Duty to refer: how public bodies must help homeless people

The duty to refer is a legal requirement that certain public bodies must notify the local council when they come into contact with someone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. You will find out what the duty to refer means, which organisations are covered, and what happens when a referral is made.

Key facts

• Government figures show 42,640 households in England were owed a relief duty after being assessed as homeless in October to December 2025. Statutory homelessness in England, GOV.UK
• A further 33,630 households were owed a prevention duty after being assessed as threatened with homelessness in the same quarter. Statutory homelessness in England, GOV.UK

What is the duty to refer?

The duty to refer was introduced by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and came into force in October 2018. It requires specified public bodies in England, when they encounter someone they believe to be homeless or threatened with homelessness, to ask that person if they would like to be referred to the local housing authority (the council), and to make a referral if the person agrees.

The duty applies regardless of whether the person approaches the public body specifically for housing help. If a nurse, a prison officer, or a job centre worker realises someone is homeless, the duty to refer kicks in.

Which organisations are required to refer?

The public bodies subject to the duty to refer include:

• Social services, local authority children's and adult social care teams
• Jobcentre Plus, staff working with people claiming Universal Credit or other benefits
• Prisons, on release of a prisoner
• Youth offending teams
• Secure children's homes and young offender institutions
• NHS hospitals, including accident and emergency departments, inpatient ward staff, and community health services
• GPs and other primary care
• Domestic violence services commissioned by local authorities

What does a referral involve?

When a relevant organisation identifies someone who appears to be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days, they must:

1. Tell the person that a referral can be made to the council
2. Ask for consent to make the referral, the person must agree
3. If the person agrees, submit a referral to the council that includes basic information including the person's name, contact details, and why the referral is being made

The referral should be made to the housing authority for the area where the person is located, or the area where they want to live.

What happens after the referral?

Once the council receives a referral, it should contact the person to assess their situation and begin the homelessness assistance process. The referral does not guarantee a council tenancy or any particular form of housing, the council must still carry out its own assessment.

However, the duty to refer ensures that people who might not know how to access housing support are actively connected with it at a point when a professional has already identified a risk.

What if an organisation fails to make a referral?

If a public body covered by the duty fails to ask about a referral, or fails to make one when someone has consented, this may be a failure to comply with legal duties. You can raise this with the organisation's management, and potentially complain to the relevant regulator or the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if a council is involved.

Does the duty to refer help if I have been in a home with disrepair?

If you have left or been forced to leave a privately rented home because of serious disrepair, conditions that made the property uninhabitable, the duty to refer means that any professional you come into contact with should help connect you with housing support.

Separately, if you left a property because of disrepair, this may be relevant to a homelessness assessment, leaving accommodation because it was unreasonable to continue living there may mean you are not found intentionally homeless.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If you are in a privately rented home with disrepair and your landlord is not fixing it, call us. We can help with a housing disrepair claim regardless of your wider housing situation.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1996, Part 7 (homelessness) (legislation.gov.uk)