Government launches consultation on ‘British homes for British workers’ policy

Commenting on the consultation launch on Tuesday (30 January), Lee Rowley, who was appointed housing minister for his second stint in the job in November, said: “Today we are proposing further steps to make the allocation of social housing fairer for people. If you abuse the system, making people’s lives a misery or actively work against our British values, you are making a choice – such choices will have consequences and our proposals seek to stop such people getting a social home.

“The message is clear: play by the rules, pay in and we will support you. If you choose not to, this country is not going to be a soft touch.

“The public want to know decent and hardworking people that have contributed to this country will be prioritised for new social tenancies. People already living in social homes want to know that anyone moving near them will be respectful of their neighbours with their communities protected from those who persistently break the law.

“That is why it is right that the finite resource of social housing is allocated fairly and local law-abiding citizens in need have more access to a home in their own communities.”

Details of the consultation

The reforms include new UK and local connection tests to determine social housing eligibility, with applicants required to demonstrate a connection to the UK for at least 10 years and their local area for at least two years.

However, the government also proposed that those who arrive as part of a safe and legal resettlement or relocation scheme will be exempt from the UK connection test.

Government also proposed an income test, setting thresholds for applicants and those on a waiting list to qualify for social housing.

The consultation proposed an anti-social behaviour test that would mean people who have unspent convictions for certain criminal anti-social behaviour, as well as certain civil sanctions, will be disqualified from social housing for a defined period.

In addition, a terrorism test would mean terrorist offenders with unspent convictions will not qualify for social housing unless excluding them would increase the risk to public safety.

Government proposed implementing a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for repeat offenders of anti-social behaviour and creating a new ground for eviction for terrorist offences.

The consultation also included a fraudulent declaration test, which mandates a period of disqualification for those who knowingly or recklessly make false statements when applying for social housing.

The new eligibility and qualification tests would apply not only to new applicants, but also to those currently on a social housing waiting list.

The government said that changes will be delivered by secondary legislation at “the earliest opportunity”. It said that the proposed new national requirements will “provide greater consistency for social housing applicants and local housing authorities, ultimately providing a fairer overall service”.

Mr Rowley said in the consultation: “We are consulting so that the reforms can be informed by the specialist knowledge of the sector and the views of the wider public.

“Reforms based on the consultation responses will ensure that waiting lists are managed effectively and that more social housing is allocated to those with the closest connection to the UK and their local area, as well of course to the priority groups set out in statute.”

Mr Rowley defends the proposals

Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme on the same day as the consultation launch, Mr Rowley talked about the policies and how they would apply.

The government’s data shows that 90 per cent of new social housing lettings goes to British nationals. When questioned on whether this would change, Mr Rowley said: “We are trying to make sure we are prioritising social housing in a way in which people have confidence in, and which supports people who play by the rules.”

When questioned on whether he is going to bar refugees from social housing, he said that the government wants to bring forward in the consultation a UK connection test, which “makes sure we’re prioritising access to social housing”.

Mr Rowley said that if this goes ahead the government is “prioritising people who have a connection to the UK, who are UK citizens or who have lived here for a long time”.

“Also in the consultation is a recognition that there will be certain scenarios where there are exceptions, that’s appropriate and that’s reasonable and that’s exactly what government does,” he said.

“We’ve talked in the consultation about the recent, very great support that the United Kingdom has provided for people coming out of Afghanistan.”

When pressed around whether rules will potentially change that will stop refugees getting access to social housing, Mr Rowley said if the state has an “obligation to house people”, that will continue, but at the same time it is “absolutely important that social housing is given to people who play by the rules”.

On the proposed ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy for anti-social behaviour, Mr Rowley said that if people get to the end of the three warnings then “ultimately you’ve had your opportunity to learn and opportunity to demonstrate a mistake was a mistake, but you’ve made choices and there will need to be consequences”.

Government said the new proposals build on the “significant reforms” introduced in the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

The act, which gained royal assent in July last year and comes into force in April 2024, gives the Regulator of Social Housing greater powers to hold poorly performing landlords to account.