Homelessness Reduction Act Receives Royal Assent

On 27 April, the Homelessness Reduction Bill became an Act of Parliament. The Act places a new duty on local authorities to help prevent the homelessness of all families and single people who are eligible for assistance and threatened with homelessness. Key measures in the Act include:

·         An extension of the period during which an authority should treat someone as threatened with homelessness from 28 to 56 days

·         A new duty to prevent homelessness for all eligible applicants threatened with homelessness, regardless of priority need.

·         A new duty to relieve homelessness for all eligible homeless applicants, regardless of priority need.

·         A new duty on public services to notify a local authority if they come into contact with someone they think may be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Read more on Homeless Link.

New Homelessness Duties Could Cost London Councils Millions

New duties introduced through proposed homelessness laws will cost town halls millions, councils in London have calculated. The Homelessness Reduction Bill would require councils to support more homeless people, such as single people and those likely to become homeless within 56 days. Lewisham Council alone estimates the new duties could cost it £2.38m a year. A spokesperson said it might need 40 additional staff to handle the extra workload, which would include creating personal housing plans for an estimated 2,165 additional people. The new laws would also make it easier for homeless people to appeal council decisions to refuse housing applications. Read more on Inside Housing.

Government Will Intervene If Councils Fail On Homelessness Prevention

The government will intervene with councils which are not meeting their homelessness prevention duties if a new law is passed, the minister responsible for homelessness has revealed. Marcus Jones, the minister with responsibility for homelessness, has confirmed he will write to all councils about their homelessness duties and ask them to come up with a strategy to tackle the problem. He will work with the Local Government Association to come up with the wording for the advice that councils give to people presenting as homeless, including what counts as a suitable and appropriate location for any property offered to the applicant. Read more on Inside Housing.

Youth Homelessness Figure Eight Times Higher Than Government Admits

The full extent of youth homelessness is more than eight times higher than the Government admits, according to a new report. Some 136,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 in England and Wales sought emergency housing in the past year. In stark contrast, only 16,000 young people were officially classed as “statutory homeless” – which would mean councils had a legal duty to house them. Worryingly, some 30,000 of those seeking help were turned away with little if any support. And as many as 90,000 were only offered support such as family mediation, to help them stay at home, or debt advice. This means the vast majority of those going for help are not getting the full assistance they’d be entitled to if they were officially accepted as being homeless. Download the report from the Centrepoint website.

NHS And Prisons 'Must Have Legal Duty to Prevent Homelessness'

Hospitals, prisons and statutory bodies should be given a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, an umbrella body has said. Launching its manifesto in the run-up to the general election, Homeless Link said the government should promote a ‘prevention first’ approach to homelessness and ensure professionals play a role in stopping rough sleeping. It suggested that authorities such as prisons should have a duty placed on them to have ‘due regard’ to the need to prevent homelessness among people leaving prison. Download the manifesto from the Homeless Link website.

Homelessness – Parliamentary Written Answer

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local authorities regarding the circumstances under which they can discharge their homelessness duties into the private rented sector outside (a) their local authority area and (b) their region.

Mr Prisk: [edited reply] The law requires that, as far as reasonably practicable, authorities should place homeless households within their own district. The new homelessness Suitability Order came into force on 9 November 2012. The order, which applies to temporary accommodation and private rented accommodation used to end the homelessness duty, requires councils to consider the impact a change in location would have on households, including disruption to employment, education and caring responsibilities. Under the homelessness legislation, any accommodation used as temporary or settled accommodation (whether in the private or social sector) must be “suitable” for the applicant and his or her household. This includes affordability, size, condition, accessibility and location.

Read the full reply on Hansard.