Homelessness duties owed by London boroughs

Last updated: April 2026

Next estimated update: July 2026

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. It shows how local councils in London support households who are at risk of homelessness or already homeless.

There are three stages of help that councils are legally required to provide: prevention duty, relief duty and the main duty.

Prevention duty (stopping homelessness before it happens)

Local authorities owe prevention duties to help stop households at risk of homelessness losing their accommodation. This means councils must work with households at risk of losing their home to help them stay where they are or find somewhere else to live. A higher number means more households are at risk of becoming homeless.

In the third quarter of 2025, Croydon owed the most households a prevention duty, at 3.58 per 1,000 households.

Relief duty (helping people who are already homeless)

If a household is homeless, the local authority owes them a relief duty to help them secure accommodation. This could include temporary housing or support to find a new home.

Westminster was the borough that owed the most households a relief duty, at 5.5 per 1,000 households compared to the London average of 2.84.

Main duty (longer-term housing support)

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. This means providing longer-term housing, often in temporary accommodation.

Households are only owed this duty if they're eligible for assistance (for example, not excluded due to their immigration status), have a priority need (such as dependent children) and are not intentionally homeless. If a household doesn't meet these criteria, they might be offered time-limited advice and assistance rather than the full duty.

Newham owed the most households the main homelessness duty (2.41 per 1,000 households) in the third quarter of 2025.

How to read the numbers

The figures are shown as the number of households per 1,000 households in each borough. This allows fair comparisons between areas of different sizes.

Want to know more?

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