More than 32,000 homeless families in England and Wales have been abandoned by councils since 2015 because they missed at least one step in a rigid process for getting help.

Leading campaigners worry vulnerable people — including those with mental health problems — are being left on the streets because of things as minor as missing an email or an undelivered letter.

The Bureau has spoken to people experiencing homelessness as well as campaign groups and local charities, and found that one specific clause in Welsh housing legislation has given cash-strapped councils the means to close thousands of cases for those with complex needs. That loophole has now been brought into English law, with tens of thousands of families affected in a single year.

Leanne Wood, the former leader of Plaid Cymru, told the Bureau some councils “manipulate the system” to dismiss some of the most vulnerable asking for council help.

She was referring to the Housing (Wales) Act, which was introduced in 2015. Since it came into force councils have closed more than 4,500 cases because the housing officer deemed the applicant “uncooperative”. A further 5,000 cases were closed due to “loss of contact” – a variation on non-cooperation. Once a case is closed, the only option is to restart the weeks-long process again from the beginning.

In England, in the first year after the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act, 22,000 households have been left without help because of “loss of contact”.

Sophie Boobis, of Crisis England, said that it took years for people in Wales to see how this clause was used to “gate-keep” services.

She said it was too early to see a direct effect in England but “follow ups are not happening. People are going long periods waiting. If the local authority is not keeping regular contact then they are not going to be able to find them again. In that case, there will be a lot of people falling through the ‘loss of contact’ gap.”

She added: “I think it is certainly a warning and something that needs to be kept a very close eye on in England.”

Wood, Plaid Cymru’s housing spokeswoman, told the Bureau: “Councils should be removing barriers from people’s routes to accommodation, not putting more in their way. The system should be working with them, not against them.

“People who are homeless often don’t have the means to stay in contact with the authorities and by the nature of what can be quite chaotic lives, some will naturally find it difficult to stay in touch and attend the correct appointments.”