The relevant section is Part VII of the Housing Act which establishes that 16- and 17-year-olds are in priority need for support from housing services if they are homeless, provided they are not a relevant child or a child in need to whom the local authority owes a duty under section 20 of the Children Act.
The 2014 landmark Coram study ‘The Door is Closed’ highlighted that children aged 16 and 17 were being allowed to become or remain homeless because local authorities were failing to give them the support they are legally entitled. A decade on, a new report from Coram ‘The Door is Still Closed’, finds that little progress has been made in the intervening decade and that too many children are left exposed to risk because local authorities are failing in their legal duties to support them. There are two key pieces of legislation that determine local authorities' duties towards homeless 16- and 17-year-olds:
The Children Act 1989
- Section 20 establishes that local authority children's services have a duty to accommodate children in need who live in their area and are unable to live with their families or the person caring for them.
- Section 17 lays out local authorities' general duties towards children in need in their area. Sometimes a homeless young person will be provided accommodation under section 17, but there are very few circumstances where this is appropriate.
The Housing Act 1996
The relevant section is Part VII of the Housing Act which establishes that 16- and 17-year-olds are in priority need for support from housing services if they are homeless, provided they are not a relevant child or a child in need to whom the local authority owes a duty under section 20 of the Children Act.
Crucially, the judgment in R v London borough of Southwark (2009) has established that children's services have the primary duty to homeless 16- and 17-year-olds, which is also confirmed in statutory guidance.
Why the ‘wrong door’ matters
Entitlement to care and support varies significantly according to which legislation a child is housed under. Research from the Children's Commissioner for England (2023) found that only 40% of those presenting as homeless to a local authority were accommodated. Of those accommodated, only 39% were accommodated under section 20 of the Children Act, while 61% were accommodated under section 17 of the act or other housing legislation.
Coram's report reinforces the commissioner's findings, bringing first-hand testimony of homeless children, data and expert insight from Coram advocacy and legal services, along with lived experience from their youth housing rights ambassadors.
Children housed under housing legislation have no entitlement to support beyond a roof over their head. They have no entitlement to a social worker (although some local authorities may provide them with one at their discretion), they may be required to claim benefits and pay rent for their accommodation, and they are not guaranteed further support once they turn 18. When they turn 18, they are then treated the same as any other homeless adult.
Barriers to support
The report identifies seven key barriers to homeless 16- and 17-year-olds receiving the support to which they are entitled. National homeless data on this group is poor and early support to families that could help prevent many from becoming homeless is missing. For those that do become homeless, a large number are not assessed or are not housed under the right legislation, leaving them without the practical or financial support from children's social care services until the age of 25. Many of these children are not being given accurate information about their rights and are forced to make uninformed decisions that will have a huge impact on their lives. Importantly, they are not being given access to an advocate, and where appropriate, legal aid.
Coram found evidence that local authorities are continuing to gatekeep - waiting until children turn 18 - and are housing vulnerable 16- and 17-year-olds in unsuitable and unsafe accommodation including adult hostels, unregulated or under-supervised provision. Children reported feeling scared, with one child going to a hospital to find somewhere safe to sleep. There was also clear evidence of adultification and a lack of recognition of the vulnerability of 16- and 17-year-olds.
Potential solutions
The default must be to accommodate homeless children under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 in all but exceptional cases and ensure that they are housed in safe and secure accommodation. The government should collect and publish local authority level data on the number of 16- and 17-year-olds who present as homeless. Without the data, these children are an unknown quantity. There should be increased investment in early help including evidence-based parenting, drug and alcohol misuse, and family conflict programmes to prevent family breakdown, identified as a major driver of homelessness in 16- and 17-year-olds. For those that do become homeless, advocacy was found to play a significant role in positive outcomes for them and local authority advocacy contracts should include a proactive (opt-out) offer of advocacy. Coram recommends that the government provides an annual £5mn to local authorities to ensure that all 16- and 17-year-olds who present as homeless to their local authority have access to an independent advocate. This is based on calculations in the Children's Commissioner for England report.
Homeless 16- and 17-year-olds need not only a roof over their head but all the care and support that is their right under the Children Act 1989.
