Duties to Refer

Duty to refer

The following areas now have a duty to refer their clients to a council if they’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless:

  • prisons
  • youth offender institutions
  • secure training centres
  • secure colleges
  • youth offending teams
  • probation and CRC services
  • Jobcentre Plus
  • social services
  • emergency departments
  • urgent treatment centres
  • hospitals in their function of providing inpatient care
  • regular armed forces

How do I make a referral?

If you work for a public body and are working with someone who is homeless or threatened with homelessness, then please use the ALERT system to notify us.

You can register for your free ALERT account as a specified public body or wider agency.

If possible, fully complete the referral. As a minimum, we'll need contact details of the household being referred along with their signed consent and the reason for the referral.

Please note:

  • you must have consent from the client to make a referral
  • you must allow the client to identify the council they would like the notification to be sent to
  • you must have consent from the client that their contact details can be shared with the chosen council

What happens next?

We will make contact with the customer within 10 working days.

If they appear to be eligible and homeless or threatened with homelessness, we will invite them to make an application.

For urgent cases, we will make contact the same day.

Is the referral a homeless application?

The referral is not a homeless application.

One will be made if, when we contact the client, we have reason to believe:

  • they are eligible and homeless
  • threatened with homelessness

and the client agrees they would like help.

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