'I was told I could stay in the UKthen kicked out of my asylum accommodation'

As our appeal hits 1m, we turn the spotlight on an official policy that’s making newly recognised refugees homeless

- DAVID COHEN, CAMPAIGNS EDITOR

The day Habib received his decision letter granting him refugee status in the UK was one of the happiest of his life. The 29-year-old had fled imminent threats to his life in Afghanistan weeks before the Taliban seized power in 2021, leaving behind his pregnant wife and daughter, and had endured a perilous four-month journey across Asia and Europe. He travelled in trucks and walked across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Germany and France. He was shot at by border guards, arrested, imprisoned, released, suffered starvation and ate leaves in a forest to survive, but eventually he got to the UK and claimed asylum.

He was housed by the Home Office in cramped hotel rooms and shared accommodation where he lived in fear of being deported to Rwanda. So when, after two years, he got the refugee status decision letter granting him "permission to stay" in the UK, it was a huge relief. He thought his worries were over and that he could start to rebuild his life and send for his wife and children. "It was a very joyful moment," he said.

But a second letter from the Home Office precipitated a new crisis. Habib did not know it, but he was due to be evicted, given 28 days to "move on" from his Home Office-supported accommodation. He had two options: get housed by the local authority or rent privately. But councils, by statute, are only obliged to try to help within 56 days and private landlords would demand a hefty rental deposit he could not afford.