The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It amends the
Housing Act 1996
The Housing Act 1996 (c. 52) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Part VI of the act concerns permanent allocation of housing, while Part VII concerns the duties that a local authority has towards homeless people and when these duties ...
.
The Act started as a
private member's bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
introduced by Conservative member of Parliament for Harrow East
Bob Blackman
Robert John Blackman Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP (born 26 April 1956) is a British politician who has been the chairman of the 1922 Committee and chair of the Backbench Business Committee since 2024. A member of the Conservative ...
.
Blackman was drawn second in the 2016 annual Parliamentary ballot for a private member's bill and put together the bill in partnership with national homelessness charity,
Crisis
A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
.
It was the first private member's bill to be supported by a select committee.
After receiving government support at second reading, it passed through all stages in Parliament unopposed in both Houses and received
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
on 27 April 2017, 40 years after the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 received royal assent.
Provisions
The act places a duty on local authorities to give individuals at risk of homelessness a "personalised housing plan".
Unlike Scotland, the legislation does not guarantee homeless people housing.
Implementation
The act came into force in April 2018 and councils were allocated in order to implement its provisions.
The act has been described as the most "expensive" private member's bill in terms of implementation costs.
See also
*
Homelessness in England
In England, local authorities have duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person must overcome in order to qualify as statutory homel ...
References
External links
Homelessness Reduction Bill 2016-17
Homelessness and law
Homelessness in England
Housing legislation in the United Kingdom
{{UK-law-stub