ABSTRACT
The Homelessness Act 2002 has attempted to engender a proactive approach among local authorities towards homelessness, with s. 1 obliging them to carry out a homelessness review of their district and to formulate and publish a homelessness strategy based on the results of that review. The 1996 Act makes information and advice a key component of the strategy for dealing with homelessness, both for people in general who need advice and for homeless applicants specifically. Most applicants under the homelessness legislation become homeless in the area in which they have previously lived for a considerable period and in their cases the local connection provisions as to residence will not come into play. Where an authority secures accommodation from another landlord, it must ensure that the accommodation is ‘available’ and ‘suitable’. Local authorities are permitted to provide financial assistance to private landlords in order to secure accommodation in the private sector for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
