Housing

Mixed households in homelessness applications

Homelessness eligibility rules can be complex where a person is part of a mixed household’ where household members have different immigration statuses, as some people may be eligible for homelessness assistance while others are not.

Where a person who is eligible for homelessness assistance has members in their household who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and do not qualify for homelessness assistance, the local authority must consider the applicant’s immigration status to decide how the application should be assessed.

How ineligible family members are treated depends on whether the main applicant is a British or Irish citizen, or another type of eligible person.

Where the main applicant is British or Irish

If the main applicant is a British or Irish citizen, the local authority must consider the needs of the whole household, including any ineligible family members, as part of the homelessness application.

In these cases:

• ineligible family members are treated as ‘restricted persons’
• the applicant may be able to establish priority need based on the presence of their ineligible family members

However, where there are restricted persons in the household:

• the council may bring its housing duty to an end through an offer of private rented accommodation
• the applicant cannot be given preference in the allocation of social housing

Further information on restricted persons is available from Shelter.

Family members who have leave to remain with an NRPF condition should seek immigration advice if the accommodation provided is larger than would be required for the eligible members of the household alone. Where larger accommodation is provided to account for ineligible family members, this may be treated as access to public funds and could breach their immigration conditions. Further information on public funds is available in the Home Office guidance on public funds.

Where the main applicant is an eligible person who is not British or Irish

If the main applicant is an eligible person who is not a British or Irish citizen (for example, someone with indefinite leave to remain), any ineligible family members in the household must not be taken into account in the homelessness application.

In these cases:

• the applicant cannot rely on ineligible family members to establish priority need
• the homelessness application is assessed only by reference to the main applicant and any eligible dependants

Further information on eligibility is available in our page on eligibility for homelessness assistance.

Page updated: 07 May 2026