For other public services: Duty to Refer
Please note that Duty to refer only applies to professionals with Duty to Defer access.
The Duty to Refer came into force in October 2018.
There is a duty on public bodies to make a referral to the Local Authorities housing and homelessness team when they become aware that an individual or household is homeless or threatened with becoming homeless within 56 days.
The Duty to Refer only applies to public authorities in England and individuals can only be referred to housing authorities in England.
The public bodies Referrals can be made to local supported housing providers:
- Prisons
- Youth Offender Institutions
- Secure Training Centres
- Secure Colleges
- Youth Offending teams
- Probation Services (including Community Rehabilitation Companies)
- Job Centre Plus
- Social Services
- Emergency Departments
- Urgent Treatment Centres
- Hospitals in their function of providing inpatient care
If you are one of the above agencies please go to live.housingjigsaw.co.uk/alert/duty-to-refer
What do i need to know?
You can refer any customer or service user you've identified as being either
- Homeless or threatened with homelessness
- The customer or service user must give their consent to be referred. The individual can choose which local authority they wish to be referred to, so ask them where they would like the referral to be sent
- If in any doubt, or if your customer or service user needs urgent housing assistance, please contact Housing Solutions on 01522 873 777