Our Housing Law Advice service offers free legal advice and assistance, across a range of housing and homelessness legal issues.
If you are facing possession proceedings for any reason, it is very important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible.
If the services we provide do not cover your particular circumstance, please see the following page where we list other organisations who may be able to help you: Other Services
How can we help?
Suffolk Law Centre has a Housing Legal Aid contract and can provide funded advice and representation in certain areas of housing law.
We can help with:
- Possession of your rented home including where there are alleged rent arrears or other breaches of tenancy, such as anti-social behaviour or nuisance
- Mortgage possession proceedings
- Illegal eviction
- Challenges to local authorities over refusal of homelessness assistance or unsuitable offers of accommodation
- Addressing poor housing conditions
- Housing-related anti-social behaviour and harassment cases
We cannot help with:
- We do not provide advice to landlords
- We cannot assist on boundary disputes
- We do not provide help with conveyancing (the purchase and sale of property)
Legal Aid funded advice
We can provide advice and representation in housing cases under legal aid funded services subject to financial eligibility and your matter being covered by the Legal Aid scheme.
To receive legal aid funding you must be eligible for Legal Help and provide proof of your income and savingsat your first visit. You can complete the following online checklist to find out whether you qualify for help.
Check if you can get legal aid – GOV.UK
If you are eligible, please contact us and we will advise whether we can help with your particular matter.
If you are unable to use the online checking service, please contact us and we can assess whether you qualify for legal aid help.
You can complete our online enquiry form or contact us via email or telephone, all of which can be found at the bottom of the current page (the enquiry form may not be available if the service is at full capacity). If you are not able to use these methods of contact, please do drop in to our offices to complete a form with the help of our friendly reception team.
Please note the following for any Housing Legal Aid appointment –
If your housing case is funded under our Legal Aid contract you will be required to show that your income and savings are within the current financial limits set by the Legal Aid Agency. You will be asked to provide evidence of you and your partner’s income and capital and bring this to your first appointment. If you cannot do this, contact us for further help.
You will be asked to sign a form which confirms to the Legal Aid Agency your personal details and finances, and that you are giving accurate information before we can start your case.
Possession Early Legal Advice under Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS)
We can provide early legal advice to anyone facing possession of their home (rented or mortgaged) or facing illegal eviction. This is not means-tested so assistance can be given regardless of your financial circumstances or income. This advice service is usually available only up to the first substantive court hearing and can be accessed from the point of first receiving notice of the possession. Early legal advice can avoid issues escalating and may help avoid court action or home loss. If your case does progress to a court hearing, in-court duty advice is available for possession hearings. Contact us as above to enquire.
Possession hearings in court – advice and advocacy
If you have a date for a possession hearing at Ipswich or Bury St Edmunds County Courts you can also get advice and assistance on the day of your hearing from a court duty advice scheme.
This service is not based on your income, and advice can be provided regardless of financial circumstances. These free schemes advise tenants of private rental, social housing and local authority properties, as well as owner-occupiers facing repossession of their mortgaged home. They can provide advice before the hearing, speak to the other side on your behalf, and represent you in the hearing.
If you require advice from a court duty adviser, please take all relevant documents including court paperwork, and try and arrive at court at least 30 minutes before your hearing time. You can bring a family member or friend with you. When you arrive at court, ask the court staff to speak with the duty adviser.
One-off Appointments (LAC)
We may be able to offer a one-off 30-minute appointment for other Housing matters (with an experienced volunteer Housing/Property legal adviser) that fall outside of our funding or casework criteria. Please contact us for further information.
If you are at risk of losing your home, please contact us as soon as possible – even if we cannot help, we may be able to suggest others who are able to.
Contact Us
The quickest way to get in touch with us would be to fill in a Enquiry Form with details of your enquiry using the following link:
If you have any questions in regard to our Housing Law services, or need help completing the form: please send us an email or leave a message on the number below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01473 526711
