Fresource Friday: A guide to the new homelessness duties

If so, download this free guide.

It aims to provide practical guidance on the duties councils will owe homeless people once the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 comes into force.

There a chapter for each homelessness duty. Each chapter sets out:

• when the duty is owed;
• what councils must do when performing the duty; and
• when councils can end the duty.

Why?

I wrote a guide when helping a Welsh council prepare for similar changes in 2015. Initially I just needed an aide-mémoir to help me get my head around the new legislation.

I quickly realised though that having basic information to hand about when duties start and end is a godsend if you're:

• identifying the case management options at each stage of the new process
• designing (or procuring) software workflow
• drafting forms and letters
• deciding when written notifications for applicants can be combined (this one is worth thinking about, as there are many occasions when applicants must be notified).
• writing homelessness procedures

You're in danger of chasing your tail if you attempt these tasks without having a quick way of checking the statutory requirements.

I know that many have found the NPSS flowchart very useful. The guide aims to provide some meat on the bones.

Feel free to let me know what you think of the guide. I should also thank Rother District Council for funding it.

Updates

I'll be updating the guide over the weekend so it includes hyperlinks. It might also be updated subsequently, so it's worth checking the page in the Resources section.

Need help with preparing for the Act?

Now that the Minister has confirmed that implementation will take place in April there's a lot of work to do to get ready in time!

If you manage a statutory homelessness service and need help with preparing for the Act drop me a line.