'The option of doing nothing looks less and less tenable'

When the Refugee and Housing Network – organised by the Housing Associations Charitable Trust and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation – started up some 18 months ago, it discovered that surprisingly few housing associations were engaged in housing provision for asylum seekers and refugees.

As the key agencies "in business for neighbourhoods", associations might be expected to be front-line providers for this new group. Yet, as increased migration has made its impact over the past five years, reactions within the housing sector have ranged from the extremely positive to the apathetic and the hostile.

The first reaction is exemplified by the engagement of specialist registered social landlords like Refugee Housing Association and RSLs with skills in the supported housing field like Stonham, but also by mainstream bodies with a holistic view of neighbourhood regeneration that includes refugee housing.

The apathetic, though, have tended to say: "We've got other priorities for our resources. What have asylum seekers and refugees got to do with us?". And the downright hostile have said: "We are trying to upgrade the neighbourhood – gentrify it, if you like – and the last thing we need is an influx of the poorest people. Also, we know we will win no points from the local authority, which does not want asylum seekers in this town, so it is bad for our image to get involved." But there is wider recognition that refugees moving into some of the least popular parts of UK cities can themselves be agents of regeneration: they are here to stay and are invariably keen to work, even in very menial tasks; their children can replenish schools in areas from which families have left; and they can bring a new cultural diversity and energy. Statistics show that refugee households absorb less benefits, often revive rather than depress failing housing markets and can bring entrepreneurial skills to places that desperately need more economic activity. Housing associations can assist and support the success of integration and inclusion, while also achieving their own business objectives.

Recognition of the importance of these issues and greater interest from the National Asylum Support Service means more and more RSLs are taking the opportunities seriously. The option of doing nothing looks less and less tenable.

What RSLs can do There are probably three ways in which housing associations can play a significant role in meeting the needs of new international migrants.

First, there are the opportunities for housing those whose status has not yet been determined; in other words, providing short-term accommodation for asylum seekers. Some of these will be accepted as refugees and will become long-term residents in the UK but others will be rejected. For both, accommodation must be provided on a short-term basis and when the asylum decision, one way or another, comes through, these households will have to move out.

New contracts from NASS will be awarded in 2005 and more housing associations may want to bid for these. NASS guarantees rent and expenses, even when properties are empty because they are waiting for people to be dispersed away from London and the South-east. Some RSLs may even use their asset base to acquire additional homes where the rental returns stack up.

Safe Haven – an initiative set up jointly by Yorkshire Housing and South Yorkshire Housing Association in 1999 – is the chief example of an RSL engaging in this field. It operates from a number of offices across Yorkshire and Humberside, giving detailed guidance and support to the new arrivals, and arranging their accommodation within associations or the private sector (mostly the latter, in fact, since these landlords have proved able to respond more speedily to the demands for suitable housing).

Housing associations may also act as subcontractors in relation to the initial accommodation required by asylum seekers through NASS contracts. Where the local authority or housing association has a NASS contract, it may prefer to work with local RSLs: examples of this have been limited, but are likely to be encouraged under the new contracting arrangements.

Associations may also be able to help in relatively minor ways such as lending rooms to refugee organisations

The second role RSLs can play is in providing move-on accommodation on a long-term basis for those who are given permission to stay in this country. This is a really important role. Current rules require refugees to leave their NASS-provided accommodation within 28 days of hearing that they can remain in the UK, which often provokes an immediate emergency, with the household's chances of successful integration and inclusion within the wider community at stake.

When the Refugee and Housing Network visited the south coast, examples of this approach were seen with Portsmouth Housing Association, Bournemouth Churches Housing Association and Atlantic Housing Association in Southampton.

RSLs can go beyond simply allocating some existing vacant properties to house refugees nominated by local authorities.

They can be more proactive, ensuring that their broader range of services, such as support, advice and employment training initiatives, are appropriate for and accessible to newly emerging refugee communities.

The task clearly involves more than putting a roof over the heads of the new household – whether that be a widow and children from a war zone, or a group of single young men sharing a property.

Integration with the community – which sometimes means protection from racist violence and certainly involves building understanding and trust with neighbours – must be part of the picture.

Even if RSLs are only lightly involved in either of the stages above, they can be involved in the third role that housing associations play in relation to asylum seekers and refugees. This relates to housing providers' role as agents of neighbourhood renewal, as key players in achieving cohesive communities.

The Housing Corporation's regulatory code asks associations to identify and respond to the needs of local black and minority ethnic communities and this includes taking on board the requirements of asylum seekers and refugees. The new regional housing boards may have a role to play in drawing in RSLs within a regional refugee integration strategy, coordinated by the regional consortium of councils and refugee community organisations.

Housing associations may be able to help in relatively minor ways such as lending rooms to refugee community organisations for meetings, allowing people to use a photocopier, providing guidance or brokering with other agencies.