Home Office Launches Trial to Reduce Refugee Homelessness: Affects on Refugees And Asylum Seekers in Leeds

The Home Office has introduced a trial to extend the period newly recognised refugees have to find a home. 

Those who arrive in the UK granted with asylum status, deemed at risk of persecution, are given emergency accommodation, usually in hotels or shared houses, while their application is processed. If approved, an asylum seeker will be granted refugee status, which should be a time for rejoicing, but it comes with an eviction notice of 28 days to find a new home. 

The new trial has increased the period to 56 days, giving people longer to navigate the British housing system and organise their universal credit application. Campaigns from charities and MPs to make the extension of the eviction period permanent were a catalyst to the change by the Home Office, which will stay in effect until June 2025. During the next 6 months, the Home Office will carry out an evaluation of the current system with the aim of improving the asylum process. 

Finding a place to live as a refugee can be difficult. Many refugees speak little English, are unaware of online housing websites, or do not have the funds for the deposit needed to begin a tenancy. 

Many landlords also refuse to rent to refugees, meaning that for those with new refugee status, sleeping on the streets is often the only option. 

In recent months, concerns about eviction have become the biggest topic of discussion at the Conversation Club Leeds (CCL), a charity that provides a welcoming environment for asylum seekers and refugees, aiming to help guests improve their English and learn about culture in the UK.

The Gryphon spoke to Margaret, a trustee, who said CCL welcomes the Home Office extension:

“After the joy of being granted leave to remain (LTR) the new refugee, often with limited language ability, must face the challenge of finding cheap adequate accommodation within 28 days in competition with all the other people already in the community who are also desperate for housing, navigating an alien often confusing market. It is not unusual for the refugees to become temporarily homeless, dependent on free charity meals and sleeping rough.”

‘Ali’, a refugee who had recently been issued with an eviction notice from his hotel after being granted refugee status, detailed how after failing to find a place to live, he had no choice but to sleep on the streets during the winter. 

Statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government demonstrate from September 2023 to 2024, the number of households in England who left asylum accommodation and received assistance from a local authority for homelessness rose by 250% from the previous year to 21,650. 

However, many single men report being unable to receive support from local authorities,  deemed non-priority cases. This was the case for Ali, who ultimately found housing via RETAS, another Leeds based organisation supporting refugees through this transition. RETAS  supports refugees by helping them to set up bank accounts, navigate the housing market and the benefits system. A spokesperson from RETAS said: 

“RETAS are thrilled to see the Home Office making positive changes to support the integration of recently granted refugees…Our organisation has seen demand for such services at levels that we’ve never witnessed before, and the added pressure of a tight deadline of only 28 days was stretching our already limited resources to absolute capacity.”

While the extension will likely improve the situation for refugees, many still say more needs to be done to resolve the current backlog of asylum cases. The Refugee Council forecasts the backlog to be 118,063 at the start of 2025. This means individuals awaiting a decision on if they have been granted refugee status can take anywhere between 3 months to 3 years. 

Margaret from the Conversation Club remains dubious about the long-term effects of the extension: 

“The long-term gains remain to be seen. Unless additional rented affordable housing becomes available, however, difficulties are likely to continue.”

Words by Nina Sorrentino