Key Legislations from the Past
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has been enforced to create measures for managing the problems of homeless within the UK and creates duties for local authorities for helping those individuals who are helpless or may be threatened with helplessness. In 2015, the local housing authorities received 29,250 applications for assistance related to housing under the provisions of the Housing Act 1996. However, only 49% of these applications were accepted (Department for Communities and Local Government, 2016).
Historically, homeless individuals were treated poorly under Poor Law 1601. However, this was abolished by the National Assistance Act 1948 to ensure a more humane treatment was provided to homeless individuals, and so that local authorities would provide temporary accommodation to homeless individuals (Fitzpatrick et al. n.d.). However, such assistance would often focus on helping particular members of the family such as mothers and children leading to the families being split. However, homelessness began escalating in the 1960s when there were housing shortages for individuals resulting from slum clearance programs in the private sector. This created pressure on the government to ensure accommodation could be provided to the rising number of homeless individuals and led to the development of the Housing Act 1977 (Fitzpatrick et al. n.d.). The scope of the current essay is limited to the departure of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 from other historical legislations in the domain, and the likely impact of the legislation.
One of the key acts from the past was the Housing Act 1977 which reflected a major step of the government towards safeguarding the interests of homeless individuals within the UK. This legislation primarily focused on individuals who were homeless as compared to previous laws that were focused on ‘poor’ individuals. poor as compared to previous legislation. It was also one of the first legislation to provide a statutory definition of the terms ‘homeless’ and ‘priority needs’ (Crowson 2013). Most individuals with families were considered to be eligible for housing accommodation needs within the terms of the Act (Crowson 2013). The Act also shifted from the tradition of providing accommodations to individuals based on council house allocations and instead shifted to a system of need recognition. Rather than creating rights for individuals, the Act created duties for the local housing authorities (Crisis n.d.).
When the Housing Act 1996 was enforced, it also resulted in the consolidation of the Housing Act 1977. While the framework of the 1977 Act was maintained, certain aspects such as Part VII of the Act are still valid today (Bevan 2022). Under part VII of the Act, a housing applicant was only owed the main housing duty if he met certain conditions, such as being in priority need, not being intentionally homeless, and being able to show a local connection to the local authority area (Crisis 2016). This was enforced for the purpose of creating legitimacy for individuals who claimed housing assistance under the Act. Individuals who could show they met the criteria were provided a wider range of social services (Crisis 2016). The categories of ‘priority need’ were also expanded upon under this legislation as compared to previous legislation, such as pregnant women, disabled individuals, individuals with old age, etc. (Bevan 2022).
Impact
The Homelessness Act 2002 was enforced to create further reforms within legislation related to social housing and homelessness, including the amendment of the Housing Act 1996. A more strategic approach towards the prevention of homelessness was ensured through the legislation through the creation of a requirement of a housing strategy in every housing district. This was to be done on the basis of regular reviews of the homelessness situations within the district of the authority (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). The priority need list was also further extended to certain other groups, such as 16 and 17-year-old, armed forces, etc. Thus, the eligibility for assistance was increased through the Act and the scope of the duties owed to homeless persons was also broadened through the legislation (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). The Act also reestablished a link between the acceptance of an individual as a homeless person and the individual being put into the priority section of housing waiting lists (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022).
The Localism Act 2011 created amendments within part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and raised the agency of the local housing authorities in relation to tenure security rules and social housing eligibility. Local authorities could also offer accommodation in the private sector. Prior to the legislation, applicants could refuse the offer of private rental accommodations unless they were within the category of a ‘restricted case’ (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). The legislation amended this but did not take into account how vulnerable tenants that may struggle in the management of a private sector tenancy would be impacted. The challenge with the new provisions was that an increasing localization of housing and social welfare would make those vulnerable individuals that had been mobile between various local authorities ineligible for assistance (Fitzpatrick et al. 2020). Locally determined assistance with variable levels was introduced and favored through the provisions which reflected a shift from a national level entitlement-based legislation system. This has created the chances of horizontal inequity, wherein, individuals in similar circumstances may receive different treatments (Fitzpatrick et al. 2020).
The Homelessness Act 2017 was based on the research of experts on Crisis and issues such as lack of meaningful advice to homeless persons, being helped only when the crisis began, and prevention work by local authorities that was not covered by the legal framework was recognized by the experts (Haringey 2019). was a significant reformation of previous legislations as duties were created for local authorities to intervene at earlier stages of individuals being threatened by homelessness so that homelessness can be prevented in the area (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). It also created the need for housing authorities to extend their services to all those groups that were impacted by homelessness and not just to the groups that had priority needs (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). This was a shift from previous legislations because those legislations had laid an extensive focus on individuals with priority needs. The prevention duty of housing authorities was enhanced with the extension of the period of a household being threatened by homelessness to 56 days (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities 2022). Thus, the legislation created new duties for housing authorities that would help ensure homelessness could be prevented at earlier stages and also helped ensure that reasonable steps were taken for all eligible applicants rather than simply focusing on applicants with priority needs.
The purpose of the Act has been to ensure meaningful advice to homeless persons could be provided by housing authorities, efforts for preventing homelessness by housing authorities could be increased, single homeless persons could also be provided support and services could be joined for providing enhanced support to individuals (Haringey 2019).
One of the primary themes of the legislation has been to help ensure prevention measures for homelessness could be enhanced. This is reflected in section 2(1)(a) of the Act which creates a duty for local housing authorities to provide free of charge advice to individuals regarding the prevention of homelessness (Bevan 2022). The doubling of the time period for individuals at risk of becoming homeless ensures relevant assistance by housing authorities is provided during the prevention stage and thus individuals can be stopped from becoming homeless in the future (Bevan 2022). The Act also extends the duties of the local housing authorities in terms of providing free advisory services to individuals regardless of any economic conditions (Bevan 2022). This implies that individuals can seek solutions to their potential homelessness problems on an independent level and thus help themselves before reaching a point of homelessness. Vulnerable groups, such as those who have experienced domestic violence, would particularly be impacted by such free advisory services positively. Therefore, the Act enables the government to lay a broader focus on early intervention efforts. Due to such efforts, the Act is likely to impact the root causes of homelessness, rather than simply providing assistance to individuals after they have become homeless. The work for a personalized housing plan for eligible applicants also reflects that the needs of individuals can be addressed more appropriately due to the enforcement of the legislation. The broadened definition of ‘threatened with homelessness’ also increases the range of groups that the authorities have an obligation to assist. The Act is likely to have a greater social impact as compared to previous legislation as it focuses on meeting a range of needs of both homeless persons and those individuals that are threatened by homelessness (Bevan 2022). The Act is a shift from minimalist discourses and helps provide assistance to a range of groups requiring any form of housing assistance. Thus, the Act will help ensure that enhanced assistance to individuals who are homeless or threatened by it is provided. A survey indicates that the Act has helped provide enhanced services to individuals who would have received limited support under previous legislation (UK Government 2020). The survey further indicated that the Act has helped provide support to the relevant groups at an earlier stage and for a longer period of time. A ‘culture of prevention’ has also been encouraged through the efforts of the local authorities under the legislation (UK Government 2020). The Act has also led to a rise in temporary accommodation and a lot of single homeless persons have been provided with such arrangements (UK Government 2020).
As per research, prevention efforts are crucial for decreasing the degree of homelessness within the nation (Dej et al. 2020). The funding and finances required under the Act have been higher than before (UK Government 2020). However, the long-term costs incurred for social housing purposes are likely to decrease as a result of prevention efforts. Prevention efforts can also help in the upliftment of socially vulnerable groups. As per statistics, women have been found to constitute a larger percentage of the homeless population throughout Europe including the UK (Baptista and Marlier 2019). However, the prevention strategies enforced under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 can help in the upliftment and empowerment of such groups by providing them with the required assistance and advice on time before they become homeless. Though the new Act has laid a focus on preventing homelessness amongst young individuals, research has indicated that homelessness is more common amongst the active age adult population (Baptista and Marlier 2019). Thus, an equal impact on all vulnerable groups may not be found through the implementation of the Act. A lack of prevention efforts also tends to lead to high social costs for the government in the later years (Baptista and Marlier 2019). Accordingly, the social costs of the Government may decrease, while the economic conditions in the UK may improve as homeless persons are assisted towards becoming self-sufficient (Baptista and Marlier 2019). A number of vulnerable groups, such as those that are not from the UK may also be forced to sleep rough due to a lack of financial and social assistance (Mungos n.d.). However, certain provisions within the Act, such as the provision for free advice from local authorities may be beneficial for such groups.
Conclusion
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 is a major development in the efforts of the UK Government to prevent homelessness and ensure the state of homelessness decreases within the UK. The Act is a deviation from previous legislation because previous legislation did not lay a focus on prevention and early intervention strategies. Accordingly, the Act is bound to have a positive impact on vulnerable groups and individuals threatened by homelessness and is also likely to help decrease the social costs incurred due to homelessness in the long run. Hence, the Act’s enforcement will have a positive impact on the social as well as economic conditions of the UK.
References
Baptista, I. & Marlier, E., 2019, Fighting homelessness and housing exclusion in Europe, European Social Policy Network
Bevan, C., 2022, ‘The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017: Furthering not fracturing marginalisation of those experiencing homelessness’, International Journal of Law in Context, < https://dro.dur.ac.uk/34764/1/34764.pdf>
Crisis, n.d., Chapter 13 Homelessness legislation, Crisis UK, viewed 27 April 2022, < https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/the-plan-to-end-homelessness-full-version/solutions/chapter-13-homelessness-legislation/#>
Crisis, U.K., 2016, The homelessness legislation: An independent review of the legal duties owed to homeless people, Crisis UK, London
Crowson, N.J., 2013, ‘Revisiting the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act: Westminster, Whitehall, and the Homelessness Lobby’, Twentieth Century British History, vol. 24, no. 3, pp.424-447
Dej, E., Gaetz, S. & Schwan, K., 2020, ‘Turning off the tap: a typology for homelessness prevention’, The Journal of Primary Prevention, vol. 41, no. 5, pp.397-412
Department for Communities and Local Government, 2016, Statutory Homelessness: October to December Quarter 2015, UK Government, < https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509763/Statutory_Homelessness_Statistical_Release_October_to_December_2015.pdf>
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, 2022, Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, UK Government, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ef9d8613a6f4023cf12fc67/current_Homelessness_Code_of_Guidance.pdf
Fitzpatrick, S., Kemp, P. & Klinker, S., n.d., Single homelessness: An overview of research in Britain, Bristol: Policy Press.
Fitzpatrick, S., Pawson, H. & Watts, B. 2020, Localism and homelessness: a decade of disaster in England, LSE, viewed 28 April 2022, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/localism-and-homelessness/
Haringey, 2019, About the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA), Haringey UK Government, viewed 27 April 2022, https://www.haringey.gov.uk/housing/housing-advice/about-homelessness-reduction-act-hra#:
Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
Mungos, n.d., Is the Homelessness Reduction Act doing enough to prevent rough sleeping?, viewed 28 April 2022, <https://www.mungos.org/is-the-homelessness-reduction-act-doing-enough-to-prevent-rough-sleeping/>
UK Government, 2020, Homelessness Reduction Act 2017: government response to the call for evidence, Gov.UK, viewed 28 April 2022, <https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/homelessness-reduction-act-2017-call-for-evidence/outcome/homelessness-reduction-act-2017-government-response-to-the-call-for-evidence#>
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