Home Office pilot saved 1,000 refugee families from homelessness. Then rules changed

Giving refugees 56 days to find an income and a place to live after being evicted from Home Office accommodation prevented an estimated 1,000 refugee households from becoming homeless, Refugee Council has found.

The Home Office ran a pilot scheme that extended the move-on period for newly recognised refugees to 56 days, offering them more breathing room to navigate the private rented sector and work with councils to avoid homelessness.

But the pilot scheme has now ended with the move-on period reduced to 42 days from 9 March this year.

Refugee Council warned that the reduced time for newly recognised refugees to find a new home could see homelessness increase beyond its current record-high levels.

Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at Refugee Council, said: “Receiving refugee status in the UK should be a moment for people to celebrate and finally start rebuilding their lives in safety, after escaping war and persecution. Instead, they face a ticking clock, endless bureaucratic hurdles, and the threat of homelessness. Refugee homelessness has been driving increases in street homelessness in recent years.  

“We can see what works – the Home Office’s 56-day pilot kept an estimated 1,000 households out of homelessness and eased pressure on overstretched councils. Even with 56 days, many people still struggle to secure housing because the system is complex and the barriers are high – cutting that time further will only push more people into crisis. 

“Refugees want to stand on their own two feet – find work, pay their way and rebuild their lives. But they need a fair chance to do that. The government should learn from this progress and ensure proper support for new refugees to move on, with a system that works in practice, not just on paper.” 

Refugee Council’s analysis of statutory homelessness figures showed 15,440 refugee households were supported by local councils in England between January and September 2025. The Homelessness Reduction Act requires councils to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness for applicants who are at risk of homelessness within 56 days.

A total of 10,170 of these were under the relief duty, meaning that councils were required to relieve homelessness. But Refugee Council said that the ratio of homelessness at the end of 2024 showed that an estimated 11,160 households would require support.

Despite the extended period to find a home, many refugees still struggled to avoid homelessness.

The charity’s report found 43% of refugee households were able to secure housing during the nine-month pilot.

A total of four in five refugees reported finding housing was “difficult” or “very difficult” with many of those who couldn’t find a home ending up staying in hostels, rough sleeping or sofa surfing instead.

Read more:

• Housing refugees properly benefits everyone in society – here’s how
• This housing project claims it could save Labour millions on housing asylum seekers in hotels
• This innovative scheme uses spare rooms to house homeless refugees after Home Office backlog blitz

Awek, who was granted refugee status in 2022, said: “Along with refugee status came a letter telling me to leave the hotel accommodation. Now I was confused but had to leave. There was no proper guidance. I was handed a few contact numbers for support services, but most went unanswered. The silence felt loud.  

“I became homeless for weeks. I slept rough outside and I rode buses with no destination – just to keep moving, just to stay warm. It was extremely cold outside. I would not wish that experience even to my worst enemy.” 

The Home Office told Big Issue that the pilot was only intended to be a temporary experiment.

The programme was launched in December 2024 and amended in September 2025 to exclude single adults unless they were pregnant, over 65 or had a disability.

Home Office representatives added that key findings from the evaluation of the pilot and forecasted impacts on the asylum accommodation estate were considered before the decision was made to set the move-on period to 52 days.

“We have always been clear that this was a pilot programme,” said a Home Office spokesperson. For individuals granted leave to remain, we are committed to successfully transitioning them from asylum accommodation, which is why we have extended the grace period to 42 days, from 28 days.

“Work is well underway to close every asylum hotel, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”

Big Issue has previously reported on the impact on homelessness when the move-on period was cut to 28 days in 2023.

We found that the number of homeless refugee households trebled from 450 to 1,500 following the Home Office decision.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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