Residency Test For Allocations Would Be Illegal

A proposed residency test for social housing allocation would be illegal under EU and discrimination legislation, lawyers have warned. In a CLG consultation, the government has proposed ‘strongly encouraging’ local authorities to adopt a two year residency test for allocating housing. But the Housing Law Practitioners Association said the need to house EU citizens, Travellers, asylum seekers and out-of-area homeless applicants would make this provision illegal. The HLPA also raised concerns over a suggestion that homeless foreign nationals should be encouraged to reconnect with their home countries. ‘These proposals raise obvious issues under both EU Law and domestic anti-discrimination law,’ the response said. Read more on Inside Housing.