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What happens when the principal leaves the UK or dies?




What happens when a relationship breaks down?




  • lasted for at least three years and


Do children have any rights?








Effects of the EU settlement scheme

All EEA nationals living in the UK and all people with EU rights to reside (including family members of EEA nationals and ‘Zambrano carers’ can now apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, and can do so until 30 June 2021 (or 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the EU with no deal). 

Successful applicants who can prove they have lived continuously in the UK for five years get ‘EU settled status’.  Those who can prove residence for shorter periods get ‘EU Pre-Settled Status’ and can later apply to convert this into EU Settled Status.  These are statuses granted under the Immigration Rules, so that people with them may have both an EU right to reside and a UK immigration status.

EU Settled Status is indefinite leave granted with no conditions attached and so people with this leave are eligible for housing and benefits.  For housing and homelessness services they are in eligible class C. 

EU Pre-Settled Status is limited leave, and does not fit into any eligible classes for housing and homelessness services, and is excluded as a qualifying right for benefits and help with rent.  So generally people with EU Pre-Settled Status have to rely on their EU rights to reside for eligibility. 

There are three exceptions to this:

  1. In England, people who
    • have a non-qualifying right to reside (i.e. a right to reside in the first three months after arriving in the UK, a right to reside as a workseeker or as a ‘Zambrano carer’)
    • got EU Pre-Settled Status before 7 May 2019, and
    • applied for housing or for homelessness help before 7 May 2019

have transitional protection, which means that they continue to be eligible for housing and for homelessness assistance.  They are not eligible for universal credit or housing benefit.

  1. In Wales people who
    • have EU Pre Settled Status

are eligible for housing and homelessness help if they can pass the habitual residence test. But they are not eligible for universal credit or housing benefit.

  1. In England and Wales, people are entitled to help with council tax. 

Why is this the case?

  1. The housing eligibility regulations in both England and Wales describe people with non-qualifying rights to reside as people whose only right to reside is that non-qualifying right to reside. These exclusions are replicated in the universal credit and housing benefit regulations (which apply to England, Scotland and Wales).
  2. Once people have pre-settled status they have another right to reside so that would make them eligible. 
  3. But the English housing and homelessness eligibility regulations have been amended, by SI 2019 No. 861, which came into effect on 7 May 2019.  These discount rights to reside from the EU settlement scheme in these cases. A similar change has been made to the universal credit and housing benefit regulations by SI 2019 No. 872.
  4. So from 7 May 2019 people with non-qualifying rights to reside who have EU Pre-Settled Status will not be eligible.  But they were eligible before 7 May 2019  and if they applied in time have transitional protection.
  5. In Wales the eligibility regulations have not been amended.  So people whose only right to reside is non-qualifying are ineligible.  But if they get EU Pre-Settled Status they have an additional right to reside, and so are eligible if they can pass the habitual residence test.
  6. For the time being, no changes have been made to the council tax reduction regulations in either England or Wales so pre-settled status is not listed as a non-qualifying right to reside (although it is expected this will change at some point). 
Chartered Institute of Housing

Background Topics

How can we improve housing for new migrants in the UK?

Chartered Institute of Housing