Last month we came across expectant couple Ladislav Boldezersky and Nada Venglarova living in a bed next to a busy Cardiff roundabout. It turned out Nada was five months pregnant and unable to access homelessness services because of her immigration status.
The Czech couple had previously been allowed to stay in a Cardiff Council hostel for two years because accommodation was available for everyone during the Covid pandemic. About six weeks before we met Nada she had been told to leave the hostel. Her partner Ladislav, who had settled status, was allowed to keep his place. But because Nada was not they both left and ended up living under the A4234 Central Link flyover for weeks.
Following an inquiry by WalesOnline the council quickly informed us the couple would be allowed back to the hostel. They would stay together in Ladislav's room as an "exceptional circ*mstance" and Nada would receive support from a charity to apply for citizenship. In one way it was a reassuring outcome. But it also made us think about the systemic issues that had enabled the situation in the first place – and what might happen to people facing similar circ*mstances without any press intervention.
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When we spoke to experts two key issues kept coming up. One is known as 'no recourse to public funds', or NRPF, which recently led to 11 people in Cardiff – including Nada – being ordered to leave their accommodation. The second is an "utterly unrealistic" rule that forces people to leave Home Office housing within 28 days of being granted refugee status. Both of these policies are the UK Government's – and both, critics say, are driving people into destitution.
Locked out of support
First let's look at NRPF. It is a condition on some people's immigration status that bars them from publicly-funded support whether that be benefits or housing assistance. This applies to about 1.6m people in the UK from overseas students to some spouses of UK citizens. In many cases the condition is not a problem but for some people it can be devastating. Nada's case, for example, is an insight into what can happen to someone from the European Union who did not apply for settled status before the 2021 deadline.
NRPF poses a huge challenge to councils' efforts to eliminate rough sleeping. Joe Anderson, then mayor of Liverpool, made headlines in 2017 when he vowed to "break the law" by ensuring the most vulnerable people could receive help no matter their immigration status. Unsurprisingly this stance has not been the norm. Rather than blatantly flouting NRPF councils have tried to find workarounds.
During the pandemic exceptions were made. The Welsh Government provided funding to councils so emergency accommodation would be available to anyone in need. But by May this year that support had ended and in Cardiff alone the council confirmed 11 people with NRPF were told to leave their accommodation. It would be surprising if this were unrelated to there now being 47 rough sleepers in the Welsh capital compared to 31 this time last year, according to council estimates.
How can the NRPF problem be solved within the constraints of the UK Government's ban on directly supporting people with public money? The Welsh Government tells us it has funded the Housing Justice Cymru charity to "work with smaller third-sector organisations" on increasing the number of hosting places for people with NRPF. But this has not been a lasting fix as explained by the Wallich homeless charity which told us "there is no sustainable funding" and called on the new UK Government to end NRPF.
NRPF was a "big problem" for people who missed the deadline for the EU settlement scheme, particularly those who were already homeless and did not have the paperwork they needed, said Rhys Taylor who saw the consequences while working for the Crisis homeless charity before he became a Lib Dem councillor for Gabalfa. "People have been turfed out of temporary accommodation and refused homeless support," he said. "There are horrific stories of people falling into things like sex trafficking when they are desperate. We are creating a system that forces people into destitution and really precarious situations."
A 'nearly impossible' deadline
Another driver of rough sleeping is the 28-day deadline for people to leave Home Office accommodation once they have been granted refugee status. Oasis Cardiff, a charity for asylum seekers and refugees, says the move-on period is "utterly unrealistic" and the problem has only got worse as the housing crisis has deepened. Refugees hoping to privately rent a Cardiff flat have been finding themselves up against around 100 other applicants. Unless they can rapidly find a job they will be relying on Universal Credit payments that take around five weeks to start. Some refugees, like those fleeing the Ukraine war, have seen their benefits fast-tracked but Oasis says this is rare.
"Your average UK resident would struggle to secure private accommodation in 28 days," said Deena Abawi, a housing support officer at Oasis. "There are a lot of additional barriers for refugees. They haven't got UK guarantors or financial resources. With landlords it all comes down to money and, whether you're a refugee or a British person, if you haven't got 12 months' rent sitting in your bank account you fall to the bottom of the list. It's nearly impossible."
When the 28 days pass and refugees find themselves homeless they can ask for emergency accommodation. But Norman Gettings, of Oasis, said refugees' experiences at a Cardiff homeless shelter have "by and large" left them preferring to sleep in parks or streets. "We have had examples of single men being intimidated as soon as they get [to the shelter]. They rarely leave with their belongings intact. They are robbed or they're surrounded by drug use or alcohol. They can be targeted because of their different status."
Other emergency accommodation has also been controversial. Recently the council, scrambling in the face of "unprecedented demand", temporarily used a former Toys R Us store in Grangetown but was accused of placing people in "inhumane" and "horrific" conditions. We reported the facilities were filthy with vomit and excrement as well as being plagued by drug use. One person told us: "If they say I have to go back I’ll probably sleep rough."
Deena said some refugee families with young children have become homeless following the 28-day deadline and, with temporary accommodation full, have found themselves placed in hotels for months with minimal cooking facilities. "One family's child was allergic to the hotel carpet but they had no option but to stay," she said. "In a normal situation that would last a few days but it's now four months until they're moved from emergency to temporary accommodation."
A report by the London School of Economics in 2020 found increasing the move-on period from 28 to 56 days would help refugees find work and a permanent home rather than costly council-funded temporary accommodation. The proposal – which according to the report could save the UK some £7m a year across housing, health, and other services – has been backed by the National Housing Federation and various charities.
Deena is sceptical that even 56 days would be long enough to make a substantial difference although she says it would at least ease some pressure. Investing in housing supply is direly needed, she added. "I think we need a structured system where refugees are encouraged to be part of the community and integrated in a longer time-span. Housing is needed from day one rather than becoming homeless, going through the system, and ending up in hostels."
Oasis, which supports about 150 people a day, does not have a figure for refugees sleeping rough in Cardiff but believes it is increasingly common. "I think all the team at Oasis have suffered something called vicarious trauma," said Deena, who has been in the job for 18 months. "You meet people who are in need of great support but you're quite helpless and there is only so much you can do."
What is being done by those in power?
We asked if the UK Government plans to review the NRPF policy or 28-day move-on period. A Home Office spokesman said: "The new government is committed to ensuring strong and important safeguards are in place for individuals who find themselves in the most challenging circ*mstances. This includes the ability to apply for the 'no recourse to public funds' condition to be lifted."
The Home Office spokesman added that a "basic safety net" can be provided to those with NRPF if a child is at risk or if "there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution" such as serious health problems. And speaking about the 28-day deadline the Home Office said it would seek to "make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees during the move-on period and to mitigate the risk of homelessness".
A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “Temporary accommodation in the city is full and to be able to support the large numbers of people experiencing homelessness the council has the exclusive use of a number of hotels to provide single people and families with a place to stay while we work with them to find a more permanent solution. Unfortunately, because of the shortage of affordable housing, households are spending longer periods in emergency and temporary accommodation as a move to a permanent home depends on properties becoming available.
"To increase the supply of affordable accommodation quickly and tackle the very high demand we’re seeing we have recently purchased two large commercial properties for conversion to residential units and a vacant plot of land to develop more modular homes. These plans will rapidly create 250 more homes while in the longer term our housing development programme will deliver 4,000 new homes including 2,700 new council homes."
The Welsh Government says legislation to be brought in "later in the Senedd term" will reshape "the whole legislative and policy framework for homelessness in Wales". It says it is committed to moving from "a position of reliance on temporary accommodation to a system focused on prevention and rapid rehousing".
