From 3 April 2018, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 came into force. The act puts a legal duty on councils to offer more support to a wider range of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness - and to intervene earlier.
Key legal duties for Councils
The new legal duties mean the council must:
- Provide advice and carry out prevention work, so that where possible, people can be supported to remain in their current home;
- Offer everyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness access to meaningful help, irrespective of their priority need status, as long as they are eligible for assistance; and,
- Carry out prevention and relief work for anyone threatened with homelessness within 56 days (up from the previous 28 days)
Further information
The Government has produced helpful fact sheets that explain these changes in more detail. Additionally, the code of guidance outlines what councils like Ipswich Borough Council must do to provide the required homelessness services.