Between August 2024 and July 2025, Centrepoint’s helpline recorded 449 cases of ‘gatekeeping’, where local authorities failed to perform homelessness assessments or provide support as required by law. This means one young person a day was turned away unlawfully. Among the cases, 73 involved domestic abuse victims, and 48 involved pregnant young women or those with children.

A young person fleeing domestic abuse was denied an assessment and emergency housing, violating the Housing Act 1996, leaving them at risk of returning to abuse, the charity reported.

Paul Brocklehurst, Centrepoint’s senior helpline manager, said: “The law is clear that anyone facing homelessness and approaching their council for support should receive an assessment.”

Tom Hunt, chair of LGA’s Inclusive Growth Committee, emphasised the need for councils to have powers and resources to build or acquire affordable homes. He highlighted the significant cost of £2.8 billion a year spent on temporary accommodation for 132,410 households