The Conservative Party has pledged to to end the provision of social housing for foreign nationals if they win power at the next election, similar to the promise made by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in June.
The Conservatives said that if given power, they would end new tenancies for foreign nationals, as well as terminate current tenancies for couples where neither person is a UK, Irish or EU citizen. Any single people who are not a UK, Irish or EU citizen would also lose their home, and no exceptions would be made for families or single parents with children. For future tenancies, UK nationals and EU citizens with settled status would be eligible, but EU citizens without settled status would not.
The Tory pledge is almost identical to the one made by Farage through a 7,000 word substack article two months ago, although Nigel’s promise came wrapped in more ideological gift paper, such as insisting that “anti-whiteness is institutionalised into every aspect of public life”.
Under Reform’s promise, foreign nationals would need to find private accommodation within three months, or face deportation. The Tories have opted for a longer timeframe, offering foreign nationals a six month grace period before their homes are taken away from them.
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CIH’s director of policy, communications and external affairs, Rachael Williamson said:
“People understandably want a housing system that is fair. 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.”
The Conservatives were already contemplating similar measures when they were in power in 2024, debating a policy that would mean foreign nationals would have to have lived in the UK for ten years to become eligible for social housing.
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Both pledges from Reform and the Conservatives come in the wake of record waiting lists and temporary accommodation use. Almost 1.5M households are on the social housing waiting list in the UK, with an estimated 134,210 households living in temporary accommodation in England alone. In 2024-25, 89% of lead social housing tenancies were held by UK nationals.
Labour called the plan an: “unserious, unworkable proposal, copied from Reform, that does nothing to tackle the housing crisis the Tories themselves created”.
Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: “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.”
This is despite net migration in 2025 being recorded as 171,000, a significant reduction from the 2023 peak of 848,000.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, accused the Conservatives of copying his parties promise, but also condemned the Tories that their measures do not go far enough, and that the ban should include EU citizens with settled status.
