The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Wales) Regulations 2014

Made: 24 September 2014

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales: 1 October 2014

Coming into force: 31 October 2014

The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by sections 160A(3) and (5), 172(4), 185(2) and (3) and 215(2) of the Housing Act 1996[^f00001], and which are now vested in the Welsh Ministers[^f00002]:

Title, commencement and application

1

• (1) The title of these Regulations is the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Wales) Regulations 2014 and they come into force on 31 October 2014.

• (2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 1996 Act” (“Deddf 1996”) means the Housing Act 1996;

• ...

• “the EEA Regulations” (“Rheoliadau yr AEE”) means the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 and references to the EEA Regulations are to be read with Schedule 4 to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Regulations 2020;

• “the Human Rights Convention” (“y Confensiwn Hawliau Dynol”) means the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, agreed by the Council of Europe at Rome on 4th November 1950 as it has effect for the time being in relation to the United Kingdom;

• “the Immigration Rules” (“y Rheolau Mewnfudo”) means the rules laid down as mentioned in section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971[^f00005] (general provisions for regulation and control);

• “the Refugee Convention” (“y Confensiwn ynglŷn â Ffoaduriaid”) means the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951, as extended by Article 1(2) of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31 January 1967; and

• “sponsor” (“noddwr”) means a person who has given an undertaking in writing for the purposes of the Immigration Rules to be responsible for the maintenance and accommodation of another person.

• (2) For the purposes of these Regulations—

• (a) “jobseeker” (“ceisiwr gwaith”), “self-employed person” (“person hunangyflogedig”), and “worker” (“gweithiwr”) have the same meaning as for the purposes of the definition of a “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of the EEA Regulations[^f00006]; and

• (ab) “frontier worker” (“gweithiwr trawsffiniol”) means a person who is a frontier worker within the meaning of regulation 3 of the Citizens' Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations;

• (b) subject to paragraph (3), references to the family member of a jobseeker, self-employed person, worker or frontier worker are to be construed in accordance with regulation 7 of the EEA Regulations.

• (3) For the purposes of regulations 4(2)(d) and (h) and 6(2)(d) and (h) “family member” (“aelod o deulu”) does not include a person who is treated as a family member by virtue of regulation 7(3) of the EEA Regulations.

Persons subject to immigration control who are eligible for an allocation of housing accommodation

3

The following classes of persons subject to immigration control are persons who are eligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under Part 6 of the 1996 Act—

• (a) Class A – a person who is recorded by the Secretary of State as a refugee within the definition in Article 1 of the Refugee Convention and who has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom;

• (b) Class B – a person—

• (i) who has exceptional leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom granted outside the provisions of the Immigration Rules; and

• (ii) whose leave to enter or remain is not subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themselves, and any person who is dependant on that person, without recourse to public funds;

• (c) Class C – a person who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and whose leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom is not subject to any limitation or condition, other than a person—

• (i) who has been given leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom upon an undertaking given by the person’s sponsor;

• (ii) who has been resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland for less than five years beginning on the date of entry or on the date on which the undertaking was given in respect of the person, whichever date is the later; and

• (iii) whose sponsor or, where there is more than one sponsor, at least one of whose sponsors is still alive;

• (d) Class D – a person who has humanitarian protection granted under the Immigration Rules; ...

• (e) Class E – a person who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and who has limited leave to enter the United Kingdom as a relevant Afghan citizen under paragraph 276BA1 of the Immigration Rules; ...

• (f) Class F – a person who has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom on family or private life grounds under Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, such leave granted under paragraph 276BE(1), paragraph 276DG or Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, and who is not subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themselves, and any person who is dependent on that person, without recourse to public funds ; ...

• (g) Class G – a person who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and who has been relocated to the United Kingdom under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and has limited leave to remain under paragraph 352ZH of the immigration rules; ...

• (h) Class H – a person who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and who has been granted Calais leave to remain in the United Kingdom under paragraph 352J of the immigration rules ; ...

• (i) Class I – a person who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland and who has limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a stateless person under paragraph 405 of the Immigration Rules ;

• (j) Class J – a person—

• (i) who has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue of Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas) of the Immigration Rules;

• (ii) whose leave to enter or remain is not subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themselves, and any person who is dependent on that person, without recourse to public funds; and

• (iii) who is habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland;...

• (k) Class K – a person—

• (i) who is granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom in accordance with the Immigration Rules, where such leave is granted by virtue of—

• (aa) the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy; or

• (bb) the previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (sometimes referred to as the ex-gratia scheme); or

• (ii) with leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom not coming within sub-paragraph (i), who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15 August 2021, but excluding a person (P)—

• (aa) who is subject to a condition requiring P to maintain and accommodate themselves, and any person who is dependent on P, without recourse to public funds; or

• (bb) who has been given leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom upon an undertaking given by P’s sponsor and has been resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland for less than five years beginning on the date of entry or the date on which P’s sponsor gave the undertaking in respect of P, whichever date is the later, and whose sponsor or, where there is more than one sponsor, at least one of whose sponsors, is still alive ; ...

• (l) Class L – a person who has been granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom by virtue of Appendix Ukraine Scheme of the Immigration Rules ; ...

• (m) Class M – a person who has temporary leave to remain in the United Kingdom granted in accordance with Appendix Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery of the Immigration Rules ; ...

• (n) Class N – a person who—

• (i) was residing in Sudan before 15 April 2023;

• (ii) left Sudan in connection with the violence which rapidly escalated on 15 April 2023 in Khartoum and across Sudan;

• (iii) has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given in accordance with the Immigration Rules;

• (iv) is not a person whose leave is subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themself, and any person who is dependent on that person, without recourse to public funds; and

• (v) is not a person (P)—

• (aa) who has been given leave upon an undertaking given by P’s sponsor;

• (bb) who has been resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland for less than five years beginning on the date of entry or the date on which P’s sponsor gave the undertaking in respect of P, whichever date is the later; and

• (cc) whose sponsor or, where there is more than one sponsor, at least one of whose sponsors, is still alive ; ...

• (o) Class O – a person who—

• (i) was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon immediately before 7 October 2023;

• (ii) left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon in connection with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 or the violence which rapidly escalated in the region following the attack;

• (iii) has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given in accordance with the Immigration Rules;

• (iv) is not a person whose leave is subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themself, and any person who is dependent on that person, without recourse to public funds; and

• (v) is not a person (P)—

• (aa) who has been given leave upon an undertaking given by P’s sponsor;

• (bb) who has been resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland for less than five years beginning on the date of entry or the date on which P’s sponsor gave the undertaking in respect of P, whichever date is the later; and

• (cc) whose sponsor or, where there is more than one sponsor, at least one of whose sponsors, is still alive.

• (p) Class P – a person (P) who has indefinite leave to enter the United Kingdom by virtue of Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse of the Immigration Rules in circumstances where P is a victim of transnational marriage abandonment; ...

• (q) Class Q – a person who has limited leave to enter or limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom and who, after making a change of conditions application, has had their no recourse to public funds condition lifted by the Home Office in accordance with section 3(1)(c)(ii) of the Immigration Act 1971 and is not a person within Class F or Class J in this regulation ; and

• (r) Class R – a person who—

• (i) was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem on or before 23 June 2025;

• (ii) left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem in connection with the conflict between Israel and Iran which escalated in June 2025;

• (iii) has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given in accordance with the Immigration Rules;

• (iv) is not a person whose leave is subject to a condition requiring that person to maintain and accommodate themselves, and any person who is dependent on that person, without recourse to public funds;

• (v) is not a person (P)—

• (aa) who has been given leave upon an undertaking given by P’s sponsor;

• (bb) who has been resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland for less than five years beginning on the date of entry or the date on which P’s sponsor gave the undertaking in respect of P, whichever date is the later; and

• (cc) whose sponsor or, where there is more than one sponsor, at least one of whose sponsors, is still alive; and

• (vi) within 6 months beginning with the date on which His Majesty’s Government first published advice to British nationals to leave Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem, or from the date of the first evacuation from Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem, whichever is later, made an application for an allocation of housing accommodation under Part 6 of the 1996 Act.

Other persons from abroad who are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation

4

• (1) A person who is not subject to immigration control is to be treated as a person from abroad who is ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under Part 6 of the 1996 Act if—

• (a) subject to paragraph (2), the person is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or the Republic of Ireland;

• (b) the person’s only right to reside in the United Kingdom—

• (i) is derived from the person’s status as a jobseeker or a family member of a jobseeker; or

• (ii) is an initial right to reside for a period not exceeding three months under regulation 13 of the EEA Regulations[^f00007]; or

• (iii) is a derivative right to reside to which the person is entitled under regulation 16(1) of the EEA Regulations, but only in a case where the right exists under that regulation because the applicant satisfies the criteria in regulation 16(5) of those Regulations[^f00008]; or

• (iv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) the person's only right to reside in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland is a right equivalent to one of those mentioned in sub-paragraph (b)(i),(ii) or (iii)

• (1A) For the purposes of determining whether the only right to reside that a person has is of a kind mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) or (c), a right to reside by virtue of having been granted

• (a) limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules; or

• (b) leave to enter the United Kingdom by virtue of an entry clearance that was granted under Appendix EU (Family Permit) to the immigration rules,

is to be disregarded.

• (2) The following are not to be treated as persons from abroad who are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation pursuant to paragraph (1)(a)—

• (a) a worker;

• (b) a self-employed person;

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (d) a person who is the family member of a person specified in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b);

• (e) a person with a right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom by virtue of regulation 15(1)(c), (d) or (e) of the EEA Regulations; and

• (f) a person who is in the United Kingdom as a result of the person’s deportation, expulsion or other removal by compulsion of law from another country to the United Kingdom.

• (g) a frontier worker; ...

• (h) a person who—

• (i) is a family member of a person specified in sub-paragraph (g); and

• (ii) has a right to reside by virtue of having been granted limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3 of that Act ; ...

• (i) a person who left Afghanistan in connection with the collapse of the Afghan government that took place on 15 August 2021 ; ...

• (j) a person who was residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022 and who left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24 February 2022 ; ...

• (k) a person who was residing in Sudan before 15 April 2023 and left Sudan in connection with the violence which rapidly escalated on 15 April 2023 in Khartoum and across Sudan ; ...

• (l) a person who was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon immediately before 7 October 2023 and who left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon in connection with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 or the violence which rapidly escalated in the region following the attack ; and

• (m) a person who—

• (i) was residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem on or before 23 June 2025;

• (ii) left Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem in connection with the conflict between Israel and Iran which escalated in June 2025; and

• (iii) within 6 months beginning with the date on which His Majesty’s Government first published advice to British nationals to leave Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem, or the date of the first evacuation from Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or East Jerusalem, whichever is later, made an application for an allocation of housing accommodation under Part 6 of the 1996 Act.

Persons subject to immigration control who are eligible for housing assistance

5

• (1) The following classes of persons subject to immigration control are persons who are eligible for housing assistance under Part 7 of the 1996 Act—

• (a) Class A – a person who is recorded by the Secretary of State as a refugee within the definition in Article 1 of the Refugee Convention and who has leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom;

• (b) Class B – a person—

• (i) who has exceptional leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom granted outside the provisions of the Immigration Rules; and