New partnership-led action plan sets targets for how to end homelessness

Council leaders are expected to sign off on the partnership-led roadmap which outlines how the city will support the government's new homelessness strategy. 

The government strategy sets out a national ambition to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring through a shift from crisis intervention to prevention. This requires local authorities to set annual targets and local delivery plans aligned to a defined outcomes framework.

Leeds has a strong record of preventing homelessness through partnership working, consistently performing above the national average for successful homelessness prevention. This work has helped hundreds of households remain in their homes or secured alternative accommodation and reduced the need for temporary accommodation.

In September 2026 the council announced that its housing growth programme had reached a milestone of delivering more than 1,000 good quality, energy efficient and affordable homes, for rent by people on Leeds’s housing register.

However, demand remains very high in Leeds, with more households seeking help than in comparable cities.

In response to the new government strategy and increasing demand Leeds has developed two new action plans which sit alongside the council’s existing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2023-2028.  

The action plans – one of which is a local plan to prevent homelessness and one a long-term rough sleeping partnership plan – provide a strategic refresh, building on what has worked while responding to the changing housing market and patterns of need.

Leeds’s longer-term ambition is for a more connected and coordinated citywide response, bringing key public services together around a shared responsibility for preventing homelessness. 

This means clearer roles and accountability, earlier action when someone’s housing is at risk and a quicker, more joined-up response when homelessness occurs. 

The approach to rough sleeping will move beyond responding once it occurs, towards earlier identification and assertive engagement with integrated intervention and sustained support.

The new action plans are being introduced alongside the national Rough Sleeping Programme, for which Leeds has received £1.6million of funding. The first phase of this will provide 39 additional accommodation spaces and increase outreach, navigation, intensive intervention, specialist support for women, drug and alcohol treatment, general health support and tenancy sustainment.

Councillor Mary Harland, Leeds City Council's deputy leader and executive member for communities and community safety, and Councillor Asghar Khan, executive member for housing and hubs, said: “Since publishing our five-year Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy in 2023, we have placed universal and targeted prevention at the heart of our approach, alongside work to maximise access to suitable accommodation. This has included identifying people at risk earlier, providing accessible housing advice and financial assistance, helping people to sustain their tenancies, and working with private landlords and housing providers to increase rehousing opportunities.

“This activity has provided strong results, but we know that there is more to be done as demand increases and the context that we are working in changes.

“The existing strategy has been reviewed against the national plan and remains strongly aligned in ambition and principles. Our new action plans will build on that foundation, responding to changing pressures and strengthening delivery where needed.

“Through earlier intervention, collaboration, stronger partnership working and targeted support, we will work hard through our partnerships to reduce the need for crisis responses and improve outcomes for residents at risk of homelessness.”

Councillor Emma Flint, Leeds City Council’s executive member for equality, adults and health, added: “We recognise that homelessness is not just a housing issue, it is also a significant health inequality.

“Sustainable reductions in numbers require a variety of services, including healthcare, mental health, and drugs and alcohol services, to work together to provide support, particularly to those with multiple and complex needs. A big focus will be on embedding trauma-informed working within all services. No one should have to sleep rough to receive the support they need.”

Read the full report including frameworks and targets at Council and democracy (Agenda Item 6).

ENDS