You may continue to live with your family when you are an adult until it’s the right time for you to move.  

You can still become more independent whilst living with your family.   

It usually much cheaper for you to live at home with your family. You will need to agree with your family what things you will pay for yourself.

Renting a home is when you pay the person or organisation who owns the building so that you can live there. 

These are some words to do with renting somewhere to live. 

Landlord – the person or organisation who owns the building 

Rent – the money you pay to the Landlord so that you can live there 

Tenancy agreement – a written agreement that says how much rent you have to pay, how long you can live there and what the landlord and you are responsible for 

Deposit – Money that you have to pay the landlord before you move in. They will give it back to you when you move out if you have looked after where you live and kept it clean 

What is Social Housing? 

• Homes that are owned and managed by a Registered Social Landlord (sometimes called a housing association) or a Council. 

• Usually housing benefit covers the rent but not always 

• Long term tenancies which means you can live there a long time if you want to 

• Repairs and maintenance of the house is covered in the rent 

• There may be some support to help manage your tenancy 

• There are all different types of homes including flats, and houses 

In Peterborough the city council is responsible for Social Housing. 

Peterborough City Councils Housing Needs Team provide free, confidential housing advice. You can phone them on 01733 864 064. 

If you want to live in Social Housing you will need to go on the housing register. This is a list of everyone who is waiting for social housing. 

Applying for Social Housing 

• You need to apply to go on the housing register by filling in an online form.  This is called Jigsaw 

• You will need to provide information including your National Insurance Number, details of your income, your addresses for the last 5 years, proof of who you are (ID) and evidence of any disability or health needs you have.
  

• If you are accepted on to the housing register your name will go on to the housing waiting list. 

• Every week homes that are available in Peterborough are advertised on Jigsaw and you can say if you are interested in any of them. This is called bidding.  

• You will only be able to see homes that are available once your name is on the housing register.
  

• You can ask the housing team to bid for you.  This is called Autobid. 

• There are lots of people who are interested in each home.

• Homes are offered to people depending on need and how long they have been waiting. 

• If you get offered a home you will need to go and look at it quickly and decide if it suits you. 

Help to Complete the Homelink Application 

• You can ask a family member or someone you trust to help you fill in the form.

• You can phone the housing team on 01733 864 064. They can help you over the phone or arrange a time for you to visit them in the Town Hall. 

• P3 is a local charity that offers advice about housing including help with completing applications.  You can phone them on 0808 169 8099.  It’s a free phone call. 

You can choose to rent a home that is owned and looked after by a Private Landlord. 

The rents might be higher than social housing.   

The tenancy, which says how long you can live there, are offered on a short term basis, but can often be renewed and many people live in the same home for a long time. 

There are letting agents who can help people find a home to rent. 

Most private landlords will ask you for a ‘deposit’ and ‘rent in advance’.  

You will have to show that you have enough money to pay the rent or have someone who agrees that they will pay the rent if you can’t.  This is called a ‘guarantor’.  For young people this is often a parent but it does not have to be. 

Supported Housing is when there is some support where you are living. This can be somewhere with someone there all the time to support you, with someone to support you during the day or someone who visits you when you need it.

Some supported housing is for people to share.  People will always have their own bedroom but may have to share other parts of the home such as a kitchen or lounge. 

Access to supported accommodation will depend on the needs of the person and whether they meet the eligibility criteria for the service.  

There will be an assessment to help decide the amount of support they need. 

Supported accommodation is usually for a short time with the aim of helping people to move on to more independent living.  

The amount of rent in supported housing will be much higher than the rent in general housing. This isbecause the cost of providing this type of accommodation. 

You can talk to your social worker, key worker or someone at school or college about Supported Housing and they will be able to refer you. 

Support with housing for young people in care or care leavers 

If you are in care, you can find out more information about living independently on the Local Offer for Care Leavers.or talk to your personal advisor. 

Homelessness is when you have nowhere to live today or will become homeless in the next 56 days. 

If you think that you might be at risk of becoming homeless because you can no longer live in the place you are now, or don’t have a place to stay, then you should contact us via the Housing Jigsaw portal as soon as possible for information and advice. We have a duty to help you. 

You can also phone us on 01733 864064. 

We will make an appointment with you. The appointment can be at our office in Peterborough Town Hall, on the phone or a computer.  

Shelter provides useful advice and guidance and they also have a useful tenancy checker tool to help you work out what kind of tenancy you have so you can understand your legal rights. 

The Shelter website also tells you where you can find advice in your area. 

This resource is designed for partners from education, health and care sectors who are involved in supporting young people to return to their home areas on leaving residential school or college. Home-and-Away.pdf (ndti.org.uk) 

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Housing Guide  

This housing guide sets out a range of housing services available across Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough, with links to help you find out more and get in touch with the right team. 

The guide does NOT provide any kind of advice, it simply gives a picture of housing activities and how you can find out more – usually by providing a link to a partner’s website. 

Some related topics such as help with mental health or finding support through other partners is also included, though not strictly housing functions these may be useful to contact. View the housing guide webpages.