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Charities warn hundreds of asylum seekers are at risk of homelessness as Home Office ends eviction ban
The government has begun the process of evicting hundreds of refugees from Home Office accommodation after deciding not to extend its ban on asylum seeker evictions, Inside Housing can reveal.
Inside Housing has seen an email sent by the Home Office to local authority leaders last week (15 June) which confirmed the government would resume its “move-on process” for individuals living in asylum seeker accommodation in England “later this week”.
Multiple sources have told Inside Housing that the government aims to begin the process by ending support for 300 refugees across England.
In March, as a response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Home Office announced it would pause evicting asylum seekers who had received decisions on their claims for an initial period of three months. It intended to review the decision before the end of June.
The government has now opted against an extension.
In the letter sent to council bosses last week to confirm the decision, it said: “Work with the devolved administrations is continuing and we plan for the move-on process to recommence in these nations as soon as it is practical to do so.”
The Home Office is responsible for housing and providing support to thousands of asylum seekers across the UK for the duration of time it takes to process their asylum claim.
Usually when a decision is made on an individual’s claim, the Home Office support will end. Those who have been granted ‘leave to remain’ then become eligible to apply for welfare through their local authority, while those who are not granted leave to remain often have to depend on support from charities.
Both groups are at high risk of homelessness.
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In the email to local authorities, the Home Office said evictions in England will now begin on a “phased basis”, beginning with those “who have received positive asylum decisions”.
Andy Hewett, head of advocacy at the Refugee Council, said the organisation was “gravely concerned” to hear of the Home Office’s decision to resume evictions in the middle of a global pandemic.
“This puts refugees at risk of both homelessness and contracting the virus.
“We know from Public Health England’s recent report that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are at heightened risk of dying if they contract the virus, meaning these evictions could result in particularly grave consequences.”
The Home Office said it was “incorrect” that the refugees are at risk of homelessness and said “those who have had their claim for asylum accepted are being supported as they move into the mainstream social housing system”.
It is understood that the move-on process for those who have received positive asylum decisions is set to take place over a six-week period, although the Home Office has indicated to local authorities that it is flexible on this deadline.
The process is set to begin with individuals who are already set up on Universal Credit and have received resident permits.
The Home Office’s decision to resume evictions comes in contrast to the decision taken by the government to extend the ban on possessions proceedings, which protects UK renters from being evicted until August.
Mr Hewett said that having different rules for asylum seekers is “senseless and inhumane”.
Jessie Seal, policy and campaigns co-ordinator at The No Accommodation Network, told Inside Housing that a lot of newly recognised refugees end up on the streets homeless after leaving Home Office accommodation. Single adults who typically are not eligible for temporary accommodation via local authorities are particularly vulnerable.
She said: “All the research shows that the point that someone becomes a refugee is the point where someone is at extreme risk of entering destitution and street homelessness.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “There has been no Home Office instruction to ask asylum seekers to leave their properties. And during the pandemic we have been providing accommodation and essential living costs to those who would otherwise have been destitute. It is right that we review arrangements for those whose who do not qualify for asylum support.”
Update: at 11.15am on 24.06.20
The headline of this store was amended to include the words “charities warn”.
Update: at 15.02pm on 24.06.20
This story was amended to including the following line: ‘The Home Office said it was “incorrect” that the refugees are at risk of homelessness and said “those who have had their claim for asylum accepted are being supported as they move into the mainstream social housing system”.’
