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Duty to refer

Certain public organisations have a legal duty to refer individuals to their local council if they believe the individual is:

  • homeless

    or

  • at risk of homelessness (likely to become homeless within 56 days)

This is a Duty to Refer - it helps us work together to prevent homelessness as early as possible.

Organisations

The following organisations need to make these referrals using the ALERT service: 

  • social services (adult and children)
  • NHS - accident and emergency departments, urgent treatment centres (walk in centres) and hospitals (when they provide in-patient care)
  • Job Centre Plus
  • prisons (public and private)
  • probation services (including community rehabilitation companies)
  • youth offender institutions and teams
  • secure colleges and training centres
  • The Secretary of State for Defence - in relation to members of Royal Navy, Royal Marine, Army (Regular) and Royal Air Force

These organisations can use ALERT, but they find it more convenient to contact us directly using the details below:

  • schools
  • housing associations, private landlords and estate agents
  • charities and voluntary sector organisations
  • support services
  • faith-based organisations
  • community groups

Notify

Make sure you:

  • get consent from the individual
  • allow them to choose which council they want to be referred to (make sure that the right one is selected)
  • confirm they agree to share their contact details so we can get in touch

You will need details of the individual or household and their preferred contact method. We'll need to know about their current housing situation and any known support needs.

Homeless applications

A referral doesn't replace a homelessness application. If the person wants to apply directly for help, they should contact our Housing Advice and Options team by:

Refer

You can complete the referral while the person is present - but if that isn’t possible, you can still submit the form using the information you have available.

We know that some agencies may not have an ongoing relationship with the individual but providing as much detail as possible will help us deliver the right support.

Make a referral

Next

The referral will be screened by our Housing Advice and Options team. You will receive an email to let you know how we will proceed.

The individual referred will then be contacted in line with our triage process which helps us to ensure that we prioritise the most urgent cases.

Last updated 03 December 2025