The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 required local authorities in England and Wales to provide long-term housing to certain homeless groups, primarily families with children and vulnerable adults, when specific conditions were met. The Act created legal obligations for authorities rather than enforceable rights for individuals.
In England, local authorities have duties toward those assessed as statutorily homeless under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. The Homelessness Act 2002 then required every housing authority to develop a homelessness strategy and extend priority need status to homeless 16–17-year-olds, and people vulnerable due to time in care, the armed forces, prison, or fleeing violence.
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 added two major new duties: a duty to prevent homelessness for those threatened within 56 days, and a duty to relieve homelessness for those already homeless.
Local authorities in England are not obliged to house everyone who is experiencing or at risk of homelessness. They are required to take action depending on the circumstances of each case.
The Five Criteria for Statutorily Homeless Are:
- Is the applicant homeless or threatened with homelessness?
- Is the applicant eligible for assistance? (Some people who have lived abroad for too many years are no longer eligible).
- Is the applicant priority need? (For example, are they pregnant or homeless due to a fire or flood? Disabled or fleeing violence?)
- Is the applicant intentionally homeless?
- Does the applicant have a local connection? (Does the local council assessing the person have a responsibility to them, or are they the responsibility of a different area?)
Criteria such as these exist so that governing bodies/authorities can prioritize limited funds for those who are in the greatest need or those who they deem most deserving of assistance. Similar systems for assessment and prioritization exist in the U.S. Advocates work to encourage governments to allocate as much funding as possible to homelessness prevention and response.
With a legal mandate on one side, but limited resources on the other, some local Councils, charitable organizations, and police have enacted policies to deter homeless people. These actions include physically altering places where people sleep, like small spikes on sidewalks, and monetary fines for sleeping outside.
Advocates in the U.K., U.S., and other countries refer to tactics such as this as “criminalizing homelessness.” Rather than helping people, the solution in these cases is shooing them away, or forcing them out.
Help those experiencing homelessness by advocating for increased resources for communities to respond to and prevent homelessness. You should also advocate for policies that treat people with respect, rather than those that make life harder for people experiencing homelessness to sleep, rest, and be members of their community.
