Housing Executive house
  • Eligibility and general rules
    • General rules
    • Who can apply?
    • Disqualification from applying
    • Restrictions to your choice of area
  • How to apply?
    • How the scheme works?
    • Completing your application
    • What happens next?
    • Applying to live outside NI
    • Applying from outside NI
  • How points are worked out
    • Intimidation
    • Homelessness points
    • Housing conditions
    • Health and social well being
      • Functionality
      • Support/Care needs
      • Social needs
      • Complex needs
  • Common problems
  • After you have been assessed
    • What happens next?
    • Dealing with offers
    • Refusing an offer
  • Transfers and exchanges
    • Getting a transfer
    • Housing Executive exchanges
    • Housing association exchanges
• Finding a place to live
  • Things to consider
  • Emergency housing
    • Hostels and nightshelters
    • Staying in your home
    • Women's refuges
    • Bed and breakfasts
    • Staying with friends and family
    • Paying for emergency accommodation
    • How the Housing Executive can help
    • Help from an adviser
  • Renting privately
  • Getting a Housing Executive house
    • Renting from the Housing Executive
    • Becoming a tenant
  • Renting from a Housing Association
  • Buying and selling a home
    • Finding a place to buy
    • Buying a home
    • Problems when buying
    • Selling your home
    • Problems selling your home
    • Negative equity
    • Former Housing Executive property
  • Buying with co-ownership
    • Co-ownership rules
    • Applications and quotas
    • Staircasing
    • Another Chance pilot
  • Right to buy
    • Who can buy?
    • Working out the purchase price
    • Responsibilities after the sale
    • Can I resell my home?
    • Buying a Housing Executive house
    • Buying a housing association house
  • Moving home
    • Moving out
    • Moving in
    • Moving costs
    • Ending a tenancy
    • Transfers and exchanges
  • Student accommodation
  • Leaving home or care
    • Getting ready to leave
    • Budgeting
    • Leaving care
    • Running away
    • Dealing with the Housing Executive
    • Short term housing options
    • Longer term housing options
  • Special requirements
    • Foyers
    • Getting care at home
    • Care homes
    • Sheltered housing
    • Housing Support
  • Squatting
• Debt Advice
  • Get debt advice
    • Am I in Debt?
    • Dealing with your debts
    • Work out the extent of the problem
    • Maximising income
    • Reduce your spending
    • Producing a repayment plan
    • Insolvency, Bankruptcy and Debt Relief Orders
    • Payday loans
  • Mortgage arrears
  • Private sector rent arrears
  • Housing Executive rent arrears
    • Overview of rent arrears
    • Recovering rent arrears
  • Housing association rent arrears
  • Rehousing options
  • Rates arrears
    • Dealing with rates arrears
    • What happens if I can't pay?
• Paying for a home
  • Paying rent
  • Housing benefit
    • What is housing benefit?
    • Who can claim housing benefit?
    • How to claim housing benefit?
    • How much housing benefit will I get?
    • Changes to housing benefit
    • Students
    • Problems with housing benefit
      • Overpayment
      • I only get £1 a week housing benefit
      • Away from home temporarily
      • Housing benefit for two homes
    • My first payment is late
    • Challenging a housing benefit decision
    • Extended payments
    • Keeping your claim up to date
    • Housing benefit for rates
    • Supporting people and housing benefit
  • Mortgages
    • What is a mortgage?
    • How mortgages work
    • Mortgage options
      • Repayment options
      • Interest rate options
    • Choosing a mortgage
    • Applying for a mortgage
    • Joint mortgages
    • Mortgage protection
    • Switching mortgages
    • Endowment shortfalls
    • Complaints about endowment policies
    • Mortgage complaints
    • Dealing with mortgage arrears
  • Other benefits, grants and loans
    • About benefits and tax credits
    • Claiming benefits
    • Crisis loans
    • Jobseeker's allowance
    • Income support
    • Disability Living Allowance
    • Community care grants
    • Budgeting loans
    • Tax credits
    • Pension credit
    • Other benefits
  • Buying and selling costs
    • Valuation and survey fees
    • Legal fees and expenses
    • Buying costs
    • Selling costs
    • Estate agents' fees
    • Mortgage fees and insurance
  • Other housing costs
    • Household bills
    • Service charges
    • Ground rent
    • Maintaining your home
    • Insurance
• Your neighbourhood
  • Harassment and intimidation
  • Problems with neighbours
    • Boundary disputes
    • Noisy neighbours
    • Dealing with a neighbour dispute
    • Other problems with your neighbours
  • Antisocial behaviour
    • What is antisocial behaviour?
    • Organisations that can help
    • Help from the Housing Executive
    • Mediation
    • Injunctions
    • Antisocial behaviour orders
    • Rehousing
    • Taking a court case
  • Environmental issues
    • Litter and fly-tipping
    • Air pollution
  • Planning and development
    • Planning permission
    • Getting planning permission
    • Building control
  • Crime and security
  • Residents' associations
  • Noise problems
    • Barking dogs
    • Building work
    • Parties
    • Pubs and clubs
    • Help with noise
• Families and Sharing
  • Leaving home
  • Living with your parents
  • Moving in with a partner
  • Splitting up with a partner
    • Things to consider
    • Selling a shared home
    • Splitting up when living in rented accommodation
    • Living as separate households
    • Help with housing costs
    • Taking legal action
    • Moving on
  • Domestic abuse
  • Death in the household
    • Rights after a death
    • Organisations that deal with death
  • Giving away your tenancy
  • Civil partnerships
  • Problems with housemates
  • Living together
    • Moving in together
    • Rights if you live with your partner
    • Your rights if you or your partner own your home
• Intimidation
  • Attacked in your home
  • Harassment by landlords
  • Help when intimidated
    • Applying for a new home
    • Help for homeowners
    • Financial help
    • Staying in your home
    • Repairing your home
  • Domestic violence
  • Violent housemates
  • Hate incidents
• Eviction
  • Private tenants
  • Illegal eviction
  • Housing Executive tenants
    • Reasons for eviction
    • Evicting introductory tenants
    • Evicting secure tenants
  • Eviction of housing association tenants
  • Eviction of other kinds of tenants
  • Going to court to be evicted
    • Getting letters from the court
    • At the court hearing
    • Court orders for eviction
• Repairs
  • Bad housing
    • Living in unsuitable housing
    • Fitness standards
      • Fitness inspections
    • Your home is damaging your health
    • Moving to other accommodation
  • Housing Executive repairs
    • Responsibility for repairs
    • Getting repairs carried out
    • Right to repair scheme
    • Self help scheme
    • Redecoration payments
    • Improvement schemes
    • Unhappy with the repairs
  • Housing association repairs
    • Who has to carry out the repairs?
    • Right to repair scheme
    • Unhappy with the repairs
  • Repairs for private tenants
  • Owner occupier repairs
    • Leaseholder repairs
    • Building guarantees
    • Claiming against your insurance
  • Safety for private tenants
  • Adapting your home
    • What are adaptations?
    • Who can get adaptations?
    • How much will it cost?
    • Applying for adaptations
  • Grants, loans and practical help
    • Housing grants
    • Energy efficiency
    • Help with adaptations
    • Getting support in your home
    • Boiler Replacement Scheme
    • Renewable heat premium payment
  • Redevelopment
    • Redeveloping an area
    • Compensation
    • Will I be rehoused?
  • Dealing with difficult weather conditions
    • Private tenants
    • Housing Executive tenants
    • Housing Association tenants
    • Homeowners
    • Heating your home
    • Flooding
• Grants
  • Who can apply?
  • Applying for a grant
    • The grants application procedure
    • Completing your application
    • After you have applied for a grant
    • Completing the work
  • Will I always get a grant?
    • Outline of targeting scheme
    • Geographical targeting
      • Rural Priority Areas
    • Condition based targeting
    • Personal circumstances
    • Prioritisation of grants
  • What grants are available?
    • Disabled Facilities Grant
    • Repairs grant
    • Replacement grants
    • Renovation grants
    • Home repairs assistance grant
    • Common Parts Grant
  • How much will I get?
    • Limits for each grant
    • Test of resources
    • Landlord contribution
  • Group repair scheme
  • Grants complaints
• Rates
  • Overview of rates
    • What are rates?
    • Who has to pay rates?
    • Paying rates on empty homes
  • How are rates calculated?
    • How much will I have to pay?
    • How to pay your rates
  • Rate relief
    • Housing Benefit and Rate Relief
    • Lone Pensioner Allowance
    • Disabled Person's Allowance
    • Students, trainees and care leavers
    • Low Carbon Homes Rate Relief
    • Rates Deferment Scheme
  • Help with paying your rates
  • Appealing the capital value
• Complaints and legal action
  • Problems with the Housing Executive
    • Complaints procedure
    • Challenging a homelessness decision
    • Introductory tenancy appeals
  • Problems with a Housing Association
    • Complaints procedure
    • Introductory tenancy appeals
  • Challenging a housing benefit decision
    • How it works
    • Querying a decision
    • After your independent appeal
  • Complaining to the Ombudsman
    • Who is the Ombudsman?
    • How to complain to the Ombudsman
    • What happens after I complain?
  • Judicial review
  • Northern Ireland legal system
    • Civil cases
    • Criminal cases
  • Court costs and legal aid
    • Court costs
    • Legal aid
    • Getting legal aid
  • Help with your case
  • Small claims court
    • What is a small claim?
    • Taking a small claims case
    • Going to court
  • The Property Ombudsman
• Discrimination and housing
  • Equality and housing
  • Examples of discrimination
  • Finding somewhere to live
  • Accessible housing
  • Eviction and other problems
  • Getting help
• A-Z Site index
• Email advice

Mortgage Debt Advice Menu

• First things first
  • Don't ignore your problem
  • Start taking action
  • Talk to your lender
• Get to grips with your debts
  • Understand your debts
  • Organise your finances
  • Keep your lender up-to-date
• Plan your way out of arrears
  • Priority vs. non-priority debts
  • Prepare a financial statement
  • Check your entitlement to benefits
  • Help with mortgage payments
  • Check your repayment options
  • Worried about negative equity?
  • The pitfalls of sale and rent back schemes
• Facing court action?
  • Learn what to expect
  • Get ready for court
  • Attend your court hearing
  • Possible defences
  • What the court can decide
  • Allowed to stay in your home
• Possession granted - what now?
  • Enforcement action
  • Finding a new home
  • What happens to the property?
  • Paying off your debts

Advice for Migrant Workers Menu

• Getting advice
• Your housing options
• Renting privately
  • Your rights & responsibilities
    • Tenant or licensee
    • Your basic rights
    • Additional rights of tenants
    • Your responsibilities
  • Tenancy agreements
  • Safety and living conditions
  • Ending a tenancy
  • Getting your deposit back
• Sharing accommodation
• Tied accommodation
• Paying for your home
  • Deposits
  • Rent and rent in advance
  • Other housing costs
  • Help with paying your rent
  • Dealing with debts
• Homelessness
  • Help from the Housing Executive
  • Homelessness tests
  • Temporary accommodation
  • Challenging a decision
  • Help in an emergency
• Harassment
• Intimidation
• Illegal eviction
• Your neighbourhood
  • Antisocial behaviour
  • Problems with neighbours
  • Problems with housemates
• Choose another language

Prisoners' Advice Menu

• Advice for Prisoners
• Going into Prison
  • What happens to my home?
    • I may be able to return to my home
    • I may have to find a new home
    • Could I be homeless when I get out?
  • What happens to my belongings?
  • Will I lose my benefits?
  • Getting advice on time
• Keeping your home
  • Keeping your home while on remand
    • Let your landlord or lender know you are absent
    • Get help with your rent
    • Get help with your mortgage
  • Keeping your home if sentenced
    • In prison for 13 weeks or less
    • In prison for more than 13 weeks
  • When should I give up my home?
• Homeless on release
  • I don’t know my release date
  • I know my release date
  • Homelessness tests
    • Am I homeless?
    • Am I eligible for help?
    • Am I in priority need?
    • Am I intentionally homeless?
  • How can the Housing Executive help?
    • What help can I get if I’m homeless?
      • What sort of temporary accommodation can I expect?
      • How long before I get permanently housed?
    • What help can I get if I’m not homeless?
      • Challenging homelessness decision
      • Going on the waiting list (selection scheme)
• Hostel accommodation
• Renting privately
• Help in prison and beyond

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