What We Do

What we do

Established in 1965, we give clients the knowledge and support they need to find safe, secure homes; avoid or escape homelessness; and find long-term stability.
 
We work with clients for as long as it takes to achieve the best possible outcomes for them. We offer:
  • Specialist advice
  • Practical support
  • Legal advocacy
We have a strong focus on areas of high socio-economic deprivation.
 
Outreach work – we’ve built strong partnerships with other local agencies, delivering support in locations around Bristol to reach communities that are overlooked by mainstream services.
 
We also influence local housing policy, ensuring the voices of those bearing the brunt of the housing crisis are heard at citywide policy debates. 
3 photos: One is of a young child playing with toy blocks. Another is an older man sat in his living room, smiling at the camera. The other one is a block of terrace houses.

How we work

We provide:

  • Brief advice – an adviser may be able to help resolve an issue fairly quickly via our helpline.
  • Long-term casework – for clients with more complex cases or extra vulnerabilities, we’ll support them for longer – several months or even years.

The most common issue we support clients with is homelessness. This could be in the form of rough sleeping, sofa-surfing, or living in a hostel, B&B, night shelter, or temporary accommodation.

Other clients may be struggling because of overcrowding, disrepair, eviction threats, landlord disputes, domestic abuse, race-based hate crime, and more.

Our clients

Many of our clients face extra hurdles when it comes to accessing good quality housing and housing support, for example financial struggles, discrimination, language barriers, and health issues.

A graphic of a man holding hands with a young child. There a circle around the image shows the percentage.

47% are parents or carers of dependent children.

A graphic of a piece of paper with a checklist on it. There a circle around the image shows the percentage.

92% fully or partially rely on benefits. 

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31% speak English as a second language.

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65% are from a minoritised ethnic group.

A graphic of a woman sat on the floor with her head in her arms. There is a circle around the graphic which shows the percentage.

51% have a mental health condition.

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49% have a physical disability or health condition.

Housing and immigration

Housing Matters has now registered with the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). This means we can now give Level 1 immigration advice to clients whose immigration status is affecting their housing situation.

Who we can help

We may be able to help you if your housing situation is being affected by the following immigration issues:

  • You have no recourse to public funds (when you are unable to claim welfare benefits because of your immigration status);
  • You are ineligible for homelessness assistance (when a local authority will not provide temporary accommodation because of your immigration status).
Logo for the Office of Immigration Services Commissioner. It's a blue globe with a tick over the top of it.

Our quality of service

At Housing Matters we work hard to ensure that we can provide free, independent, and confidential advice to every person we work with. 

We treat everyone with fairness and respect (learn more about our values here)

We hold the Advice Quality Standard and are independently audited every two years to ensure our quality of service.

To find out more about the kind of service you can expect from Housing Matters, please download our client care leaflet.

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