NRPF and Housing
Where you live affects nearly everything about your life and is a serious factor decicing where you work, how you spend your time off, who your friends and neighbours are, how many kids you can have and your health.
Immigration status will affect whether you can access housing and/or homelessness support from your local authority, as they are listed as public funds, forcing individuals to rely overwhelmingly on private rentals. Given the destitution risk factors that all with NRPF face, renting privately and maintaining payments can be tricky at the best of times and impossible when a crisis hits. Despite this, the vast majority of people with NRPF will not face homelessness or insecure housing.
Use the toggle below to discover the relationship between housing and NRPF.
For most, homelessness is an unimaginable crisis, a time at which support from all corners is needed to stay afloat. For individuals and families with NRPF, they are all but locked out of mainstream support upon presenting as homeless and subsequently unable to apply for and receive local social housing. Given this, families are pushed towards private rental accommodation, in a situation where destitution is embedded, many struggle to maintain payments, left with little for food, utilities, education, etc.
Without the vast support net afforded to their peers with more secure status, homelessness becomes a more tangible threat. When a crisis comes, there is a thin band of support protecting those with NRPF, which can snap easily. The point is not that any minor inconvenience will push someone with NRPF onto a road to homelessness, but that when a crisis occurs, people with NRPF lack the same level of support that their settled and Scottish peers are often offered, which is often necessary to avoid this path.
Yes, you can receive social housing depending on the provider.
You cannot receive social housing if provided for by the local authority, as local authority housing is considered a public fund. However, you may receive social housing from a registered social landlord or housing association, provided you meet the pre-tenancy checks.
For more information, please see Part 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.
Homelessness assistance (including emergency temporary accommodation) is considered a public fund and is thus not accessible to those with NRPF.
Emergency accommodation provided under social care legislation, like section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or any other legal powers, is not a public fund for immigration purposes and can be accessed by people who have no recourse to public funds, the criteria for this support is very particular and the threshold of need incredibly high. In an emergency crisis, it is advisable to seek assistance from Local Authority Social Work teams, who can assess whether the local authority has a statutory duty to intervene and support.
Individuals seeking asylum may also be housed should they be destitute through Section 95, Section 98 and Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. To learn more about your rights whilst seeking asylum please view our NRPF and Asylum page.
For more information, please see Part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.
Housing may be applied for via a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) unless you have been nominated for it by the local authority. Thereafter, people with NRPF have the same rights as any other tenant in the UK. Individuals may be asked to evidence their ability to pay the rent when they are unable to claim benefits to cover it.
Moray, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils each have pages detailing the RSLs that work within their local authority boundaries.
The Scottish Housing Regulator hosts an up-to-date list of all Registered Social Landlords in Scotland.
Yes.
Aside from being unable to access homelessness assistance or LA social housing when renting via RSL, Housing Association or Private landlord, individuals with NRPF have the same rights as UK nationals. You have the same right to a safe home, a protected deposit, and the right to action against an unlawful eviction. It is illegal for private landlords to discriminate against you based on your nationality, ethnicity or immigration status.
Unlike in England, private landlords in Scotland are not required to check a tenant’s ‘right to rent’, though they may ask for it and will still ask for proof of identification. You can prove this by generating a share code linked to your e-visa. You can rent privately in the UK for as long as you have valid immigration permission to stay.
The absence of a written agreement between a tenant and landlord does not mean that the tenant has no rights in certain situations. We recommend that all tenants facing a crisis always seek advice.
For a full breakdown of your rights please see Shelter Scotland’s ‘Your rights if your rent your home‘ page.
Council Tax Reduction (support) is listed as a public fund and is therefore inaccessible for people with NRPF.
A tenant of a rented or purchased property is usually expected to pay council tax. The amount that one is expected to pay is determined by a council tax band which correspond to the properties value.
Despite this, council tax discounts and exemptions are not public funds. Tenants with NRPF, like any other tenants, may be eligible for these discounts in certain situations. For example: if they are a full time student they may be fully exempt, or all single occupiers can receive a 25% discount for living alone. Exemptions and discounts are not classed as a public fund.