Housing

There are three steps which should help you find the information you need.

Note that if you are a Anglia Ruskin or Cambridge University student then support is available from your accommodation service.

First, please consider whether your question is one of the Frequently Asked Questions below.

Private rented tenants and landlords

For a guide to renting privately, please see https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/

• My private landlord won’t return my rental deposit, how can I claim the money back?
• My private landlord won’t repair my home, what can I do?
• Can my landlord increase my rent?
• I want to end my month-to-month or fixed-term tenancy, what should I do?
• My private landlord wants to evict me, can they do that?
• How do I become a landlord?
• I want to get my property back and I currently have assured shorthold tenants living there. What can I do?

Social housing

• My social landlord won’t repair my home, what can I do?
• Can I transfer my tenancy to someone else?
• My social landlord is trying to evict me for rent arrears. What are my rights?

Home ownership

• I want to buy a home, how do I do it?
• I want to sell my home, how do I do it?

Finding somewhere to live

• How do I find accommodation?
• How do I find council or housing association housing in Cambridgeshire?

Homelessness

• I’m homeless, or soon will be, so what duties does the council have to help me?
• I am homeless, what local support is there available to me?
  • Wintercomfort for the homeless for welfare services and learning and development
  • Emmaus for accommodation and work opportunities
  • Jimmy’s night shelter for emergency accommodation

Improvements and adaptations

• I would like to make improvements to my home security (and am 60+ or disabled), where can I find help?
• I am elderly or disabled and have difficulty getting around my home easily, how do I find out whether I am entitled to adaptations?
• Am I entitled to support in paying for home improvements?

Other

• I’m in dispute with my neighbours, what options do I have?
• I would like to take in a lodger. What do I need to know?
• I live in Cambridge City. Is there some support for taking in a lodger?

Each question links to an external site, which may be able to answer your question. Some may be links to Adobe Acrobat PDF files. If you cannot read these files, you may have to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader

Second, if your question wasn’t one of those in Step 1, please look at these websites. They may be able to answer your question.

• Citizens Advice - Citizens Advice public website
• Gov.uk - useful information provided about government services and your rights
• Advicenow - website providing information on rights and legal issues
• Shelter - specialist housing helpline available

Each link is to an external site. Some links may open Adobe Acrobat PDF files. If you cannot read these files, you may have to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader

If you are still unable to find the answer to your question, you can now email us via our web based form below.

PLEASE NOTE: We are only funded to help those who live or work in Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District. If you are not in those areas, we will not be able to help you and you should find your local bureau.

Email for advice

Please give us as much information as possible, so that we may answer your question more quickly. We aim to respond within two working days.

If you do not have email but would like further help, go to Get Advice for other ways to contact us.

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