Homelessness: duty to refer
This guidance provides an overview of the duty to refer, which will help public authorities understand how to administer the duty.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
From 1 October 2018 certain named public bodies will have a duty to refer users of their service who they have reason to believe are homeless or threatened with becoming homeless within 56 days, to a local authority of the service users’ choice.
The duty is part of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 which came into force on 3 April 2018.
The guide outlines what the purpose of the duty to refer is, some advice for identifying when someone is threatened with homelessness, and what the procedures are for referring someone to a local authority. It also answers some frequently asked questions.
Referrals under the duty to refer should be made to the local authority indicated by the service user. Use this tool to find the website for your local council.
Updates to this page
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Updated section 5 of duty to refer guidance. Removed 'Local authority duty to refer emails' and replaced with link to 'Help from your council if you’re homeless or at risk of homelessness' tool.
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Added list of local authority duty to refer emails.
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First published.