Accessibility Skip to main content

Leaving prison

If you have just left prison, find out what support is available and how we can help.

You could find that your criminal record makes it hard to find somewhere to live when you leave prison. We can help you if you are:

  • Homeless after leaving prison?
  • Due to leave prison and face being homeless?

What happens next

Duty to Refer

The prison service must tell us if someone leaving prison will have no home. This helps us know who might be homeless. We can then help them find a place to live. We will make a plan with them and connect them with support services. This way, they can settle back into the community.

This may include:

  • talking to organisations that help ex-offenders
  • looking for suitable private rented accommodation

Finding somewhere to live

We will look at how we can support you in the private rented accommodation. This could be with the help of discretionary housing payments. You can use this for rent in advance and a deposit.

What to bring to your appointment

We will need to check if we can help you. If we book an appointment for you please bring either:

  • a valid passport
  • a full birth certificate
  • valid immigration documents

You will also need to bring a risk assessment from your probation officer if you have one.

Upload documents for your housing appointment

More help for prison leavers facing homelessness

There are several resources available in Torbay to help prison leavers facing homelessness:

Other organisations

If you need more help, contacting us or any of these organisations would be a good next step.