Refugees at risk of street homelessness have until 16 January to extend their asylum accommodation

Following a interim agreement reached with the Home Office to prevent street homelessness, refugees living in asylum accommodation and receiving subsistence support can apply to extend their move-on period from 28 days to up to 56 days where they would otherwise be at imminent risk of street homelessness. This can be done until 16 January 2026.

In December 2024, the Home Office introduced a pilot scheme extending the ‘move-on’ period for newly recognised refugees. The ‘move-on’ period is the notice period a successful asylum seeker is given to leave their asylum accommodation. The pilot scheme meant refugees were given 56 days’ notice of the end of their asylum accommodation and subsistence support instead of only 28 days.

The pilot was paused earlier this year, meaning most refugees once again had only 28 days to move on from their asylum accommodation. Some vulnerable groups were exempted from the pause.

Deighton Pierce Glynn’s clients brought a series of urgent cases seeking interim relief to prevent evictions, including one claim in which generic relief was sought on behalf of all newly recognised refugees affected by the pause of the pilot scheme. Shortly before the court was due to rule on that application, the Home Office agreed that individuals who are at imminent risk of street homelessness will be able to extend their move-on period to up to 56 days until 16 January.

What is the move-on period?

Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are able to access accommodation and money to support themselves while their asylum claim is being decided. This is known as asylum support. Once an asylum seeker is granted status, their asylum support will cease. Newly recognised refugees are given 28 days’ notice of their asylum support ending.

For many years, authoritative bodies have produced detailed evidence demonstrating the serious problems caused by the 28 day move-on period. Newly recognised refugees frequently experience what has been described as a “destitution gap” between the end of asylum support and their ability to secure accommodation and income through mainstream benefits or other sources. At the same time, responsibility for meeting their basic needs is transferred from the Home Office to local authorities and other agencies, placing significant pressure on those systems.

This evidence includes reports and interventions from a wide range of organisations. For example, the British Red Cross’s 2014 report documented how newly recognised refugees often struggle to access mainstream benefits and secure accommodation within the 28 day period, leading many to become destitute when asylum support ends.

Its 2018 follow-up report further identified a structural incompatibility between the move-on period and the operation of the housing and benefits systems. By way of example, Universal Credit payments cannot be made until at least 35 days after an application is submitted, while local authorities are subject to a 56 day relief duty to assist individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The pilot

On 5 December 2024, the Home Office introduced a pilot scheme extending the move-on period for all newly recognised refugees to 56 days, with an independent evaluation intended to inform future policy. The decision was widely welcomed by non-government organisations and front-line organisations as a measure likely to reduce homelessness.

In announcing the pilot, the Home Office stated that it was intended to support local authorities and newly recognised refugees during a period of increased decision making and was expected to run until June 2025. On 3 July 2025, it was confirmed that the pilot would be extended until December 2025.

The pause of the pilot

However, in July and August 2025, the accommodation of asylum seekers in hotels became the focus of high profile and disorderly protests, most notably in Epping (see here and here).

On 26 August 2025, with only six days’ notice and before the completion of the independent evaluation, which was at that point expected “later this summer” and was still described as “imminent”, the pilot was paused, save for certain exempt groups. As a result, the default 28 day move-on period was reinstated. The exemptions were narrowly defined and applied only to pregnant people, individuals over the age of 65, people with a known or evidenced disability, and families.

The pause triggered immediate concern from homelessness charities, refugee organisations and local authorities. More than 60 organisations, coordinated by NACCOM, wrote to the Home Office to express their extreme concern that the pause would “increase homelessness and rough sleeping, cause individual harm, put pressure on local statutory and voluntary sector organisations, and undermine the government’s commitment to ending homelessness through a cross departmental strategy”.

NACCOM’s evidence highlighted that even under the 56 day pilot, refugees were often operating at the limits of the system; reverting to 28 days meant many would inevitably fall into what charities have long described as the “destitution gap”, becoming homeless despite taking all reasonable steps to move on. Frontline homelessness and refugee organisations reported being rapidly overwhelmed as increasing numbers of people faced eviction with no viable housing options.

Local authorities, including Islington Council, wrote to the Home Office stating as follows:

If the government reduces the move-on period to 28 days, the result in Islington will be more homelessness, less integration, and increased temporary accommodation costs. A rise in refugee homelessness would be disastrous at a time of nationwide anti-migrant protests. It risks fuelling far-right narratives about strains on public services and could put rough sleepers at even higher risk.

The legal challenges

With the support of frontline organisations and local authorities, the claimants did everything they could to secure accommodation and mainstream benefits within the shortened 28 day period. Despite these efforts, many remained at immediate risk of destitution through no fault of their own.

Judicial review proceedings were issued for six claimants and in each of those cases the Administrative Court granted urgent interim relief, preventing the individuals concerned from becoming street homeless. In several of these matters, interim relief was granted on the papers and under extreme time pressure, in some instances within hours of the application being filed.

Following the series of urgent applications, in the sixth case, one claimant made an application for general relief to prevent refugees being left street homeless following the reinstatement of the 28 day move-on period, which was listed before Chamberlain J. On 9 December 2025, Chamberlain J granted interim relief and listed a hearing on the application for generic relief on 18 December 2024.

Since then, and shortly before that hearing, the Home Office agreed to extend support to anyone who would otherwise be at risk of street homelessness until 16 January 2026. As a result, individuals at risk of homelessness can now request extensions of asylum accommodation and subsistence support, with the Home Office confirming that these extensions may be granted for up to 56 days from the grant of leave to remain.

An estimate of around 3,000 people who would otherwise have been evicted during this period will now be granted extensions if they would otherwise face street homeless.

The wider legal challenge continues.

What does this mean in practice?

In practice, this means that all news recognised refugees whose asylum support is due to stop can apply for extensions of their support and accommodation if they are at risk of street homelessness. Requests for extensions can be made by individuals themselves, by local authorities, or by organisations acting on an individual’s behalf, subject to a signed letter of authority where appropriate.

A clear written account explaining why the individual would otherwise be evicted into street homelessness will be sufficient.

Requests should be sent to both:

• Migrant Help at coc@migranthelpuk.org and positivemoveon@migranthelpuk.org, and;
• The Home Office Reinstatements Team at reinstatements@homeoffice.gov.uk 

For more, including the legal team who worked on this case, see here.