Yesterday was a dark day for Parliament. But today MPs and peers returned to Westminster to take care of parliamentary business. And thousands of campaigners – myself included – breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Homelessness Reduction Bill cleared its final hurdle in the House of Lords.

You’d be forgiven for missing this morning’s ever so brief item of business on the Bill. But this moment signalled the end of the Bill’s passage through parliament, having received consistent strong cross- party support.

It is now awaiting approval by the Queen (a formal process called Royal Assent), before it becomes law. This will take place within the next couple of months.

The law will not come into effect immediately, as councils need time to prepare for the changes. What’s more, the Government has to write new guidance on how to deliver the duties. We expect the changes to take effect in early 2018.

Councils will have £61 million over two years to start delivering the new duties. The Government has committed to review within two years how the duties are working in practice and whether the funding is enough.

So what does the Bill do exactly?

In a nutshell, the Homelessness Reduction Bill transforms the help councils are expected to provide to homeless people. It provides new support to people who aren’t entitled to help under the current system. Single homeless people who go to their councils for help in England are often turned away because they are not considered a ‘priority’.

The Bill also requires councils to try and prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place. By intervening early, the devastating experience of being homeless can be avoided altogether.

Here’s a round-up of the Bill’s key provisions:

• A prevention duty: a new duty for councils to try and prevent the homelessness of people who are at risk of becoming homeless in the next 56 days, provided they are eligible for assistance on the basis of their immigration status.
• A relief duty: a new duty for councils to try and resolve the homelessness of people who are already homeless. To qualify for help they must be eligible for assistance on the basis of their immigration status and have a connection to the local area, otherwise they can be referred to another local authority.
• Measures to incentivise cooperation: People being helped under the prevention and relief duties will be expected to take reasonable steps to resolve their own homelessness.
• A duty to refer: a new duty on other public services to refer people to council homelessness teams if they are working with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Continued protection for families: councils are required under existing law to house homeless families, if they meet a number of tests. The Bill maintains these protections in cases where councils are unable to help families under the new prevention and relief duties.

The huge progress we have made with the No One Turned Away campaign to change the law on homelessness shows the difference we can make when we work together. Visit the campaign page to read more about the campaign and sign up to become a Crisis campaigner.