Our homelessness duties

Other organisations duties

Other public organisations must notify us if they believe a person is:

  • homeless
  • at risk of becoming homeless within the next 56 days.

This is called 'Duty to Refer'. This duty aims to prevent and stop homelessness by helping councils to intervene as early as possible.

Examples of public organisations that have a duty to refer include:

  • social services
  • job centres
  • prison and probation services
  • youth offender teams and institutions
  • training centres and colleges
  • accident and emergency services
  • hospitals and urgent treatment centres
  • the Ministry of Defence for members of the armed forces.

If you're a local organisation

You can only refer someone to us if the person:

  • gives you their consent
  • chooses the council they want to be referred to.

You can discuss with the person which council would be most appropriate to refer them to. If the person does not have a local connection to Medway, we may refer them to a different council.

Refer someone under the duty

You can refer someone to us online.

Complete a Kent Homechoice referral form.

After submitting your referral

A member of our housing team will contact the person you have referred.

They will arrange an assessment of their situation and housing needs. They'll decide if they're eligible for help and what type of support they need.

For any questions about the duty to refer you can contact us by: