- Local connection tests officially removed for care leavers under 25 and victims of domestic abuse
- Forms part of the five-step plan to deliver a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing
- Delivering the government’s Plan for Change to provide more vulnerable people with a safe and secure roof over their head
More young people leaving care and domestic abuse survivors can now have greater access to social housing, thanks to new changes removing a local connection requirement coming into effect today.
Last month the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed the government is rewriting the rules for vulnerable groups who have faced barriers to social housing when they do not have a connection to the local area, meaning they can no longer be unfairly penalised. The move has been largely welcomed by charities across the sector including Become and Centrepoint.
Many domestic abuse survivors and care leavers under the age of 25 face unique challenges, such as fleeing an unsafe home to seek safety or adjusting to life outside of the care system, so may be forced to move from area to area without having a local connection.
Government guidance for councils across England, nearly 90% of which currently use local connection tests, sets out their obligations to prioritise vulnerable people applying for social housing. This has now been updated to confirm young care leavers and domestic abuse survivors must be exempt from any local connection tests.
It comes as the government recently published its five-point plan to deliver a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing and pave the way for the biggest boost in a generation. This includes the new £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme to build around 300,000 new homes over the next decade, with at least 60% for social rent.
Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner said:
“I’m immensely proud this government is delivering real change for some of our most vulnerable in society, making sure more young people and families can have a safe and secure roof over their head.
“It’s only right we remove local connection tests for these groups and from today they will no longer face such barriers – it’s a promise we made and a promise we’ve kept.
“This builds on our Plan for Change to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, turning the tide on the crisis we’ve inherited and building hundreds of thousands of new homes to bring down housing waiting lists for good.”
Today’s changes follow the rules overhauled last year to remove local connection tests for all former UK Regular Armed Forces Veterans, regardless of when they last served, as pledged by the Prime Minister.
The government remains fully committed to supporting more vulnerable groups and veterans into social housing but also recognises the challenges faced by councils dealing with unprecedented pressures on housing supply as well as depleted housing stocks.
That’s why the government has now set out ambitions to ramp up housing delivery for this Parliament and beyond, equipping councils and providers with greater tools to invest in existing and new social homes. This includes:
- Bringing forward long-overdue reforms to Right to Buy, including a 35-year exemption for newly built social homes, to protect and reverse the decline in much-needed council housing.
- Extending the flexibilities on spending Right to Buy receipts introduced last year, as well as allowing councils to retain 100% of Right to Buy receipts and from next year combine receipts with grant funding for affordable housing, which will further accelerate the delivery of new homes to replace those sold.
- Introducing a new long-term 10-year settlement for social housing rents to provide the sector with the certainty they need to reinvest in new housing stock.
New funding for a £12 million Council Housebuilding Skills & Capacity Programme has also been announced, which will upskill and expand council workforces to get more spades in the ground for a new era of council housebuilding.
Centrepoint’s Director of Policy and Prevention, Balbir Kaur Chatrik said:
“It wasn’t right that young care leavers were subjected to local connection tests – particularly at a point in their lives where they should be able to move on and thrive.
“Removing this barrier is a huge step in protecting some of the country’s most vulnerable young people and should help in reducing youth homelessness more broadly.”
A care-experienced young person, Tia Shillito-Radicic said:
“The passing of this new legislation is nothing short of life-changing for many care-experienced young people and especially for me.
“This legislation gives me the opportunity to live somewhere safer, closer to my support network, and within reach of my career in the Civil Service. It’s not just about having a roof over my head – it’s about having a foundation to build a future. It’s about independence, security, and dignity.
“Too often, young people in care are uprooted from their communities and placed far from home due to foster care shortages or safeguarding concerns. When we age out of care, we’re then expected to return to the original council that placed us – sometimes hundreds of miles from where we’ve built our lives. That system leaves many of us isolated, detached from the people and places we trust most.
“This legislation changes that. And with it, comes hope. Hope that young people won’t have to start over, again and again. Hope that we can remain close to the support systems we’ve fought to create. And hope that we’ll finally be seen not just as care leavers, but as individuals with dreams, careers, and futures.
“To everyone who worked tirelessly to make this happen: thank you. You haven’t just changed a policy – you’ve helped us hold onto something many of us lose far too often: a sense of home, of belonging, and of hope.”
Further information
Last month the government published a written ministerial statement confirming new changes for young care leavers and domestic abuse survivors. The regulations were laid on 19 June and come into force today.
While the changes remove a specific barrier for these vulnerable groups, the allocation of social housing is still at the discretion of the local housing authority.
On 24 September, the Prime Minister set out his ambition to improve access to social housing for former UK Armed Forces Veterans, young care leavers and domestic abuse survivors.
The government recently set out its long-term plan – Delivering a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing – which includes a commitment to support more vulnerable groups and veterans having access to social housing.
