Other information for advisers
Below is a listing of books, sites, forums, etc that the authors have found useful in working in these areas.
Textbooks, manuals and guides
The standard textbook on housing and allocations is Housing Allocation and Homelessness: Law and Practice by Jan Luba, Liz Davies, Connor Johnston and Tessa Buchanan, published by LexisNexis. This is an excellent and very detailed textbook including all legislation, regulations, codes of guidance, etc. A new edition was published in 2022.
A new edition of Homelessness and Allocations by Andrew Arden and Justin Bates was published in 2024. This is another excellent book on this subject that includes primary legal sources and is easily accessible. The Legal Action Group publishes Defending Possession Proceedings and Quiet Enjoyment, which give detailed guidance on dealing with evictions and harrassment, and Housing Conditions: Tenants' Rights for guidance on tackling disrepair.
CIH and Shelter publish the Help with Housing Costs Handbook which include chapters on immigration status and entitlement for European nationals. The guide is the standard text used by the majority of advisers, is updated annually and is written in an accessible style.
CPAG publish a Benefits for Migrants Handbook described as 'a definitive guide to the social security entitlement conditions for people who have come to or are leaving the UK'. It is updated regularly and you can find the latest edition at the CPAG bookshop.
Support for Asylum-seekers and other Migrants by Sue Willman and Stephen Knafler QC published by the Legal Action Group in 2009 is the only handbook focusing exclusively on the welfare and legal rights of asylum seekers. It has now been expanded to cover the welfare needs of other migrants, in particular refused asylum seekers at the end of the process, and EU nationals.
The Equality and Diversity Forum have a detailed briefing (dated 2011) on the duties that are required from public authorities in the UK in providing for refugees and migrants, as a result of the Equality Act 2010.
The housing practitioners’ guide to integrating people seeking protection and refugees (pdf, updated in 2021), published by the Scottish Refugee Council and CIH Scotland, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of housing refugees in Scotland, including coverage of the local connection issue.
Tai Pawb, the organisation that promotes equality and social justice in housing in Wales, has a number of resources relevant to migrants and refugees but you may have to be a member to access them.
Law for Life and Right to Remain have a toolkit on the 'right to rent' which was updated in
2021. You can also sign up for notifications from the Home Office of changes to the right to
rent.
The Welsh Government has published a guide for tenants suffering
mistreatment or discrimination in the private rented sector.
Legislation and case law
All UK legislation can be accessed via the UK legislation website.
Most recent UK and relevant European case law is in the huge BAILII database. European law can also be accessed on the EUR-Lex website.
The DWP produce regular updates of the main social security legislation (statute and regulations) which are published on the government’s legislation website. These include: The Universal Credit Regulations; The Housing Benefit Regulations; and The Pension Age Housing Benefit Regulations. The specific regulations that relate to new arrivals are also reproduced on our UK legislation page. The great advantage of all these sources is that they show the consolidated law (i.e. with amendments) – and our UK legislation page is usually updated in the same week that any amendments come into force.
The Free Movement blog provides updates by lawyers on latest developments in immigration law that are written in a very accessible style. You can sign up to receive a weekly email.
Garden Court Chambers publish a free social welfare newsletter covering legal and related issues.
The Migrants' Law Project has a set of factsheets on different aspects of immigration law that are kept up-to-date.
The House of Commons Library regularly produces 'Standard Notes' on policy and legal issues. You can search the library for the latest publications.
Websites
UK Visas and Immigration is run by the Home Office. From their section of the gov.uk website you can follow links to relevant legislation, the current version of the Immigration Rules and the publicly available guidance to immigration officers, as well as advice to those applying to come to or stay in the UK and those wishing to naturalise.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issues circulars and letters to local authorities, including the relevant codes of guidance. They have a home webpage at gov.uk but you will need to use the search facility to find documents.
The Welsh Government website has copies of circulars and letters to local authorities, including the relevant codes of guidance.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre offers free legal information on topics relating to migrant and refugee children. Its website features a selection of fact sheets and resources on subjects that relate to migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people. They cover such topics as asylum, immigration, EU law, nationality, access to local authority support, education and healthcare, and more. Each legal fact sheet also comes with an introduction to the topic for non-legal professionals.
Forums
Rightsnet run a forum for those advising on benefits where advisers can post queries and get responses from others in the field.
Regional newsletters
The East of England Local Government Association produce a very useful two-monthly round up of publications, information, events, funding and jobs relating to asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers for anyone in the East of England who wants to keep up to date with the latest developments (but also of use to anyone in England). You can subscribe by emailing humeira.yaqub@eelga.gov.uk and there is also an archive of recent issues.
Similar briefings are issued by the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (contact: wmsmp@birmingham.gov.uk) and by the East Midlands SMP (contact: Lois.Dale@emcouncils.gov.uk).
Specific advice on helping refugees and asylum seekers
The Local Government Association's website has guidance and news on assisting refugees and asylum seekers. This includes a guide prepared by Migration Yorkshire (pdf, from 2017) on support for resettled refugees after their first year. The LGA also runs a Knowledge Hub which you can join to get the latest advice or practical information on working with Syrian and other refugees who are resettled in the UK.
The Refugee Council has prepared a guide to help anyone supporting refugees make homelessness applications to local authorities.
ASAP has a series of detailed briefing notes on asylum support issues, aimed at experienced advisers.
Advice and support in dealing with destitute migrants
The NRPF Network is a network of local authorities and partner organisations focusing on the statutory response to migrants with care needs who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). They publish a range of practical guidance to help local authorities assess eligibility for services. They have a web-based tool to help local authorities and others check the entitlements of destitute migrants.
Right to Remain has a toolkit on tackling destitution, which takes account of recent legislation (2024).
Free Movement has a detailed briefing (2024) on how to make a change of conditions application and remove the ‘no recourse to public funds’ restriction. With permission, it has been saved as a pdf here.
The NHS has a website in which you enter a postcode to find the local adult social care service nearest to you.
Praxis offers advice to those advising or helping destitute and irregular migrants.
Asylum Support Appeals Project is a small national charity which aims to reduce destitution amongst asylum seekers by protecting their legal rights to food and shelter. It offers an advice line, factsheets and training.
Project 17 offers help to advisers about obtaining support for families with children. Call them on 07701 330016 and leave a message with your name, number and organisation, and they will call you back.
NELMA (North East London Migrant Action) has resources on its website including a 'bust card' and information sheet to assist rough sleeping EEA nationals.
NACCOM has a guide to organising hosting schemes for destitute migrants in the resources section of its website. It also has a toolkit (pdf) for those organising hosting schemes for destitute migrants (produced with Homeless Link and Housing Justice).
The Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to promote respect for the human rights of undocumented migrants within Europe. The website includes a great deal of information, resources and news of interest.
