The Conservatives have said they would end the provision of social housing for foreign nationals in England if they win power at the next election. The party said ending new tenancies for all foreign nationals, as well as current tenancies for couples where neither person is a UK, Irish or EU citizen, would free up an estimated 228,144 homes for British families.
The proposals, revealed on Friday, were condemned by Labour and housing charities as divisive and unworkable. Labour said the policy was an "unserious, unworkable proposal, copied from Reform, that does nothing to tackle the housing crisis the Tories themselves created".
The Conservatives said the plan would make about 230,000 homes available to British families. Under the proposal, tenants who do not qualify for social housing would be expected to move out within six months.
Who would be affected by the Conservatives' plan?
Any single person currently living in social housing who is not a UK, Irish or EU citizen would lose their social home. This includes those with or without children. Couples, where neither of them is a UK or EU citizen and they do not have EU settled status, will also lose their entitlement. Anyone with EU settled status would not be evicted.
For future tenancies, UK nationals and those with EU settled status would be eligible but any new EU citizens without settled status would not be. Foreign nationals with settled status, refugee status, or specific humanitarian protections can currently qualify for social housing. Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing, unless in exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases.
Social housing, usually provided by housing associations or local councils, is typically cheaper and more secure than privately rented homes.
When they were last in government in 2024, the Conservatives were considering plans to make it a requirement for foreign nationals to have to live in the UK for 10 years before qualifying for social housing.
How many homes are on social housing waiting lists?
There are 1.34 million households on social housing waiting lists, as of March 2025, the latest government figures. The vast majority of social housing lettings are given to single people.
In 2024-25, most lead tenants of new social lettings, the person in whose name the social home is rented, were UK nationals - 89% or 233,000 tenants. In the same period, 2.3% of new lettings were given to refugees - 800 refugees were UK nationals, while the remaining 3,900 were non-UK nationals.
In 2024/25, 88.5% of main householders - the person in whose name the social home is rented - were UK or Irish nationals and 11.5% were non-UK/Irish nationals, according to the English Housing Survey.
There are an estimated 470,000 non-UK and non-Irish citizens living in social housing.
The most common nationality of refugees in a new social letting was Afghanistan with the second most common being Ukraine.
What did Helen Whately say?
Making Britain your home should be earned by working, paying tax and integrating.
It should not come with a free ride on the benefits system. Britain cannot be a cash machine for the world.
Labour has lost control of immigration and lost control of the welfare bill, and it is British families picking up the bill and sitting on waiting lists.
Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: "Making Britain your home should be earned by working, paying tax and integrating."
She added: "It should not come with a free ride on the benefits system. Britain cannot be a cash machine for the world."
Whately also said: "Labour has lost control of immigration and lost control of the welfare bill, and it is British families picking up the bill and sitting on waiting lists."
Whately said the next Conservative government would make foreign nationals ineligible for social housing and that nearly 230,000 homes could go to British families.
How did Labour respond?
Labour said the Conservative policy would primarily affect refugees and long-term UK residents who had contributed to the country, while also leaving more families at risk of homelessness.
No amount of headline-chasing, or following Reform to the extremes, can hide the damage the Tories did to our housing system. The least they could do is acknowledge their failures and apologise.
"No amount of headline-chasing, or following Reform to the extremes, can hide the damage the Tories did to our housing system. The least they could do is acknowledge their failures and apologise," the spokesperson said.
Why are housing charities criticising the plan?
Housing and homelessness charity Shelter said there were already strict rules on eligibility for social housing and accommodation was not handed out to people on arrival.
These divisive plans would brutally kick people out of their homes, including thousands of families and pensioners who have lived in them for decades.
The housing emergency is caused by successive governments failure to build enough genuinely affordable social homes - not by who accesses social housing.
Chief executive Sarah Elliott said: "These divisive plans would brutally kick people out of their homes, including thousands of families and pensioners who have lived in them for decades." She added: "The housing emergency is caused by successive governments failure to build enough genuinely affordable social homes - not by who accesses social housing."
Shelter also said social tenants pay rent, which goes back to the public purse and into society, and warned the policy would drive up homelessness and put extreme pressure on councils. The charity said the proposal did nothing to deliver new social homes, which it described as the real need.
The Royal College of Nursing also criticised the plan, saying it could create housing insecurity for staff who keep services running and pose a risk to patient care.
The worst thing in the world would be to cause serious housing worry for a workforce that keeps our services running, posing serious risk to patient care.
Those advocating for them need to offer reassurances – and quickly – or explain why it is just that some of our most brilliant nursing staff may face housing insecurity.
The Royal College of Nursing said: "The worst thing in the world would be to cause serious housing worry for a workforce that keeps our services running, posing serious risk to patient care." It added that supporters of the policy should offer reassurances quickly or explain why some nursing staff may face housing insecurity.
What did Reform UK say?
Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said the Conservatives were trying to copy his party's policy but accused them of not going far enough as their proposed ban does not include those with EU settled status.
Incredibly, Kemi Badenoch's new policy is to allow tens of thousands of foreign nationals from the EU to occupy British social housing funded by British taxpayers.
Reform UK will ensure British social housing is strictly for British citizens.
Yusuf said: "Incredibly, Kemi Badenoch's new policy is to allow tens of thousands of foreign nationals from the EU to occupy British social housing funded by British taxpayers." He added: "Reform UK will ensure British social housing is strictly for British citizens."
How does this compare with Reform UK's policy?
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said in June that foreign national tenants would have to find private accommodation within three months or face possible deportation if his party won power. Under the Tory proposals, ineligible tenants would be expected to move out within six months.
The Conservatives' plan is narrower than Reform's because it does not apply to people with EU settled status. Reform's home affairs spokesperson said that difference meant the Tory policy was not going far enough.
What is the broader context?
The row comes against the backdrop of a long social housing waiting list and pressure on public housing supply. The Conservatives said 228,144 homes could be freed for British families, while Shelter argued the central problem is the shortage of genuinely affordable social homes rather than who is allowed to live in them.
The debate also reflects the Conservatives' shift towards a tougher immigration message, with the party accusing Labour of losing control of immigration and the welfare bill. Labour said the Tories were chasing headlines and following Reform to the extremes.
Key Facts
- The Conservatives say foreign nationals would be barred from new social housing tenancies in England if they win power.
- The party says the policy could free up 228,144 homes, or about 230,000 homes, for British families.
- Current tenants who do not qualify would be expected to leave within six months.
- Shelter and the Royal College of Nursing warned the plan could increase homelessness and affect essential workers.
- There were 1.34 million households on social housing waiting lists in March 2025.
