A new legal duty requiring councils in England to alert schools, GP practices and health visiting services when children are placed in temporary accommodation has come into force, as the Government says around 177,530 children are currently living in such housing — the highest number on record.
The temporary accommodation notification duty took effect on 1 September 2026 under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Ministers say it is intended to stop vulnerable children losing contact with education and health services when families are moved because they are homeless.
The measure applies to local housing authorities across England and is accompanied by updated homelessness guidance, new advice for health services and schools, and nearly £1 million in additional funding to help councils meet the operational cost of the new requirement.
Councils must notify schools and health services
Under the new system, a council placing a child in temporary accommodation must take reasonable steps to notify the relevant educational institution, the GP practice where the child is registered and the health visiting service available at the temporary address.
The duty applies where a homelessness application under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 is made on or after 1 September 2026 and the parent, person with parental responsibility, or an independently applying 16 or 17-year-old agrees to the notification.
Where consent is given, the authority must take reasonable steps to send the relevant notification within 14 days of the latest of the child being placed, consent being received or the required service information being supplied.
Notifications are issued for each child in the household.
Record numbers of children in temporary accommodation
The Government says around 177,530 children are living in temporary accommodation, a record high.
Ministers say frequent or sudden moves can disrupt school attendance, medical appointments, health visiting, specialist care and the ability of public services to identify when a family needs additional support.
Official health guidance published alongside the new duty says more than 177,000 children were living in temporary accommodation as of March 2025.
Guidance highlights deaths of vulnerable children
The Department of Health and Social Care guidance also sets out the seriousness of the risks associated with unstable housing.
It says 104 children died between April 2019 and March 2025 in cases where temporary accommodation was identified as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill-health or death. Of those children, 76 were under the age of one.
The figures do not mean temporary accommodation was necessarily the sole or direct cause of each death. They are cited by the Government as evidence of the vulnerability faced by some families living in unstable or unsuitable housing.
The guidance highlights risks including damp and mould, cold, overcrowding, housing insecurity and disruption to access to health services.
Health visitors encouraged to prioritise vulnerable families
Health visiting services will generally be notified for children under five, as well as children who are pregnant.
Separate Healthy Child Programme guidance says that when a family with a child under five moves into an area, the health visiting service should respond to the notifying organisation within five working days and contact the family within 10 working days to arrange a visit.
Where a family is known to have moved into temporary accommodation, health visitors are encouraged to prioritise a visit because of the increased risks, particularly for babies under one.
Schools brought into information-sharing system
The Department for Education has also updated its Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance to reflect the new notification system.
The aim is to ensure schools know when a pupil has entered temporary accommodation and can consider whether additional pastoral or practical support is needed.
The Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness has previously suggested that support could include breakfast clubs, after-school activities, homework assistance and closer work between pastoral teams and families.
Important limits to the new duty
The new law does not create an automatic requirement for schools, GP practices or health visiting services to take a particular action after receiving a notification.
Government guidance says there is no separate legal duty on health providers to respond to the notification, although services are encouraged to take appropriate action under their existing responsibilities.
The statutory notification duty also normally arises only once during each homelessness application, at the point of the child’s initial placement in temporary accommodation.
If a family is subsequently moved to another temporary address, councils may make further notifications with agreement where doing so would help maintain continuity of education or healthcare, but additional notifications are not automatically required by the legislation.
Nearly £1 million provided to councils
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says nearly £1 million has been allocated to English councils to help meet the operational costs of introducing the duty.
Funding for 2026-27 is due to be paid in the third quarter of the financial year as part of the Government’s new burdens arrangements.
Eshalomi calls measure a 'major milestone'
Homelessness Minister Florence Eshalomi said the change was intended to ensure schools, GPs and councils communicate earlier about vulnerable children.
She described the introduction of the duty as a “major milestone” and said children living in temporary accommodation could suffer disruption to school life, relationships and their sense of belonging.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza also welcomed the measure, saying children can fall between services when they move home or enter temporary accommodation and arguing that better information-sharing should help preserve access to support.
Part of wider homelessness strategy
The Government says the notification duty forms part of its National Plan to End Homelessness and wider child-poverty strategy.
It sits alongside £30 million intended to reduce the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation and improve the quality and supply of temporary housing, as well as broader spending on homelessness and rough sleeping services.
However, the record number of children living in temporary accommodation illustrates the scale of the challenge facing ministers.
The new duty does not itself reduce the number of homeless families or create permanent homes. Its immediate purpose is narrower: ensuring that when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, the education and health services around them are less likely to lose sight of their circumstances.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Temporary accommodation notification duty — 1 September 2026
- MHCLG: Information to accompany the homelessness code of guidance — 1 September 2026
- Department of Health and Social Care: Guidance to GP practices and health visiting services — 1 September 2026
- MHCLG in the Media: New duty takes effect to support children in temporary accommodation — 1 September 2026