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A high court judge has overruled the government by halting the eviction of a refugee from his asylum accommodation in an emergency case in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Justice Johnson made an order in the out-of-hours case just before 2am on Wednesday, disapplying a Home Office policy that requires new refugees to move on from their asylum accommodation within 28 days.
The policy is controversial because thousands of new refugees are at risk of becoming street homeless after being granted leave to remain, with only 28 days to find alternative accommodation, secure work or access benefits.
Charities argue that the 28-day move-on period is leaving thousands at risk of homelessness. Vulnerable refugees including pregnant women and elderly people are exempt from the 28-day deadline and have 56 days instead.
The Home Office launched a pilot scheme to extend the 28-day timeframe to 56 days at the end of last year. The pilot was hailed as a success by dozens of refugee NGOs who said it led to a marked reduction in street homelessness among refugees. But at the end of August 2025, the government decided to revert to the 28-day move on period, leading to protests from more than 60 NGOs.
Natalie Hawes, a trainee solicitor at Deighton Pierce Glynn, representing a 20-year-old Eritrean refugee who was hours away from being evicted from asylum accommodation on to the street by the Home Office, welcomed the interim high court order. She said: “We are hoping others can now rely on this order and seek an extension of their support where they are at risk of being left street homeless.”
The Eritrean man was due to be evicted on to the street by the Home Office at 10am on Wednesday. His lawyers launched an emergency high court challenge, arguing that the Home Office had failed to take “reasonable steps” to assess the impact of cutting the move-on period from 56 days to 28 days on refugee homelessness and integration.
In a statement to the court, the Eritrean man said: “I am very frightened that I have nowhere to go on 22 October 2025 and that I will end up on the streets in the cold and rain. The warmest clothing I own is a jumper: I own no coat, jacket or scarf and I cannot afford to buy these because I have no money to spend.”
The high court order barred the Home Office from carrying out the eviction of the man and instead stated that the eviction period should be extended from 28 to 56 days or alternative accommodation provided.
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“There is a serious issue to be tried,” the order states.
Hawes said: “Local authorities need at least 56 days to assist people in sourcing alternative accommodation and as a consequence refugees are being left street homeless during the winter.
“The court is now having to intervene to order the home secretary to extend the move-on period. We hope the home secretary will now reconsider and stop leaving refugees street homeless and adding further pressure on local authorities.”
A government spokesperson said: “This government inherited a broken asylum and immigration system. We are taking practical steps to turn that chaos around – including doubling asylum decision-making to clear the backlog left by the previous government and reducing the number of people in hotels by 6,000 in the first half of 2025.
“We continue to work with local councils, NGOs and other stakeholders to ensure any necessary assistance is provided for those individuals who are granted refugee status. The 56-day move-on period remains in place for vulnerable individuals.”
