# The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Under sections 160ZA(2) and 185(2) of the Housing Act 1996 (c. 52) (“the 1996 Act”), a person who is subject to immigration control is ineligible for an allocation of housing by a local authority or for housing assistance unless they come within a class of persons prescribed in regulations by the Secretary of State.
These Regulations amend the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) Regulations 2006 (“the Eligibility Regulations”) which make such provision.
Regulation 3 amends regulation 2 of the Eligibility Regulations to add “relevant person of Northern Ireland” to the list of defined terms.
Regulation 4 amends regulation 3 of the Eligibility Regulations which relates to the eligibility of persons subject to immigration control for an allocation of housing accommodation under the 1996 Act. It prescribes two additional classes of persons subject to immigration control who are eligible for an allocation of housing under the 1996 Act.
Class I applies to persons who have been given limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, on the basis that they are the family member of a ‘relevant person of Northern Ireland’. This change is being made in order to align with the changes made to the Immigration Rules on 14th May 2020 which are contained in Appendix EU of the Immigration Rules. Such a person is eligible for an allocation of housing on the same basis upon which they would have been eligible if they had been the family member of an EEA national worker or self-employed person eligible in accordance with regulation 4 of the Eligibility Regulations.
Class J applies to those who are habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and who have been given limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom under paragraph 405 of the Immigration Rules on the basis that they are a stateless person.
Regulation 4 also corrects a drafting error in regulation 3(f) of the Eligibility Regulations by substituting the provision containing Class F.
Regulation 5 amends regulation 5(1) of the Eligibility Regulations which relates to the eligibility of persons subject to immigration control for homelessness assistance under the 1996 Act. It prescribes two additional classes of person who are eligible for such assistance; Class J - family members of a person of Northern Ireland and Class K - stateless persons (equivalent to Classes I and J, inserted by regulation 4, respectively). It also corrects a drafting error in regulation 5(1)(g) by substituting the provision containing Class G.
An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/667/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/allocation-of-housing-and-homelessness-eligibility-england-amendment-regulations-2020/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.