Homelessness
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The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 requires local housing authorities to develop a strategic approach to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is currently reviewing and updating its strategy for the 2025 to 2030 period.
The Act places 2 legal duties on local authorities: a "prevention duty" to help people at risk of becoming homeless and a "relief duty" to assist those already homeless.
A person is considered homeless in a number of ways. The Housing Act 1996 defines a person as homeless if they either:
- have no accommodation available to occupy
- are at risk of violence or domestic abuse
- have accommodation but it is not reasonable for them to continue to occupy it
- have accommodation but cannot secure entry to it
- have no legal right to occupy their accommodation
Poverty, unemployment, and the lack of genuine affordable housing are some of the most common causes of homelessness. These can be made worse by the personal vulnerabilities faced by some of our residents, including:
- mental health
- substance abuse
- trauma
- domestic violence
- offending
- sudden serious illness
- divorce
- the death of a partner
- disabilities
