Government urged to reverse changes to Home Office policy on timeframe for leaving asylum support accommodation, amid “unnecessary pressures” on councils

More than 140 organisations including the Refugee Council, NACCOM, Shelter and Crisis have called on the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to reverse recent changes to the process for people who have been recognised as refugees and are obliged to leave asylum support accommodation.

In an open letter, the organisations said that as a result of the changes, many refugees were now being given just seven days’ notice that they needed to leave their accommodation.

The Home Office’s previous policy had been that a 28-day “move-on” period starts when a person receives their Biometric Residence Permit.

The changes are already driving people who recently received their refugees status into destitution and homelessness, the letter claimed.

It highlighted the “unnecessary pressures” on local authorities who are already facing challenges finding accommodation for other groups. “We are finding that local authorities have not been told of the new arrangements, meaning that they are not ready to respond quickly,” the letter noted.

Key recommendations outlined in the letter include for the Government to: 

• Commit to immediately reverse the changes so all refugees have a minimum of 28 days before they’re required to leave their accommodation.
• Ensure that refugees receive all their documentation before the 28-day notice period begins, in line with recent Home Office policy.
• Issue clear guidance to local authorities that a newly recognised refugee is at risk of homelessness once they receive notification of the decision on their asylum claim, and are eligible for homelessness prevention support from that time without the need for evidence such as an eviction letter.  
• Stagger the 7-day notices that people are now receiving and work with statutory services and civil society organisations to manage the increase in demand for support. 
• Commit to working towards extending the move-on period to at least 56 days, in line with the Homelessness Reduction Act and the application for Universal Credit.

Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “Having created a record backlog and failed to move people through the asylum system, the Government is now punishing vulnerable refugees for its own gross mismanagement by demanding they move on from hotels at short notice without the support they need.

“Being given refugee status should be a moment of huge relief for the men, women and children who have waited anxiously for months and years to hear whether they will be allowed to stay in the UK. Instead, by giving them very limited time to start anew, they are very likely to face destitution, homelessness and fall into crisis.

“The government should be setting up refugees for success, enabling them to rebuild their lives by giving them far more time to settle with appropriate support and allowing them to work after 6 months in the asylum system.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The pressure on the asylum system has continued to grow, with hotel accommodation costing millions of pounds a day.

“We encourage individuals to make their onward plans as soon as possible after receiving their decision, whether that is leaving the UK following a refusal, or taking steps to integrate in the UK following a grant.

“Individuals will still get at least 28 days to move on from accommodation and where an individual has not had a BRP card issued within the 28 day notice period, they remain on support until it is issued.”

Lottie Winson