Tories Pledge Ban on Social Housing for Foreign Nationals

The Conservatives have said that, if they win the next general election, they would end access to social housing in England for foreign nationals.

Under the party’s proposal, new social housing tenancies would stop for foreign nationals. It would also end existing tenancies for couples where neither partner is a UK, Irish or EU citizen. The Conservatives said the changes would free up an estimated 228,144 homes for British families.

The party said Labour had “lost control of immigration”, leaving families on housing waiting lists. Labour disputed that characterisation, describing the policy as an “unserious, unworkable proposal” copied from Reform UK and arguing it would not address the housing shortage.

Planned Changes In England

The Conservatives said foreign nationals would be expected to leave social homes within six months if they were found to be ineligible under the new rules. The policy would cover single people as well as couples in specific circumstances.

The party’s comments came after Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said in June that foreign national tenants would be required to secure private accommodation within three months, or face potential deportation if Reform won power.

Eligibility Rules And Existing Tenants

Under the Conservatives’ plan, any single person currently living in social housing who is not a UK, Irish or EU citizen would lose their home, regardless of whether they have children. Couples where neither partner is a UK or EU citizen and who do not have EU settled status would also lose entitlement.

People with EU settled status would not be evicted under the proposals. For future tenancies, the party said UK nationals and those with EU settled status would remain eligible, while new EU citizens without settled status would not.

Foreign nationals with settled status, refugee status or specific humanitarian protections would continue to qualify for social housing under the existing framework. Asylum seekers would not be eligible unless in exceptional cases, including where someone is experiencing domestic abuse.

The Conservatives also previously floated a different approach when in government in 2024, considering a 10-year UK residence requirement before foreign nationals could qualify for social housing.

Housing Waiting List And Lettings Data

The latest government figures show 1.34 million households were on social housing waiting lists as of March 2025.

Data from 2024-25 indicates that most new social lettings go to single people. For the lead tenant of new social lettings, the person in whose name the tenancy is held, 89% were UK nationals, totalling 233,000 tenants. In the same period, 2.3% of new lettings were granted to refugees: 800 of those were UK nationals, while 3,900 were non-UK nationals. The most common refugee nationality in new lettings was Afghanistan, with Ukraine second.

Criticism From Labour, Shelter And Reform

Helen Whately, the Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “Making Britain your home should be earned by working, paying tax and integrating.” She added that Labour had lost control of immigration and the welfare bill, and that British families were “sitting on waiting lists”.

Labour said the policy would mainly affect refugees and long-term residents who had contributed, while putting more families at risk of homelessness. A Labour spokesperson said: “No amount of headline-chasing, or following Reform to the extremes, can hide the damage the Tories did to our housing system,” adding that the Conservatives should acknowledge their failures.

Housing and homelessness charity Shelter said eligibility rules for social housing were already strict and that accommodation was not provided immediately to people on arrival. Sarah Elliott, Shelter’s chief executive, said the “divisive plans” would “brutally kick people out of their homes”, including thousands of families and pensioners who have lived there for decades, and argued the housing emergency is linked to governments failing to build enough affordable social homes.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, accused the Conservatives of trying to copy Reform’s position but argued they had not gone far enough because their ban would not include people with EU settled status. He said Reform would make social housing “strictly for British citizens”.

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7 August 2026

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