Opinion: The housing impact of making refugee status temporary

By Fuad Mahamed, chief executive, ACH (refugee integration services provider)

The Home Secretary’s announcement that refugee status in the UK will become temporary – with protection subject to regular reviews and a significantly longer 20-year route to permanent settlement – represents one of the most consequential shifts in asylum policy in recent memory.

As an organisation that supports over 30,000 refugees and people with lived experience of forced migration, we at ACH see first-hand how immigration policy plays out in housing systems. And I want to be clear: the ripple effects of these reforms will be deeply felt across the housing sector.

At the heart of these proposals is a heightened level of uncertainty. Forcing refugees to live for decades without the security of permanent status will create instability that extends far beyond immigration casework. It directly compromises people’s ability to access and sustain safe, appropriate, long-term housing.

Stable immigration status is what allows people to move from temporary accommodation into mainstream housing. If status becomes conditional and time-limited, many will be trapped in a cycle of short-term tenancies, supported housing, or in some cases, unregulated and unsafe accommodation. The danger is not hypothetical: when people fear they might be returned at short notice, they are less willing to enter formal tenancies or engage with landlords. Instead, they are pushed into informal arrangements, overcrowding, or exploitation.

For local authorities – and the housing associations and charities they work alongside – this creates a structural challenge. Temporary status means many refugees will need ongoing support for far longer. People who would have transitioned into work and independent housing within a few years may now need assistance for a decade or more. Supported housing providers, many already stretched, will face heavy caseloads involving complex cases where insecurity and trauma make progression to independence more difficult.

There is also a risk that local authorities will be left dealing with an increased number of people who fall into statutory homelessness because their status reviews create gaps in eligibility. If individuals lose their right to housing support after a review process or after their country of origin is designated “safe,” they do not simply disappear from local systems – they become a crisis for local councils, voluntary sector partners, and emergency housing teams.

For the housing sector, these changes create a new kind of long-term pressure that requires planning and resources. Without them, we will see avoidable destitution, costly use of emergency accommodation, and downstream impacts on community cohesion. Housing instability fuels social instability.

We recognise the government’s desire to reform asylum processes. But effective policy must be grounded in the lived realities of the people and systems it affects. The housing system is already in a fragile position, and introducing a much larger cohort of people who face decades of conditional status will have consequences that extend well beyond immigration policy.

The solution is not to abandon reform, but to implement it responsibly. That starts with clarity. Housing providers and local authorities urgently need detailed guidance on how regular refugee status reviews will be carried out, what rights individuals retain during review periods, and how people deemed “safe to return” will be managed in relation to housing eligibility. Transparency is essential – without it, planning becomes guesswork.

At ACH, we believe the sector must also seize this as a moment to strengthen collaboration. Housing associations, councils, migration charities and government need to work together to develop models of supported accommodation that reflect the new reality of temporary status. This could include specialist transitional housing for people undergoing status reviews, programmes that integrate immigration advice with tenancy support, and partnerships that help people progress safely into independent accommodation even while their status remains conditional.

Most importantly, we must not lose sight of the human dimension. Refugees come to the UK seeking safety and the chance to rebuild their lives. Turning protection into a revolving, decades-long state of uncertainty risks undermining that opportunity. Housing is one of the most powerful tools we have for helping people stabilise, integrate, and contribute. When we weaken that foundation, the consequences are felt across communities.

As these reforms move forward, ACH stands ready to work with partners across the housing sector to ensure that changes do not push people into homelessness or unsafe accommodation. A humane, stable and practical housing response is not only the right thing to do – it is essential for the health of our local systems and the cohesion of our communities.