Guidance

Temporary accommodation notification duty: Department of Health and Social Care guidance to GP practices and health visiting services

Published 1 September 2026

Applies to England

Introduction

Over 177,000 children were living in temporary accommodation as of March 2025. Between April 2019 and March 2025, 104 children have died with temporary accommodation indicated as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill-health, or death. Of these 104 children, 76 were under the age of one.  

Living in temporary accommodation can impact mental health and wellbeing and/or physical health, especially when combined with poor housing conditions, such as damp and mould, excess cold, overcrowding, safety issues and housing insecurity. Changing addresses, particularly if sudden or frequent, can disrupt health visiting support and assessment of need, access to routine and specialist health services, and receipt of NHS appointment invites and waiting list positions.

In this guidance, a child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. ‘Children’ therefore means ‘babies, children and young people’ throughout. This guidance also applies to parents, those with parental responsibility, or the child themselves where they are aged 16 to 17 and living independently from their parents. Housing authorities may choose to go further and notify health visiting services where a household includes a pregnant woman who is not a child.

About this guidance

This guidance covers:

• the legislative requirements that apply to organisations and agencies
• guidance for GP and health visiting services

This guidance is for:

• GP practices, including clinical and administrative staff
• health visiting services, including clinical and administrative staff

Introduction of a new statutory duty for local authorities.

In the National Plan to End Homelessness and the Child Poverty Strategy, the government committed to improving health outcomes for children in temporary accommodation. In line with this commitment, the temporary accommodation notification duty was introduced by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 which amended the Housing Act 1996 by adding section 213AA. The measure imposes a duty on local housing authorities in England to take reasonable steps to notify educational institutions, GP practices and health visiting services (via the local authority’s health visiting provider organisation) when a child is placed in temporary accommodation.

This duty will arise when:

 a. a child is placed in temporary accommodation following an application under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 which has been made on or after 1 September 2026; and

 b. the parent (including those who care for the child or have parental responsibility for the child) or the child themselves in cases of 16-17-year-olds living independently from their parents and making their own application, agrees to the notification being made.

The housing authority should clearly explain to the parent or child the reason for making a notification, which is to strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and specified health providers are aware where a child may require additional or different support.

The relevant bodies who should be notified are:

 a. the general medical practice in England where the child is registered;

 b. the health visiting service that will be available to the child at their temporary accommodation address; and

 c. academies, non-maintained special schools, special post-16 institutions, providers of post-16 education or training, local authority maintained schools, and further education institutions.

If agreement to notify is given, the local housing authority must take reasonable steps to notify each body relevant to the child’s health and wellbeing within 14 days of whichever of the following occurred at the latest date:

 a. the day on which the authority receives agreement;

 b. the day on which the information about the relevant body is provided to the authority; or

 c. the day on which the child is placed in temporary accommodation.

Notifications will be sent in accordance with existing data-sharing arrangements that local housing authorities have built into their case management systems. Where there is no case management system that allows data sharing between primary care, health visiting and education, notifications will be sent by email.

The notification duty applies to temporary accommodation placements made on or after 1 September 2026, and only arises once within each application, at the point of initial placement so that no further notifications are required if the child moves to other temporary accommodation placements. Housing authorities may consider opportunities to provide additional notifications (with agreement) to support continuity of health support.  This could include notifying health services, where children are placed in temporary accommodation in a different area after the initial placement.

What is required for health visiting and primary care

Health visiting

Definitions relevant to this health visiting guidance

• Child: any person under the age of 18 years.
• Child Health Information Service (CHIS): a digital system and administrative service that maintains the health records, immunisations and development screenings of babies, children and young people (including Healthy Child Programme interventions).
• Health visiting (service): the universal public health nursing service for families from pregnancy until a child reaches the age of 5, involving statutory health and development reviews which must be offered at five specified stages, and additional support which is offered according to identified needs. Health visiting is part of the Healthy Child Programme.
• Health visiting team: a team led by Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (health visitors), supported by other practitioners and administrative staff, which arranges and delivers the health visiting service as part of the Healthy Child Programme, including the health and development reviews and any additional support provided according to assessed need for families from pregnancy until a child reaches age 5.
• Health visitor: a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse who leads the public health nursing service for families from pregnancy until a child reaches age 5 as part of the Healthy Child Programme.
• Healthy Child Programme: The national framework for improving the health and wellbeing of babies, children and young people in England through prevention, early intervention and public health nursing services.
• Healthy Child Programme Guidance: non-statutory guidance specifying requirements and recommendations for the commissioning and delivery of public health nursing services in England for babies, children, young people and their families. This guidance was last refreshed in February 2026.
• Homelessness Applicant: a person who applies to a local housing authority for accommodation or help in obtaining accommodation when they are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
• Local authority homelessness officer: a local housing authority employee responsible for homelessness services, including providing temporary accommodation.
• Local housing authority: a local housing authority exercising housing and homelessness functions under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996.
• NHS Spine: the digital infrastructure that connects and enables NHS and other health and care IT systems in England to securely share information and access core national services.
• Parent: any person with parental responsibility for the child or any person who has care of the child, disregarding any absence of the child at a hospital or boarding school or any other temporary absence.
• Partner Agencies: organisations that work together to support, safeguard and promote the welfare of children and families, including agencies exercising functions under sections 10 and 11 of the Children Act 2004 and those involved in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements described in Working Together to Safeguard Children. Examples include local authorities, NHS bodies and health services (including health visiting services), schools and colleges, housing and homelessness services, police forces and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
• Provider: a local authority providing, or an entity commissioned by a local authority, to manage and/or provide health visiting services locally for children and families. Providers employ health visiting teams.
• Single Point of Access: a principal means of contact, such as a phone number, email address or online portal, which acts as a ‘doorway’ through which any part of a service can be conveniently reached, without the complexity of needing to identify the correct route to contact a certain strand of that service.
• Standard Operating Procedure(s): a written document that sets out the processes, responsibilities and timescales for delivering specific aspects of a service.
• Temporary accommodation: accommodation provided by local housing authorities in England for households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. The accommodation is intended to provide a temporary place to live while the local housing authority carries out or discharges its homelessness functions.

Introduction to this health visiting guidance  

The following non-statutory guidance summarises actions providers and health visiting teams should undertake when they receive a temporary accommodation notification, typically for a child who is under the age of 5 or who is pregnant. The purpose of this guidance is to support good practice in ensuring that families in temporary accommodation are offered timely health services which they are entitled to.   

Local housing authorities may notify health visiting services when a pregnant woman is placed in temporary accommodation, recognising the importance of the requirement for health visiting services to offer an antenatal health and development review.    

Contextual notes 

The Notification Duty in question applies only once in relation to each application for assistance in obtaining accommodation due to being homeless or threatened with homelessness. However, best practice is for providers and health visiting teams to follow the guidance below for any subsequent transfers to alternative temporary accommodation about which they are notified.

While the notification duty applies to all children under the age of 18, health visiting services should only typically be contacted in respect of children under the age of 5 or children who are pregnant.

Local housing authorities may notify health visiting teams of pregnant women being transferred into temporary accommodation. Where this happens, the health visiting team or their provider should respond and antenatal support should be arranged in line with Healthy Child Programme guidance.

There is no legal duty to respond to temporary accommodation notifications, although providers and health visiting teams are encouraged to take appropriate action by following this guidance which is aligned with their existing responsibilities as part of the Healthy Child Programme.

There will be no national reporting requirements regarding responses to temporary accommodation notifications.

The parent (or, in some cases, a 16- or 17-year-old homelessness applicant) must agree to the notification before the local housing authority may notify the relevant health visiting service, GP practice or educational institution.

A notification will be issued for each child placed in temporary accommodation.

Notifications and what they should contain 

Notifications issued to the body responsible for health visiting services should contain the following: 

• the child’s name and date of birth
• confirmation that the child is now housed in temporary accommodation
• the family’s address (including postcode) in temporary accommodation
• a contact number for the child’s parent
• the name of the person reachable via the contact number

(where a homelessness applicant is 16 or 17 years of age, or it is the child who is pregnant, it should be their own name and contact number provided as part of a notification, rather than the relevant details of a relative). 

Section A: Health visiting service providers’ response  

In relation to health visiting, providers will often be best placed to receive notifications (typically relating to children under the age of 5 or children who are pregnant), as they can direct the notification to the relevant health visiting team (although the relevant health visiting team may also be contacted directly by local housing authorities with a notification).  

It is for local housing authorities to ensure information sent to health visiting services as part of the notification is complete and accurate.  If providers are notified of a child transferring into temporary accommodation, they should acknowledge receipt within 5 working days where the child is transferring into temporary accommodation from outside the local authority’s boundaries, and as soon as reasonably practicable if the child is transferring into temporary accommodation from inside the local authority’s boundaries.  

Providers should send notifications they receive from the local housing authority to the relevant health visiting team as soon as reasonably practicable.   

Providers need to ensure that robust systems and processes are in place to meet the legal requirements of the UK data protection regime (comprising UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018) and safeguard personal data at all times. 

Providers should ensure health visiting teams have access to any local standard operating procedures (SOPs) on providing support to families living in temporary accommodation and on arranging/delivering transfer-in visits more generally.   

Section B: Health visiting teams’ response

The Healthy Child Programme guidance sets out how health visiting teams should respond when notified of a family moving into the area including those moving into temporary accommodation.

When a family is known to have transferred into temporary accommodation, recognising the increased risks (particularly for babies under a year old), the health visitor should prioritise arranging a visit as soon as possible.

While health visiting providers are often best placed to receive temporary accommodation notifications from local housing authorities, health visiting teams themselves may also receive notifications directly from local housing authorities (usually from local authority homelessness officers).

If health visiting teams are notified about a child transferring into temporary accommodation through a provider, they should confirm receipt of the notification as soon as reasonably practicable and within the relevant timescales in which providers are advised, in Section A, to respond to the local housing authority (see above).  

If a health visiting team is notified about a child transferring into temporary accommodation by a local housing authority directly, they should follow the guidance in Sections B1 or B2 (as appropriate).

As stated in the Healthy Child Programme’s delivery guidance, during all transfer-in visits a comprehensive assessment of health needs is conducted.

All visits to temporary accommodation by health visiting teams should also involve an assessment of the family’s sleeping arrangements, particularly with regard to the safety of those arrangements for any child. Health visiting teams should always offer appropriate advice regarding safer sleep.

The family should also be advised to contact the health visiting service with an updated address if the family becomes aware they will be relocating again. Where the family is relocated outside the area, health visiting teams should share contact details with the health visiting team in the relevant area.

In all cases, health visiting teams should have regard to any local SOPs on supporting families in temporary accommodation and transfers-in (as well as other relevant guidance, depending on individual needs) in addition to this document.

B1: Families transferring into temporary accommodation from outside a local authority’s boundaries   

The Healthy Child Programme’s delivery guidance sets out the following:  

“When notified that a family with at least one child under the age of 5 is transferring into the area, the health visiting service should: 

• respond to the notifying organisation within 5 working days
• make contact with the family within 10 working days to arrange a home visit at the earliest opportunity”

B2: Families transferring into temporary accommodation from within a local authority’s boundaries  

Health visitors should arrange to visit a family that has been transferred into temporary accommodation from inside a local authority’s boundaries as soon as reasonably practicable.   

B3: Cooperative working 

As highlighted in the Healthy Child Programme guidance, health visiting teams should cooperate with local authorities, providers, and partner agencies in supporting all families living in temporary accommodation, recognising the increased risks for babies and children in temporary accommodation.  

Health visiting teams should take all reasonable steps to obtain information on a family from that family’s previous health visiting team. Equally, health visiting teams should take all reasonable steps to hand over information to a family’s new health visiting team, including engaging with services’ Single Point of Access and making use of CHIS and NHS Spine, where possible, and as appropriate, to obtain and maintain the correct details regarding a family’s address. 

B4: Awareness of challenges experienced by families  

Health visiting teams should be aware that those living in temporary accommodation may face additional challenges in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and accessing appropriate services. Health visitors are well placed to provide support and advocacy. 

B5: Careful information sharing  

While various legal frameworks (such as those cited in the Healthy Child Programme guidance) provide the basis for information sharing, health visiting teams should consider and, where possible, mitigate any risks associated with information sharing.  

Wherever appropriate, health visiting teams should seek the agreement of the parent (or, in some cases, a 16- or 17-year-old homelessness applicant) before sharing information. However, information may be shared without consent where this is lawful and necessary, including where:

• necessary to protect a child;
• it is required for safeguarding purposes; or there is another lawful basis for sharing the information under the UK data protection regime or other applicable legal framework.

GP practices

Notifications will not include the new temporary address.

Once a notification is received, action should be taken on the information in line with individual practice processes.

Actions on receiving the notification could include, but are not mandatory nor limited to:

• Adding a note on your clinical system that this family are in temporary accommodation. Living in temporary accommodation can make a family vulnerable, and they may find it difficult to travel to appointments or access the surgery. There is a SNOMED code available for use: 247521000000104 – Living in temporary housing (finding) - 8090.
• Considering allowing the family to remain registered at your GP practice, if they wish to do so, while they are living in temporary accommodation, even if they fall outside of your catchment area. Stability in healthcare is important during this unsettling and chaotic time, particularly if there are safeguarding plans in place. When patients have strong relationships with their healthcare professionals, this can improve health outcomes for the children affected.
• Considering offering to register the family using the practice address as a temporary measure if a patient is waiting for an important referral letter. Families could be moved multiple times over several months or years, and keeping track of address history and where to send appointment letters can be difficult.
• A family may need to change their nominated pharmacy to one closer to their current accommodation. Next time a prescription is ordered, you may want to ask the patient their preference in case this is something they have not considered yet.

Where a child is not identified as registered with a GP practice, the housing authority will provide information on how to register with a GP.

Appendix A – Further sources of information

• Keeping children safe in education
• Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities
• clinical safety section of the Good practice guidelines for GP electronic patient records
• All Our Health
• A National Plan to End Homelessness
• Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty
• Child Mortality in Temporary Accommodation Report