To be eligible for homelessness assistance in England, a person must be either a British or Irish citizen, or in an eligible group.
The list of eligible groups who can access homelessness assistance includes people with the following types of leave to remain/enter in the UK:
A person who has leave to remain with the NRPF condition will not be eligible for assistance. For a full list of groups who are eligible for homelessness assistance, see regulation 5 of the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) Regulations 2006 and chapter 7 of the Homelessness code of guidance.
A person with pre-settled status will need to demonstrate that they have a qualifying right to reside under EU law in order to qualify for homelessness assistance. They must either be:
The housing eligibility rules for people granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme are similar to the eligibility rules that apply to means-tested benefits. Find out more about benefit entitlement for EEA nationals and a full list of who has a right to reside on our webpage.
When a person with pre-settled status is found to have no qualifying right to reside, the council would need to consider their individual circumstances before finding the person to be ineligible for assistance.
Councils must assess whether the person’s right to dignity would be compromised without the provision of homelessness assistance, and consider whether the person is destitute, able to work, or whether they have any source of income such as the availability of welfare benefits. In such cases where councils are assessing eligibility for a pre-settled status holder, councils must engage their duties under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996 and ensure the provision of interim temporary accommodation to alleviate the risk of homelessness if the person may be eligible, homeless and in priority need.
For more information see chapter 7 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance.
When a person who is homeless or at risk of homelessness approaches the local authority seeking assistance, it is the responsibility of the local housing authority to make investigations to establish whether the person is eligible for assistance.
Councils must consider a person’s immigration status and what rights are attached to this status. Decision-makers will need to examine a person’s eVisa or use the Home Office’s View and Prove service. They should still consider physical status documents where these are possessed in the absence of digital status.
Where a local authority in unclear about a person’s immigration status, they can contact the Home Office for clarification. Councils with access to NRPF Connect can use the right to public funds checker, while the RTPF Connect users will also be able to use this service to check a person’s immigration status with the Home Office. For further support when establishing eligibility, decision-makers can refer to chapter 7 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance.
Section 188 of the Housing Act 1996 requires a council to provide interim accommodation to a person who may be homeless, eligible, and in priority need. This means that when councils are undertaking the necessary assessments to establish whether a person is eligible, they should engage their powers to provide emergency accommodation in order to prevent or provide relief from homelessness.
Further information
For detailed information about housing eligibility rules, see the Shelter and Housing Rights Information websites.
