41.This section removes sections 73 and 74, and replaces section 75, of the 2014 Act. This section also amends section 142 of the 2014 Act.
42.Section 6(3) replaces section 75 of the 2014 Act in its entirety. References in these Explanatory Notes to section 75 are references to section 75 as inserted by this Act.
43.Section 75(2) of the 2014 Act imposes a duty on local housing authorities to secure that suitable accommodation is available for applicants who are—
44.Section 75(3) of the 2014 Act defines interim accommodation for the purposes of section 75(2) of the 2014 Act. It is accommodation secured under section 68 of the 2014 Act, which the applicant intends to occupy until the application process under Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the 2014 Act is concluded or for a period of less than 12 months or accommodation that the person providing the accommodation intends to be available to the applicant until the application for help is concluded, or for a period of less than 12 months.
45.Section 75(4) and (7) of the 2014 Act provide exceptions to the duty in section 75(1) of the 2014 Act. The duty does not apply if the applicant (or any member of the applicant’s household) has no local connection to any local housing authority in Wales.
46.However, section 75(5) and (6) of the 2014 Act provides that the duty will still apply to those at risk of abuse and any other category of person that may be prescribed in regulations. Section 6(4) amends section 142(3)(b)(ii) of the 2014 Act so that those regulations are subject to the Senedd approval procedure.
47.For prisoners serving custodial sentences, the duty in section 75(1) of the 2014 Act does not apply if there is no reasonable prospect of release within six months (see section 75(7) of the 2014 Act). If the applicant is a prisoner or residing in approved premises the duty to secure accommodation applies once they are released or no longer required to stay in the approved premises (see section 75(8) and (9) of the 2014 Act).
48.Section 6(2) of this Act repeals section 73 of the 2014 Act which required local housing authorities to help secure suitable accommodation for homeless applicants who were eligible for assistance. Section 6(2) also repeals section 74 of the 2014 Act, which set out when that duty ended.
49.As a result of the repeals of sections 73 and 74 of the 2014 Act by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act to sections 66 and 75 of the 2014 Act, where an applicant is eligible for help and threatened with homelessness, they will be owed the duty to help to secure that suitable accommodation does not cease to be available (see section 66 of the 2014 Act, as amended by section 2 of this Act). An applicant who is eligible for help, homeless or threatened with homelessness, and has a local connection to a local housing authority in Wales will be owed the duty to secure accommodation under section 75 of the 2014 Act (as substituted by section 6(3) of this Act).
Commentary on Sections Part 1 - Homelessness Section 6: Duty to secure accommodation for eligible homeless persons with a local connection to Wales