Pre-matching households: letter to Afghan families (English)
Published 11 August 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-matching-accommodation-letter-to-afghan-households/pre-matching-households-letter-to-afghan-families-english
Wednesday 26th July 2023
Dear guest,
In April 2023 the UK government wrote to you to inform you of our intention to end the use of temporary accommodation, including hotels, for resettled Afghans. That letter also explained changes to the ‘matching process’ through which Afghan households were matched to an appropriate settled home.
The letter explained that from 2 May 2023 Afghan households living in hotels and temporary accommodation may receive only one allocation of an appropriate settled home, where this is available. The letter also confirmed that you will be supported throughout the process of finding a suitable new home, and that if you are offered accommodation, we recommend that you accept it.
We are now writing to inform you of a further addition to the process of matching households to properties. The Home Office, working with local authorities, will now match a limited number of households to properties before the property is available to move into. This approach is called the ‘pre-matching process’. A household is considered to be the people with whom an individual has been accommodated while in bridging accommodation for at least 3 months.
For a property to be considered as part of the ‘pre-matching process’, it must be ready to move into after your Notice to Quit expires but before the end of December 2023.
Pre-matched families will receive support from the local authority when they move into their property.
This does not change the current Home Office ‘one offer’ accommodation matching process. If your household receives a pre-matched offer of housing, it will count as your one and only accommodation offer. The pre-matching process is only available to eligible households who are living in temporary accommodation, including hotels, when the offer of a settled home is made.
If you accept a pre-matched offer of housing, the Home Office will provide temporary accommodation for the time between your Notice to Quit ending and you moving in. You will be required to enter into an excluded licence agreement, which is a written agreement that you will have to sign, setting out the status and terms of your occupation. This accommodation may be in a location that is different from where you are currently living, and will be on a room only basis, so you will have to arrange and pay for your own food, laundry, and any other costs. Further details regarding temporary accommodation will be shared with you in due course.
If you refuse the offer, the Home Office will not make any further offers of accommodation. You will continue to be supported to make your own accommodation arrangements before your Notice to Quit expires.
However, most households in hotels and temporary accommodation will not receive an offer of accommodation. We will continue to provide as much support as we can to help you find your own accommodation, including through the Find Your Own Accommodation scheme before your Notice to Quit expires. Home Office Liaison Officers (HOLOs), and other support services, will also continue to be available in hotels to help with questions or concerns.
We will also provide temporary accommodation where an Afghan in bridging accommodation is receiving medical treatment at a specific hospital or medical facility, and moving them from their current area would have an adverse impact on the treatment they are receiving. Should you be eligible for this, you will be offered temporary accommodation in the area where you currently live, and continue to receive support from the Home Office and Local Authorities – more information will be available on gov.uk here: Bridging accommodation exit plans for resettled Afghans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). If you think you may be affected by this, or have any questions, please contact your HOLO.
We will write to you shortly outlining what will happen at the end of your Notice to Quit if you have not found settled homes. In the meantime, the Home Office and our partners remain committed to supporting you to find housing, so that you can continue to build your lives in the UK.
If you have any questions, you should talk to your Home Office Liaison Officer.
Yours faithfully,
Resettlement Services