21.16 LHA must also ensure that suitable accommodation is available for people who apply to them for housing assistance and who are eligible for such assistance, who have become homeless through no fault of their own, who fall within a priority need group and have a local connection. This is known as 'the main homelessness duty'. Authorities must secure accommodation until a settled home becomes available, or some other circumstance brings the duty to an end.

21.17 Those with a priority need for housing include, but are not limited to, households that include:

• pregnant women;
• dependent children;
• care leavers (aged 18-20);
• those vulnerable as a result of having been in care (aged 21 or over);
• those vulnerable as a result of old age;
• those vulnerable as a result of mental illness, learning disability or physical disability;
• those vulnerable as a result of having served in the armed forces;
• someone homeless or threatened with homelessness as a result of an emergency, such as a flood, fire or other disaster.

21.18 A homeless applicant will also have priority need if they are vulnerable as a result of having served a custodial sentence, been committed for contempt of court or remanded in custody. In assessing whether a person is vulnerable due to having spent time in custody the Local Authority should take into account all relevant factors including the length of time they have spent in custody, the views of the Probation Practitioner as to their vulnerability, the length of time since their release and their ability to obtain and maintain accommodation during that time, and the support networks available to them and whether their support networks are likely to be a positive influence in their life.

21.19 The LHA duty to co-operate with the Responsible Authority does not create a new duty to accommodate offenders.