British citizens will be prioritised for council housing under plans being considered by ministers to address concerns over migration.
The government is discussing legislation for inclusion in the King’s Speech this autumn that will require councils to push British citizens and permanent residents higher up waiting lists and stop others “jumping the queue”.
More than 1.2 million households are waiting for social housing and about one in ten of those given a home are non-UK nationals, with the figure considerably higher in areas with more migrants.
Under current rules, foreigners with visas giving them indefinite leave to stay in Britain are eligible for council housing, alongside refugees and those on schemes such as Homes for Ukraine. Existing guidance also recommends that people should have lived locally for two years before they qualify for social housing.
Ministers are concerned the rules are not strong enough, amid public concern about record immigration levels. Net migration hit a record 606,000 last year, a figure that Rishi Sunak says is “too high” but which the Treasury sees as crucial to boosting growth.
The discussions about social housing are at a relatively early stage and are expected to focus on giving British nationals priority rather than barring non-Britons entirely. A source familiar with the plans said: “Social housing is a finite resource so it’s only right we look at what more we can do to ensure UK nationals are prioritised locally as homes become available. The UK will always welcome the economic contribution of legal migrants to this country, but they shouldn’t be allowed to jump the queue for social homes.”
The government would retain existing protections for veterans and domestic abuse victims, while ministers are also keen to ensure there are no “knock-on effects” for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees who have come to the UK under official schemes.
Under current rules, priority for council housing is given to those who are homeless, domestic abuse victims and those living in overcrowded homes.
In Brent, northwest London, 40 per cent of new social homes were let to non-UK nationals in 2021-22. In Southwark the proportion was 29 per cent, in Oxford 26 per cent and in Milton Keynes 23 per cent. Other places with relatively high figures include Manchester, Coventry, and Birmingham.
Councils insist that they prioritise based on local need and many of those areas have higher numbers of lower- income families from outside the UK.
Polly Neate, chief executive of the housing charity Shelter, said: “If you try to push British citizens up the priority list then others with greater need will be ignored and lose out, including homeless families with children who have every right to be here, and those fleeing war in places like Ukraine.
“What this policy amounts to is an admission of failure by the government to build enough social housing.”
She said there were already “stringent rules” and reforming them “is just scapegoating a group of people to distract from the fact that the vast majority of households on the waiting list have no hope of a home anyway because we haven’t built a fraction of the social homes needed”.
The government has faced criticism over housebuilding after the number of new homes granted permission in England fell to its lowest since the 2008 financial crisis. Last year Michael Gove, the housing secretary, bowed to Tory rebels by dropping mandatory targets on councils for housebuilding.
The problem is worse for council and housing association homes. Just 7,500 for social rent were built in 2021-22, out of 59,175 homes classed as “affordable”, such as those in shared-ownership schemes. Overall social home numbers fell by 14,000 as they were sold under right-to-buy schemes. The number of council and housing association homes is down by more than 165,000 in the past decade.
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