Langdale area wildfire
You can find the latest information about the wildfire in the Langdale area near Scarborough and Whitby on our Langdale area wildfire page.
If you work for a public authority and suspect someone is homeless, or at risk of homelessness, you can refer them to us.
Duty to refer helps people at risk of becoming homeless. As part of the Homelessness Reduction Act (April 2018), certain organisations must let us know if they suspect someone is homeless, or is at risk of being homeless within 56 days.
Before somebody is referred to us, they must give their consent, and be happy to have their contact details shared with us. They can then choose any housing authority in England to be referred to.
We can take referrals from any agency including:
- prisons
- youth offender institutions
- secure training centres
- secure colleges
- youth offending teams
- probation services, including rehabilitation companies
- Jobcentre Plus
- social service authorities
- emergency departments
- urgent treatment centres
- hospitals in their function of providing in-patient care
Read the guide to the duty to refer on the Government website.
We will work with partner agencies at the earliest opportunity to manage the case.
Making a referral
How to make a referral is different depending on where you are in the county.
Agencies can make referrals in five easy steps:
- Sign up to ALERT on the Housing Jigsaw website.
- Enter the details of your agency.
- Provide details of the household being referred.
- Complete the consent to share declaration.
- Submit the completed form.
Once submitted, the agency will receive confirmation that the referral has been sent, along with a unique referral code. If appropriate, a copy of the referral can also be sent to the customer.
Once a referral has been made, a user account is automatically created. This not only increases efficiency for future referrals but also enables the user to track their referral online and receive regular updates.
The system is available for free, easy to access and use and provides a secure and efficient way to manage referrals.
Identifying when a referral is needed
Staff in public authorities will usually know if someone is sleeping rough or is sofa surfing.
Identifying that a family, couple or individual is threatened with homelessness is less straightforward.
You should ask about the following aspects of their housing circumstances:
- problems with debt, particularly rent or mortgage arrears
- problems with a landlord, for example, being threatened with eviction or served notice to leave
- being a victim of domestic abuse or other forms of violence, threats or intimidation
- approaching discharge from hospital, the armed forces or being released from custody with no accommodation available to them
Which local housing authority to refer to
Service users can choose which local housing authority they are referred to. However, a local authority owes more duties towards homeless applicants who have a local connection with their area.
If a person asks to be referred to a council where they do not have a local connection, it is very likely that they will be referred onto a local authority where they do have a local connection.
In general, a person is likely to have a local connection to an area if they live or have lived there, work there or have a close family connection. However, a service user should not be referred to an area where they would be at risk of violence.
Care leavers aged 18 to 21 will have a local connection with the local authority that looked after them and to any area where they have been placed in accommodation for at least two years, including a period before their 16th birthday.