New changes to remove local connection rules for young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse to access social housing.
- Care leavers under 25 and victims of domestic abuse to benefit from removal of local connection rules
- Follows £39 billion investment in affordable and social housing to deliver biggest expansion in a generation
- Delivers on the government's Plan for Change, providing people with safe and secure housing and raising living standards
Young people leaving care and domestic abuse survivors will now have better access to social housing, as the government delivers on its promise to remove a local connection requirement for these groups.
New changes, which come into force next month, will exempt them from rules that restrict access to social housing for those that do not have a connection to the local area - making sure the most vulnerable in society can access the housing support they need.
This change applies to all councils in England, nearly 90% of which currently use local connection criteria to determine who qualifies for social housing. It follows reforms last year to remove barriers for all former UK Armed Forces Veterans, as pledged by the Prime Minister.
Under the new rules, care leavers under the age of 25 and domestic abuse survivors will no longer be unfairly penalised for not having a local connection; recognising the unique challenges they can face, such as transitioning out of care or fleeing an unsafe home to seek safety.
It comes as the government committed £39 billion for a new ten-year Affordable Homes Programme, supporting the Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and tackle housing waiting lists for families and young people across the country.
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner said:
"It breaks my heart to hear countless stories of people leaving the care system or fleeing an abusive relationship and not having a place they can truly call home. We're rewriting the rules to help get them a roof over their heads and the security they deserve.
"Our changes will make sure these vulnerable groups do not face unfair barriers to safe and secure housing. This is backed by our commitment to secure the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, and through our Plan for Change we are going further and faster to make this a reality."
Last year the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to local councils reminding them of their obligations to prioritise vulnerable groups for social housing. Government guidance will be updated to reflect these changes.
Additional support includes:
- £160 million for councils to help provide safe accommodation and support for domestic abuse survivors and meet their statutory duty to help victims and their children when they need it the most - increased by £30 million this year.
- New legislation proposed to ensure young care leavers in scope of the council's corporate parenting duty have access to housing and cannot be considered 'intentionally homeless'.
- An £800 million top-up for the current Affordable Homes Programme to ramp up the delivery of new social homes.
- Proposed Right to Buy reforms to protect council housing stock and a new ten-year social rent settlement to give the sector the certainty it needs to build more social homes.
CEO of Become, Katharine Sacks-Jones said:
"We welcome these new regulations that will allow more care leavers to access social housing where they are. Too many children in care are moved away from the people and places that matter to them and then made to move back to their local authority area once they turn 18 to access social housing support.
"Removing the local connection test will prevent forced moves, could help reduce homelessness and give care leavers a more positive start to adulthood."
Director of Policy and Prevention at Centrepoint, Balbir Kaur Chatrik said:
"Removing this barrier will reduce homelessness and rough sleeping amongst care leavers and help them to thrive.
"Care leavers are often extremely vulnerable young people and lack the support networks that many of us take for granted. Despite this they often find it a real struggle to access the stable housing they need to thrive because they lack a local connection. The government's change will hopefully stop this practice and ensure young people can get the stable and affordable homes they deserve.
"It's also an important step towards ending youth homelessness and protecting the most vulnerable. Taken together with funding for prevention and housebuilding, this brings us a bit closer over the short- and long-term towards ensuring young people are getting the support they need."
