For doctors, social prescribers and charities
Free resources for professionals who help tenants in unsafe housing. How to refer, what we need, ready-to-send messages, and free leaflets for your service.
Guides in this topic
40 plain-English guides. 3 to 5 minute reads, no jargon, free to use.
How to refer a patient or client to Support for Tenants
If you work with tenants in unsafe housing, here is how to refer them to us. Three ways, no follow-up needed from your side.
Read · 1 min
Signs of housing disrepair: a quick checklist for professionals
A short checklist for spotting housing disrepair in your patients or service users, with what to do next. Free to use with anyone you support.
Read · 1 min
A short message you can send your patient or client
Ready-to-paste text and email messages you can send a tenant about Support for Tenants, in plain English.
Read · 1 min
Consent and confidentiality when referring to us
What we need from you and your patient when you make a referral, and how we treat their information. FCA regulated and ICO registered.
Read · 1 min
Order free leaflets and posters for your service
Free leaflets and posters for your waiting room or community space. Tell tenants where to go for help with damp, mould or unsafe repairs.
Read · 1 min
Social prescribing link workers: how to refer a patient with housing disrepair
This guide is for social prescribers, link workers, and health and wellbeing coaches who are supporting patients or clients in poor housing. It explains what
Read · 3 min
Social worker guide to housing disrepair referrals
Social workers often visit clients living in some of the worst housing conditions in the country. Recognising disrepair, understanding when a referral can
Read · 4 min
Writing a medical evidence letter to support a housing disrepair claim
If you are a doctor, nurse specialist, occupational therapist, or other healthcare professional whose patient is living in a property with disrepair, a
Read · 3 min
Occupational therapist guide to housing disrepair referrals
Occupational therapists regularly visit people in their homes and are well placed to identify housing conditions that are affecting their clients' health,
Read · 4 min
For health visitors: referring families in housing disrepair
Health visitors regularly see families living in damp, cold, overcrowded and dangerous housing. You are often the first professional to witness conditions
Read · 4 min
For school nurses: referring children and families in housing disrepair
School nurses have a unique vantage point. You see children across many years of their development, you have access to health records that document patterns
Read · 4 min
For doctors in general practice: referring patients in housing disrepair
Doctors working in general practice see the health consequences of poor housing every day, chest infections that clear up and return, asthma that does not
Read · 4 min
For paramedics and ambulance crews: referring patients in housing disrepair
Paramedics and ambulance crews enter people's homes in situations that no other health professional sees: sudden illness, falls, mental health crises,
Read · 3 min
Respiratory nurse guide: referring patients to Support for Tenants
If you are a respiratory nurse, COPD specialist nurse, or asthma nurse and you have patients whose conditions are made worse by damp, mould, cold, or poor
Read · 3 min
Hospital discharge teams: referring patients with housing disrepair
When a patient is being discharged from hospital, the condition of their home is one of the most critical factors in whether they will remain well. For
Read · 3 min
Mental health nurses: spotting and referring housing disrepair
Mental health nurses and community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) visit patients at home and are often among the first professionals to observe the conditions in
Read · 3 min
Housing referrals for domestic abuse advocates: a guide
Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs), Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), and other domestic abuse advocates often work with clients who
Read · 2 min
Pharmacist housing referral: a guide for community pharmacy professionals
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in community settings have regular contact with patients from a wide range of backgrounds, including many who
Read · 3 min
District nurse housing referral: a guide for community nursing professionals
District nurses and community nurses visit patients in their homes and are uniquely placed to observe housing conditions that may be affecting patient
Read · 3 min
Physiotherapist housing referrals: a guide for practitioners
Physiotherapists regularly see patients whose recovery and wellbeing is affected by their housing conditions. Damp and cold homes impair respiratory
Read · 3 min
Children's services housing referral guide
If you work in children's services, social care, or family support, you will regularly work with families whose housing conditions affect the safety and
Read · 3 min
Community midwives: referring patients with housing problems
This guide is for community midwives, student midwives, and maternity support workers who encounter pregnant women and new mothers living in poor housing
Read · 3 min
Adult social care workers: referring clients with housing disrepair problems
Adult social care workers, including social workers, care managers, and support workers employed by or contracted to local authorities, regularly visit
Read · 3 min
Food bank workers: referring clients with housing problems
Food bank staff and volunteers regularly meet people in severe financial hardship, and housing problems are often a part of that picture. Cold, damp, or
Read · 2 min
Debt advisers: recognising and referring housing disrepair cases
If you work as a debt adviser, you will often encounter clients whose financial difficulties are connected to poor housing. Below, we walk through how to
Read · 2 min
Housing lawyer: when to instruct one and what to expect
Many housing problems can be resolved without legal representation. But in some situations, instructing a housing solicitor is important. This guide helps
Read · 2 min
Multi-agency working and housing referrals: a guide for professionals
Professionals working with tenants in poor housing often need to involve more than one agency to resolve the problem. You will find out how multi-agency
Read · 2 min
Housing Health and Safety Rating System: a guide for professionals
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is the framework councils use to assess housing hazards in residential properties. Understanding how it
Read · 3 min
Safeguarding considerations in housing disrepair cases: a guide for professionals
When working with tenants in disrepair cases, practitioners may encounter clients whose circumstances raise safeguarding concerns. This guide is for housing
Read · 3 min
Part 36 offers in housing disrepair claims: a guide for housing professionals
Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provides a formal mechanism for making settlement offers in civil proceedings that carry specific costs
Read · 4 min
Witness statements in housing disrepair claims: a professional guide
Witness evidence is central to most housing disrepair claims. The quality and content of witness statements, from tenants and any supporting witnesses, can
Read · 3 min
The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Cases: a professional guide
The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Cases (the Protocol) governs the steps that tenants and landlords must take before court proceedings are
Read · 4 min
Expert witnesses in housing disrepair cases: a guide for professionals
In housing disrepair litigation, expert witness evidence is central to how courts assess the nature, extent, and cause of defects, and to the quantum of
Read · 4 min
Limitation periods in housing disrepair claims: a guide for professionals
Housing disrepair claims are subject to limitation periods under the Limitation Act 1980. Misidentifying the applicable period, or failing to advise clients
Read · 4 min
Quantum assessment in housing disrepair claims: a professional guide
Establishing liability in a housing disrepair claim is only half the task. Quantifying the claimant's loss, quantum, requires a systematic approach to
Read · 5 min
Disrepair as a defence and counterclaim in possession proceedings: a professional guide
When a landlord brings possession proceedings against a tenant who is also a claimant in a disrepair action, or who has an arguable disrepair claim, the two
Read · 5 min
Schedule of works in housing disrepair claims: a guide for housing professionals
A schedule of works, sometimes called a Scott Schedule or a schedule of dilapidations in a disrepair context, is a structured document listing all defects in
Read · 4 min
County court procedure in housing disrepair claims: a guide for housing professionals
Housing disrepair claims in the county court follow a structured procedural framework. This guide sets out the key procedural stages, from issue of
Read · 4 min
Instructing a building surveyor in a housing disrepair case
A building surveyor's report is one of the most important pieces of technical evidence in a housing disrepair claim. This guide is for legal professionals
Read · 4 min
Single Joint Experts in housing disrepair: a guide for professionals
In housing disrepair litigation, the court will usually require expert evidence on the technical issues, the existence, cause, extent, and cost of
Read · 4 min
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