On 9 July 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) was renamed the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). We refer to DLUHC throughout this report, as that was the name in use at the time of our fieldwork.

Jump to downloads

Background to the report 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) has policy responsibility for tackling homelessness and leads on implementing homelessness policies across government. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 defines someone as ‘homeless’ if there is no accommodation available for them to occupy, or if it is not reasonable for them to continue occupying the accommodation they have.  

DLUHC also distributes homelessness funding to local authorities, who have statutory duties to assist people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. In 2022-23, local authorities spent £2.44 billion on delivering homelessness services. Prior to 2018, their key duty was to provide temporary accommodation to homeless households considered to be in priority need and therefore entitled to it in law. However, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA 2017), which came into force in April 2018, extended local authorities’ statutory duties, which now cover the following: 

  • Prevention duty: Taking reasonable steps to prevent homelessness 
  • Relief duty: Taking reasonable steps to relieve homelessness 
  • Main duty: Providing temporary accommodation, which can be shared or self-contained, and for many households entails living in a single room

Not having a secure home significantly affects individuals’ quality of life and imposes strain on public services, both in the short and long term. 

Scope of the report 

This report follows on from our last report on homelessness in 2017 – around six months before Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) 2017 came into force.  

We are returning to this topic now that the HRA 2017 changes have had time to take effect. We assess value for money in terms of whether DLUHC is working with government departments and local authorities in a way that maximises government’s ability to tackle homelessness. Specifically, we look to establish whether DLUHC: has a good understanding of the nature of homelessness; is delivering appropriate system leadership; and supports local authorities well. 

  • Part One sets out the main trends and patterns in homelessness 
  • Part Two examines how well DLUHC is executing its policy responsibility for tackling homelessness and leading on implementing it across government 
  • Part Three assesses whether DLUHC is supporting local authorities to deliver their statutory duties efficiently and effectively 

Video summary

Report director Vicky Davis gives an overview of our findings.

Conclusion 

Homelessness is a highly complex issue affected by a wide range of social and economic factors, and by government policy in areas such as housing, welfare and asylum. Statutory homelessness has increased significantly in recent years, meaning that more people are finding themselves either with no stable place to live or in temporary accommodation provided by their local authority.

Providing temporary accommodation alone cost local authorities over £1.6 billion in 2022-23, but it varies in quality and there are gaps in regulation, while some of it – such as B&Bs being used for households with children – is unsuitable. Dealing with homelessness is creating unsustainable financial pressure for some local authorities.  

The situation has worsened since we last examined the issue in 2017. Despite the introduction of HRA 2017, homelessness numbers are at a record level and expected to increase. While DLUHC has developed much better homelessness data and stronger links with local authorities, the government still has no strategy or public targets for reducing statutory homelessness, and DLUHC is falling behind on key programmes to improve housing supply. Funding remains fragmented and generally short-term, inhibiting homelessness prevention work and limiting investment in good-quality temporary accommodation or other forms of housing.

Until these factors are addressed across government, DLUHC will not be able to demonstrate that it is delivering optimal value for money from its efforts to tackle homelessness. 

Downloads

Publication details

Latest reports