29.8. A variety of factors can increase the risk of homelessness or make it more difficult for someone to secure a new home. These include low or unstable income, unemployment, poor physical or mental health, substance or alcohol misuse, relationship breakdown, or a combination of these challenges.

30.1. The legal framework for homelessness is primarily set out in Part 7 of The Housing Act 1996, which establishes duties on local councils to prevent homelessness and support households who are homeless or at risk.

30.2. The Homelessness Act 2002 built upon this by promoting a more strategic approach to tackling homelessness and expanding the definition of “priority need” to include additional vulnerable groups. The Homeless (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002 further broadened eligibility for housing assistance.

30.3. ‘A National Plan to End Homelessness’ 2025 this is the government’s comprehensive strategy to prevent homelessness wherever possible, improve support for people who do become homeless, and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping and unsuitable temporary accommodation. It sets out national targets, a cross-government approach, and actions over the short, medium and long term to transform how homelessness is prevented and responded to across England

30.4. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 introduced significant reforms, placing new responsibilities on local councils to intervene earlier. It extended the prevention duty to start up to 56 days before a household is likely to become homeless and introduced a 56-day relief duty once homelessness occurs, regardless of priority need status.