Responding to the plans, CIH pointed out that access to social housing is already tightly restricted by law. People subject to immigration control are generally ineligible, asylum seekers make up only a small fraction of new arrivals and cannot access social housing while their claims are pending, and non-UK nationals account for a small share of new lettings overall.

In CIH’s view, tightening eligibility further on the basis of nationality would do little to address the underlying shortfall in housing supply.

Rachael Williamson, CIH’s director of policy, communications and external affairs, said fairness in the housing system should start with an honest conversation about what is actually causing the crisis.

“People understandably want a housing system that is fair,” Rachael added. “But fairness starts with an honest discussion about the causes of the housing crisis. The law already prevents most foreign nationals from accessing social housing, with people subject to immigration control generally ineligible. Access to social housing is tightly regulated, and evidence shows that only a minority of new social housing lettings go to non-UK nationals, with most applicants facing long waits regardless of nationality.

“Proposals to ban foreign nationals from social housing raise significant practical, legal and operational questions. At a time of acute housing need, the real challenge is a chronic shortage of genuinely affordable homes, not the nationality of those seeking housing.  

“The priority should be increasing the supply of social and affordable housing while ensuring allocations remain fair, transparent and compliant with the law. Building more homes, rather than restricting access based on nationality, is the most effective way to reduce waiting lists and meet housing need.”

CIH also cited its own research, along with independent fact-checking, to challenge the narrative linking migration to housing pressure. Its Dispelling myths about migrants and housing briefing argues that migrants are frequently blamed for shortages despite facing significant barriers to accessing social housing themselves, and that even a substantial fall in migration would not remove the need for a major increase in housebuilding.

The briefing also notes that most migrants arrive on work or study visas and are barred from housing assistance because they have no recourse to public funds, and that net migration has already fallen sharply from its recent peak.

The Institute further warned that any policy excluding people from social housing on the basis of nationality would have to contend with existing equality and human rights law, raising legal and practical complications beyond current eligibility rules.

The Conservative proposals

The response follows Conservative plans, announced last week, to end social housing provision for foreign nationals in England if the party wins the next election. Under the proposals, new tenancies would be closed to all foreign nationals, and existing tenancies would end for couples where neither person holds UK, Irish or EU citizenship. The party says this would free up an estimated 228,144 homes for British families, with ineligible tenants expected to move out within six months.

Single tenants who are not UK, Irish or EU citizens, with or without children, would lose their social homes under the plan, as would couples where neither partner is a UK or EU citizen and neither holds EU settled status. Anyone with EU settled status would be protected from eviction, and for future tenancies, UK nationals and those with 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 can currently qualify for social housing, while asylum seekers remain ineligible except in exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases.

Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately defended the plan, saying that making Britain home “should be earned by working, paying tax and integrating” and should not come with what she called “a free ride on the benefits system.” She accused Labour of losing control of both immigration and the welfare bill, arguing British families are left “picking up the bill and sitting on waiting lists.”

Housing and homelessness charity Shelter also criticised the proposals.

Chief executive Sarah Elliott said strict eligibility rules already govern social housing and that homes are not handed out to people on arrival. She said the plans would forcibly remove people from homes they have lived in for years, including families and pensioners, and argued the housing emergency stems from successive governments’ failure to build enough genuinely affordable social homes, not from who is allowed to access them.