Check whether to refer someone to a local authority

Find out if a public organisation has a duty to refer someone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness to a local authority.

What is the duty to refer?

Some public organisations have a duty to refer a person they work with who they think might be homeless or threatened with homelessness to a local housing authority. The person must give consent, and can choose which authority to be referred to.

Who needs to make a referral?

Public organisations that have a duty to make a referral are:

• social services

• jobcentre plus

• prisons and probation services

• secure training centres and colleges

• youth offender institutions and youth offending teams

• accident and emergency services provided in a hospital

• urgent treatment centres, and hospitals when providing in-patient treatment
  

• the Ministry of Defence in relation to members of the regular armed forces

Someone working for another public organisation can still make a referral.

How to make a referral

Many local authorities have their own form or process for accepting referrals. This information should be available on their website.

Your organisation might have a process for making a referral to a particular local authority.

GOV.UK has a list of local authority email addresses for making a referral.

There is a standard form you can use to make the referral if the local authority does not have its own.

Check if a person is legally homeless or threatened with homelessness

Use our interactive tool to find out:

• if someone is legally homeless or threatened with homelessness

• what the local authority must do on receiving a referral or a homeless application

The tool takes about two minutes to complete. Answers are for guidance only and assume that the person in need of help has no suitable alternative accommodation elsewhere.