What is the accommodation requirement?

The accommodation requirement is a condition on UK family visas under Appendix FM. The applicant must show adequate housing for the family, without recourse to public funds. The home must be owned or exclusively occupied by the family. It must not be overcrowded and must not breach public health regulations.

How the accommodation requirement works

Under Appendix FM, an applicant must provide evidence that there will be adequate accommodation in the UK, without recourse to public funds, for the family. This includes family members who are not part of the application but live in the same household.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members} The accommodation must be something the family own or occupy exclusively.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

Two things make accommodation not adequate. The first is that it is, or will be, overcrowded. The second is that it contravenes public health regulations.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

The Immigration Rules define the key words. “Occupy exclusively” means that part of the accommodation must be for the exclusive use of the person or family. “Overcrowded” has the meaning given in the Housing Act 1985, the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 or the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988, as the case may be.^{[2]Home Office, Immigration Rules: introduction (paragraph 6 definitions)}

Home Office guidance says all applicants on a 5-year route to settlement as a partner, parent or dependent child must meet the requirement, as must adult dependent relatives under their own appendix.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} It applies alongside the money tests, which are the minimum income requirement or adequate maintenance. The partner and spouse visa page explains how the tests fit together.

Ownership, occupation and shared homes

The guidance sets out how the Home Office reads “own or occupy exclusively”.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

• Accommodation is not adequate if the family unit does not own it or legally occupy it.
• Accommodation can be shared with others. The family needs exclusive use of at least the bedroom or bedrooms required for the number, age and sex of its members.
• The rest of the home can be shared. For example, the sponsor’s parents may own the house and keep their own bedroom.
• A separate house or flat is not required. A single bedroom of their own can be enough, but the Home Office may ask how many rooms and occupants there are and whether the arrangement is short term.

The applicant should show the basis on which the family owns or occupies the home. Examples in the guidance are copies of property deeds, a letter from a bank or building society about the mortgage, a lease and rent book or a letter from a person making the home available. Correspondence from a local authority or housing association can normally be relied upon.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

For a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, the accommodation can be prospective. The decision-maker must be satisfied that adequate permanent housing will be available after the marriage or civil partnership and adequate temporary housing in the meantime. An application made after the marriage should not rely on prospective accommodation.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

How overcrowding is measured

The guidance sets out a three-step method.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

1. Count everyone who would live in the home, including people who are not applying. A child under 1 is not counted. A child aged 1 to 10 counts as a half.
2. Count the rooms available for sleeping. This means bedrooms and living rooms that could be used as bedrooms. Bathrooms and kitchens are not counted, and rooms under 50 square feet are not counted.
3. Compare the two using the table below.

The guidance also applies a room standard. It is breached if 2 people aged 10 or over of the opposite sex, who are not living together as a couple, must sleep in the same room.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} Overcrowding is allowed only if it is due to a new-born child or a child who has just reached a counting age and other arrangements have not yet been made, if it is temporary or if it is licensed overcrowding approved by the local authority.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

On public health, the guidance says it is likely to be rare for a property to contravene public health regulations. If the decision-maker has satisfactory evidence that it does, the accommodation may be found not adequate.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

Example

The Home Office guidance gives two worked examples.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

• A couple and a child aged 5 will live in a home with 1 room available for sleeping. The child counts as a half, so 2.5 people would occupy it. Only 2 are permitted. The housing is overcrowded and does not meet the rules.
• A sponsor rents a one-bedroom flat with a living room, so 2 rooms are available for sleeping. His wife wishes to join him. Up to 3 people are permitted, so the housing is not overcrowded.

What people get wrong

Ownership is not required, and the size of the building does not decide the question. The test is exclusive use and overcrowding, counted against rooms under the Housing Act 1985.

A second point is that people who are not applying still count. The requirement covers other family members who live in the same household, and the overcrowding count includes everyone who would live there, not only those named in the application.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)} A third point is timing. The guidance allows prospective accommodation for fiancé and proposed civil partner applications, and says an application made after the marriage should not rely on it.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Family Migration: Appendix FM and Adult Dependent Relative - Adequate maintenance and accommodation (caseworker guidance, version 13.0)}

There is also an exception for leave to remain. The leave to remain accommodation paragraph in Appendix FM applies “unless paragraph EX.1 applies”. EX.1 covers some parents of a child in the UK, and some partners where there are insurmountable obstacles to family life continuing outside the UK.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members}

The bottom line

The accommodation requirement asks whether the family has a lawful home of its own that is not overcrowded and meets public health rules. Ownership is not needed, but exclusive use of the bedrooms the family needs is. The overcrowding count takes in every resident, and the Home Office uses a room-based table to measure it. Evidence should show how the home is held and who lives there.