Nigel Farage has set out plans that would require foreign nationals living in council housing to move into the private rented sector within three months, or risk deportation.
In an essay due to be released on Sunday evening, just ahead of Thursday’s key Makerfield by-election, the Reform UK leader outlines the proposal as part of a wider housing overhaul.
Under the plan, non-UK citizens who do not leave social housing within a three-month grace period would lose the right to stay in Britain. Farage wrote that “foreign nationals who are unable to relocate to private rented accommodation after a three-month grace period will lose their right to remain and be liable for deportation under Operation Restoring Justice.”
The policy also suggests prioritising veterans and long-term local residents for council housing, with limited exceptions for vulnerable groups such as domestic abuse survivors and care leavers.
He added that residency rules would be tightened so British citizens and long-term locals are given preference, while some dual nationals would face reduced welfare support, including housing benefit restrictions rather than immediate removal from housing.
Farage criticised the use of social housing by refugees since 2020, calling it an “absurdity”, and said British nationals should be prioritised. He also claimed around a third of social housing tenants in London were born outside the UK and Ireland.
He pointed to the case of Fatima Jabbe-Bio, Sierra Leone’s First Lady, who reportedly lived in a Southwark council property from 2007 until it was reclaimed last week after an investigation.
Official data from the Migration Observatory shows non-UK citizens made up about one in ten new social housing lettings in 2022/23, while census figures suggest the share of social housing residents holding non-UK passports rose from 5% in 2011 to 7% in 2021.
The proposals were criticised by a source close to Housing Secretary Steve Reed, who called them unrealistic without creating a US-style immigration enforcement system.
They said the idea would require a “Trump ICE-style deportation force” in the UK and accused Farage of making unfunded and impractical promises.
A government spokesperson said illegal migrants, asylum seekers, and those on student or work visas are already not eligible for social housing, adding that nearly nine in ten council homes go to UK nationals and that local connection rules already prioritise people with ties to the area.
The announcement comes as Reform UK faces increased pressure in the Makerfield by-election, with polling suggesting competition from Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party. Surveys show Labour ahead, with Reform close behind and Restore Britain in third, while analysts say Lowe’s movement could pull support from Reform on tougher immigration policies.
