Equity is the difference between the value of your house and the value of your mortgage and any secured loan. To work out the amount of equity in your property you will need to know how much your house is worth and how much you have to pay back on any debts secured against it. For example, if your house is worth £100,000 and you have a mortgage of £50,000 and a secured loan of £10,000 you will have £40,000 in equity.

A mortgage shortfall occurs when a house is sold and there is not enough money from the sale to pay back the mortgage and any secured loans. For example, if you have a mortgage of £100,000 and sell your house for £95,000 you will have a mortgage shortfall of £5,000. This will become an unsecured loan. Your lender will expect you to come to an arrangement to pay this back.

If your house goes down in value so it is worth less than your outstanding mortgage you will be in negative equity. If you sold the house you would not be able to pay the whole mortgage back and would have a mortgage shortfall

Most people can apply for a council house but there will be a waiting list. Council houses are allocated on a points system. How long you wait to be given a house will depend on how many points you have. The council will give a higher priority to vulnerable people, people with children and people who are homeless.

If the council thinks you have made yourself intentionally homeless you may not be able to apply for a council house.