We have provided some of the answers to the most frequently asked questions. Please read these before contacting us as you may find the answer to your query here.

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is defined as an incident, or pattern of incidents, of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence. Abuse will be considered domestic if committed by a partner, ex-partner, carer, a family member, or a member of your household. For more information on the definition of domestic abuse, please click here.

Admitting to yourself and others that you are experiencing domestic abuse, or any other form of abuse, can be very difficult, but it is an important step towards getting protection for yourself and any children. For a full list of resources, click here to be redirected to the relevant page of the Barnet Council website. Alternatively, some of the key resources have been listed below:

The One Stop Shop is a free drop-in advice service ran by Barnet Homes for victims of domestic abuse. There is no sign up needed to access this service and anyone can attend during opening hours. The One Stop Shop is open every Thursday between 9:30am and 12:30pm and is located at 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW towards the back of building facing Barnet and Southgate College. Alternatively, the service can be reached by calling 020 8359 7947, phone lines are open Wednesday to Friday.

If you are homeless or may become homeless due to domestic abuse, please call our Housing Options Customer Contact Team on 020 8610 3539 (phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm). Alternatively you can email them at housingadvice@barnethomes.org. Our staff are trained to handle your case confidentially and sensitively.

If you feel that you are in immediate danger, call the police on 999.

You can click here to visit our website dedicated to supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The website contains useful information such as how to hide your online search history, what your rights are when escaping domestic abuse, how we can prevent homelessness due to domestic abuse and how we can help you stay in your home or find a new home.

New approach

If you are a private, council or housing association tenant, you are protected under the Eviction Act 1977 and only court appointed bailiffs can evict you. It is illegal for your landlord to evict you without following the correct procedures. For more information on unlawful evictions, please click here to visit the Shelter England website. You can also contact the Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau if you believe you are being unfairly evicted by your landlord. Their website is extremely useful and contains detailed information on the rights of tenants and how to challenge an eviction.

If you are threatened with homelessness, please call our Housing Options Contact Team on 020 8610 3539, phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am -5pm.

A Section 21 notice is typically used by a landlord to terminate an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and regain possession of the dwelling. A notice of 2 months or more is required for a Section 21 notice and the landlord needs a court order before they can evict you from your home however, they can only do this after the expiry date of the Section 21 notice. Once the courts are involved, your tenancy continues until either you have found an alternative property, or you are evicted by bailiffs following an order of possession being granted. For more information on the process and the options available to you, please click here.

If you are served a Section 21 notice and are unable to find your own property, please call our Housing Options Contact Team on 020 8610 3539.

If you need support with documents, please contact your Housing Officer who will be able to advise you or book an appointment for you to provide your documents in person. It is important that you make contact as soon as possible as failure to provide documents within the specified timeframe may result in your application being closed.

Our Housing Options reception is located at 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW and the entrance is towards the back of the building, facing Barnet and Southgate College.

Unfortunately, Barnet does not operate an open housing register. Instead, assessment of housing allocation is determined by the applicants housing needs. In line with legislation, we will only be able to provide assistance if you are homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. Once a Housing Needs Officer assesses and establishes an applicant’s housing need, the case is placed into one of four priority bands under the Barnet Housing Allocation Scheme. For more information on the allocation scheme, please click here.

If you are eligible and wish to apply for housing assistance, please email housingadvice@barnethomes.org or call our Housing Options Contact Team on 020 8610 3539, phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am -5pm.

To open a housing application, applicants must provide a ‘reason to believe’ that they are eligible for assistance and that they have a ‘housing need’. A housing need is defined in legislation as when an applicant is homeless, threatened with homelessness or their property is no longer reasonable to continue to occupy.

You can also click here to use our housing aid tool to help you identify if you have a housing need.

Click here to download a leaflet which gives advice and assistance for young people aged 18-24 who are facing homelessness.

Housing Need

If you have an open application with us, you can contact your Housing Needs Officer to ask for an update. As our officers are regularly carrying out assessments, the best way to contact them is by emailing them directly.

When deciding how housing is allocated, Barnet Homes uses the Housing Allocation Scheme and its banding system to determine priority need. There are four bands in the scheme, with band 1 indicating highest priority and band 4 indicating lowest priority need. For more information on the scheme, including band criteria and likely outcomes for your band, please click here.

Unless you are assessed and found to be in high priority need, it is highly unlikely that you will receive social housing. Barnet has a very limited supply of social housing, so it is important that these properties are offered to applicants with the greatest housing need and who also make a community contribution.

Instead of social housing, applicants who are assessed and placed in band 3 or band 4 are likely to be offered a private rented sector property. Please note that this accommodation could be outside of the borough of Barnet.

For more information on how we allocate properties, please click here.

Social housing will only be provided to those who have the greatest housing need and who make a community contribution. If this does not apply to your case it is likely that you will be offered private rented accommodation, and this could be outside of the borough of Barnet

Due to the shortages of accommodation available in Barnet, there are currently long wait times for suitable properties to be identified. As a result of this, the quickest way to find a new property would be to search independently within the PRS.

When placing households in temporary accommodation, we look at the outcomes of their housing assessment to determine whether the household has any priority need to be placed within, or around, Barnet. Where priority is found we will try our best to allocate accordingly, however, due to the shortages of temporary accommodation in Barnet, we are unable to make any guarantees on the location of temporary accommodation.

For more information on how we determine priority, please click here to view our temporary accommodation placements policy.

No, you do not need to take any action. Unlike many other boroughs, Barnet Homes does not have a bidding system when it comes to housing allocations. If you have been placed in a band you will not be contacted until a suitable property has been found and it is presented to you in an offer. Please only contact us if you have a change in your circumstances.

If you have a change in your circumstances, please contact our Housing Options Team with the details by emailing HousingAdvice@BarnetHomes.Org or calling the Housing Options Customer Contact Team on 020 8610 3539.

Temporary Accommodation

Emergency temporary accommodation (ETA) will be offered to customers as a form of short term relief when they become homeless. You will be provided with ETA on the day before you are due to become homeless and only one offer will be presented. As the accommodation is intended for immediate relief and short term use, facilities will often be minimal and basic. For more information on ETA, please click here.

If you believe that your offer of temporary accommodation is unsuitable, we strongly advise that you accept the offer and then make an appeal within the 21 day review period which follows. Please note that you will only be able to make an appeal if Barnet Homes has accepted the full housing duty under S193 of the Housing Act. If we have not accepted the full housing duty, you will be offered accommodation under S188 of the Housing Act. There is no right of appeal for accommodation offered under S188, but you could challenge the suitability of the accommodation by way of judicial review through the Courts.

It is important to note that Barnet Homes operates a one offer policy, meaning that if you refuse your offer or violate the conditions of your temporary accommodation (TA) agreement, we may terminate our duty to house you.

If your temporary accommodation needs repairs, please contact your accommodation provider using the contact details which we have given to you in the sign up pack you received.

For more information on what to do if you a problem with your TA, please click here.

For a list of the individual blocks facing regeneration in 2024, please click here. Barnet Council also has a dedicated page on regeneration here, where you can find out updates on the regeneration program.

Voids & Lettings

The Housing Allocations Scheme uses a banding system to decide who needs housing the most – taking into consideration community contribution and residential connection to the borough. For more information on the scheme, including likely outcomes for each banding and a table of criteria for band placement, please click here.

If you are a secure tenant and wish to downsize within the London Borough of Barnet, you may be eligible for the Fresh Start Scheme where you could receive up to £15,000. For more information on the scheme, including payments, criteria, and who to contact, please click here. Alternatively, you can call 020 8359 4695 or email FreshStart@barnethomes.org.

Secure tenants looking to swap their home can do so through our Mutual Exchange Scheme. For more information, including eligibility and full instructions on how to exchange, please click here.

If eligible, you will need to register on HomeSwapper and use their website to find a Mutual Exchange Partner. Once a partner is found, all parties will need to complete our Mutual Exchange Form and send it to: Barnet Homes Voids & Lettings Team, 3rd Floor, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW or email it to Mutual.Exchange@BarnetHomes.org.