Homelessness duties owed by London boroughs (2024 Q2)
Last updated: December 2024
Next estimated update: February 2025
What’s this indicator?
This indicator looks at the three types of statutory duties that local authorities owe households at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Prevention duty
Local authorities owe prevention duties to help stop households at risk of homelessness losing their accommodation. In the first quarter of 2024, Croydon owed the most households a prevention duty, at 5.28 per 1,000 households.
Relief duty
If a household is homeless, the local authority owes them a relief duty to provide some sort of accommodation. Newham was the borough that owed the most households a relief duty, at 4.86 per 1,000 households compared to the London average of 2.68.
Main duty
The main homelessness duty to provide accommodation (which until 2018 was the only statutory duty owed to homeless households) comes into effect when the relief duty has failed and accommodation has not been secured.
Lambeth owed the most households the main homelessness duty (2.65 per 1,000 households) in the second quarter of 2024.
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