Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help Afghan refugees living in hotels following Operation Pitting to access the private rental sector.

The Find Your Own Accommodation pathway was launched in June 2022 following engagement with Afghans and local authorities, who both were generally in favour of this added housing option. This pathway enables Afghans to find their own accommodation, whilst still receiving financial and non-financial integration support from the Government. For example, a local authority may use some of the £20,520 per person spread over three years from the Government to provide the deposit, first month’s rent, and furniture to help Afghans into the private rental sector. The Government is not prescriptive with the precise support provided, so this may vary from council to council.

This new process is in addition to Home Office's matching system, where Home Office engage with local authorities to source accommodation in the social and private rental sectors, and then match properties to individual households.