UK Groups Urge Government to Scrap Policy Cutting Refugees’ Housing Time to 28 Days

Published: 18 September ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk

More than sixty organisations representing homelessness, refugee, and migrant communities have called on the UK government to reverse a controversial policy that drastically reduces the time asylum seekers have to secure housing after being granted leave to remain. The change, which cuts the “move-on” period from 56 days to just 28 days, has prompted concerns that thousands of newly recognised refugees could face destitution and rough sleeping this winter.

Leading homelessness charities, including Crisis, Shelter, St Mungo’s, and the Chartered Institute of Housing, alongside dozens of refugee and migrant advocacy groups, have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Housing Secretary Steve Reed urging them to reconsider the decision. The organisations warn that the shortened period is insufficient for refugees to find rented accommodation, secure employment, and access benefits, significantly increasing the risk of homelessness.

In their letter, the groups highlighted the broader social implications of the policy. They cautioned that a surge in refugees sleeping rough would not only undermine the government’s strategy to reduce homelessness but also heighten tensions within communities and expose vulnerable individuals to racist and anti-migrant hostility. The letter states: “The additional pressure for local councils comes as the number of people living in temporary accommodation is at an all-time high, and a lack of alternatives will result in further use of expensive, nightly, paid options for those eligible. Furthermore, to cause higher rates of homelessness among newly recognised refugees at a time when racist and anti-migrant sentiment is on the rise will put individuals at even greater risk of harm on the streets and exacerbate community tensions. We urge you to reconsider.”

Bridget Young, director of Naccom, emphasised the importance of the move-on period. “This period is a critical time for people leaving Home Office accommodation to find safe, secure housing and support, to avoid ending up homeless and destitute. Extending this period by even a short amount of time has been shown to make a material difference in avoiding rough sleeping and ensuring refugees can integrate into communities more quickly,” she said. Young added that reverting to a shorter timeframe would be a backward step, undoing the positive effects of the previous policy.

Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services, expressed alarm at the government’s reversal. “We were appalled at the U-turn on the previous decision to grant new refugees 56 days to find accommodation. A shorter move-on period is guaranteed to increase rough sleeping and homelessness among an extremely vulnerable group of people,” he said. Henderson stressed that the united opposition from 64 organisations demonstrates the effectiveness of the longer move-on period in preventing destitution and supporting safe transitions into communities. He warned that the change, driven in part by public pressure and anti-migrant rhetoric, risks harming both refugees and overstretched local authorities and homelessness services.

A government spokesperson defended the policy in the context of broader asylum reforms. “This government inherited a broken asylum and immigration system. We are taking practical steps to turn that chaos around – including doubling asylum decision-making to clear the backlog left by the previous government and reducing the number of people in hotels by 6,000 in the first half of 2025. We continue to work with local councils, NGOs, and other stakeholders to ensure any necessary assistance is provided for those individuals who are granted refugee status,” the spokesperson said.

While the government frames the change as part of wider efficiency reforms, advocacy groups argue it risks creating a humanitarian crisis at a time when winter conditions already put homeless individuals at severe risk. The organisations insist that maintaining a 56-day move-on period is a modest but crucial measure to safeguard newly recognised refugees, allow them to access essential services, and integrate safely into society.

With homelessness already at record levels and the pressures on councils and support services growing, critics warn that cutting the time for refugees to secure housing is not just a logistical issue but a moral one. Failure to reverse the policy, they say, could leave thousands of vulnerable individuals exposed to destitution, compounding existing social challenges and undermining the UK’s obligations to those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution.