A local authority may not provided assistance under the homelessness provisions under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 to persons from abroad who are ineligible.

Eligibility is determined by an applicant's immigration status. A local authority is entitled to take a decision by the UK Borders Agency at face value and is not required to carry out its own further investigations to determine eligibility.

Section 185(2)  of the Housing Act 1996 provides:
"A person who is subject to immigration control within the meaning of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 is not eligible for housing assistance unless he is of a class prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State."

Section 193 (6) (a) provides that after  the main housing duty has been accepted, a local housing authority may revisit the issue of eligibility

Section  185 deals with eligibility in a very general way. The detail is set out in the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) Regulations 2006 SI No. 1294 (“the eligibility regulations”).

Regulation 5 deals with applicants who are subject to immigration control.

Regulation 6 deals with applicants who are not subject to immigration control but are still not treated as eligible. These are Act if the applicant  (a)  is not habitually resident, (b)  or European National who is a jobseeker or has an initial right to reside for a period not exceeding three months.