Care leavers across England are cautiously welcoming a significant change in housing law, which officially came into force in July 2025. The new regulations, designed to address the disproportionate rates of homelessness among young people transitioning from the care system, remove a critical barrier to securing a stable home: the local connection test for social housing.
🔑 The Housing Barrier Lifted
For years, care leavers—young people who have been in the care of their local authority and are preparing to live independently—have faced a postcode lottery when trying to access social housing. Many are moved across local authority boundaries while in care, only to be told they lack a “local connection” to an area when they apply for a council home as an adult. This has often forced them back to areas with no support network or left them vulnerable to homelessness.
The new Allocation of Housing Regulations 2025 now exempts care leavers under the age of 25 from these requirements. This means they can apply to the social housing register in any local authority they choose, significantly increasing their options for finding a safe, stable base closer to friends, education, or employment.
A care-experienced young person, Tia Shillito-Radicic, described the change as “nothing short of life-changing,” stating that the new legislation gives her the opportunity to live somewhere “safer, closer to my support network, and within reach of my career.”
📢 The Voice of the Child: “I Just Want a Home”“When you leave care, you’re 18 and suddenly expected to be a fully functioning adult. But you don’t have a family to fall back on when things go wrong. Moving around all the time with my social worker meant I didn’t have a ‘home’ anywhere. When I first tried to apply for housing, they said I wasn’t local enough. It felt like being punished for something I couldn’t control. All I want is a safe, stable place to put my stuff, where I can focus on college without worrying about where I’ll sleep next week.”
📈 Cautions and Calls for Further Change
While the move is a major win for campaigners, many advocates, including Coram Voice, express concern that this is only part of the solution.
1. Priority vs. Access
Though the local connection test is lifted, the new guidance strongly encourages (but does not legally require) all local authorities to give care leavers the same level of priority as their own care leavers on the housing register. In areas of high housing demand, simply being on the register may not guarantee a home for years, leaving many young people in unsuitable or insecure temporary accommodation. Coram Voice has urged the government to make this priority a statutory requirement.
2. The Homelessness Loophole
A significant gap remains in the Homelessness legislation. Currently, care leavers must still meet a local connection test to access statutory homelessness support, which operates separately from the housing register. This means a young person facing eviction or homelessness might still be directed back to their original placing authority, even if they have strong ties elsewhere. Campaigners are calling for this exemption to be extended to homelessness support to ensure no young person is left without immediate help.
3. Rising Risk of Homelessness
The urgency for stable housing is underlined by recent statistics: more than 1 in 10 care leavers aged 18-20 are facing or at risk of homelessness. Worryingly, hundreds of young people are leaving their care placement with no suitable, pre-planned accommodation.
🤝 A Wider Corporate Parenting Duty
Beyond housing, the government is continuing to expand the Corporate Parenting principle, which obliges Local Authorities to act as a good parent would to children and young people in their care. Key areas of focus include:
- Support to Age 25: Local authorities must continue to offer a Personal Adviser (PA) and support to all care leavers up to age 25, whether they are in education or not. This support is vital for navigating benefits, employment, and mental health.
- Financial Security: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has strengthened its commitment through the Care Leaver Covenant, which includes exemptions from the Shared Accommodation Rate for Universal Credit up to age 25 and early access to intensive work coach support.
- Focus on ‘Success’: New research, drawing on the care leaver voice, is challenging the traditional idea that ‘success’ means total, immediate independence. It highlights the importance of supportive relationships, wellbeing, and celebrating everyday successes (like “buying your first mop” or paying a bill on time) rather than just qualifications or a career.
💡 The Push for a National Standard
Ultimately, many children’s advocates, and an Education Committee report published in July 2025, are calling for the creation of a National Care Offer. This would establish a consistent, minimum standard of financial, housing, and emotional support for every care leaver in England, no matter which local authority they leave care from. The goal is to end the current “postcode lottery” and give every care-experienced young person the same chance at a bright future.