Reform UK proposes social housing priority for young British-born workers

Proposed priority criteria for social housing

Reform UK published proposals to overhaul the allocation system for social housing in Britain by placing young, employed UK-born citizens at the front of the queue. Under the blueprint presented by party leader Nigel Farage and deputy leader Richard Tice, local authorities would grant top priority to British-born workers under the age of 35. The policy would also prioritize married couples under 35 who have children, while military veterans and individuals in active employment would receive preferential positioning. Unemployed applicants would be moved to the back of the social housing waiting list. Furthermore, British citizens born overseas would be placed lower on the list, except for those whose British parents were temporarily abroad at the time of birth, a step officials noted would require new primary legislation.

Tice's housing figures and construction pledge

The party framed the changes around domestic housing pressures and public waiting lists. Richard Tice stated that 1.3 million people are currently on social housing registers in Britain, arguing that the majority lack employment and that fewer than half of existing social housing households are in work. He asserted that young British workers are unable to leave family homes or must share rented accommodation with strangers.

I have spent my entire career in property development, as a private citizen I have led companies which delivered thousands of new homes. In government I will break down the barriers to getting generation rent onto the housing ladder.

Alongside the queue restructuring, Reform UK pledged to build 50,000 affordable social homes per year. The party previously proposed evicting all foreign nationals from social housing within three months under threat of deportation, claiming the measure would release 540,000 properties.

Government and charity pushback

The Labour Party rejected Reform UK's proposals as unworkable and dismissed the announcement as a diversion from party controversies. A Labour spokesperson pointed out that statutory criteria already restrict social housing, preventing illegal migrants, asylum seekers, and individuals on student or work visas from accessing council properties. Labour warned that evicting long-term residents who are not citizens would affect National Health Service personnel, increase family homelessness, raise local authority spending on temporary accommodation, and require years of negotiations with the European Union. Housing charity Shelter also criticized the focus on waiting list reordering rather than home construction.

Designed to stoke division, these plans will only serve to disrupt the lives of thousands of families, tear communities apart, and put even more people at risk of homelessness.

Demographic data and Conservative policy contrast

Official statistics show that the vast majority of social housing in England is held by domestic and Irish residents. Data from the 2024/25 English Housing Survey indicates that UK or Irish nationals constituted 88.5% of main social housing householders, while non-UK or Irish nationals accounted for 11.5%.

The Conservative Party accused Reform UK of duplicating existing opposition proposals to restrict social housing access. Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly stated that the Conservatives had already formulated plans to place British nationals first in council housing allocation. Under the Conservative proposal, which permits exemptions for Irish citizens and selected European Union nationals, the party calculates that approximately 230,000 homes would become available. Richard Tice is scheduled to outline the financial details of Reform UK's 50,000-home annual building commitment at a press conference in London on Monday.