Homelessness Duty to Refer

This page is for Public Authorities wishing to make statutory referrals as required under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017

We will also accept referals from other organisations who through their work become aware of households who they believe may be homeless or at risk of becoming homelessness.

Referrals should be made through our online form

Please provide as much information as possible about the household and the circumstances and please provide your contact details so your referral can be followed up.

Please note that this form is not for individuals to self-refer into the Council's Housing Advice service. Information for individuals can be found on our main homelessness page.

What is the duty to refer?

Certain named public bodies 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 following services are required to refer service users they consider may be homeless or at risk:

• Prisons (public and private);
• Youth offender institutions;
• Secure training centres;
• Secure colleges;
• Youth offending teams;
• Probation services (community rehabilitation companies and national probation service);
• Jobcentre Plus;
• Accident and emergency services provided in a hospital;
• Urgent treatment centresHospitals in their capacity of providing in-patient treatment
• Social service authorities.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-duty-to-refer

Complete a referral

Complete our online form to refer someone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness within 56 days

Once completed we will contact the household to assess their circumstances. We may also contact the person referring if we need further information.

You can also call the Housing Advice Team during office hours on 0800 952 0079.