Asylum hotels: everything you need to know

"Hotels housing asylum seekers became a lightning rod this summer for political and community tensions over illegal migration, and over the dramatic increase in the number of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats. Large numbers of people are still being housed in these hotels, though the government has promised to end the practice by the end of this parliament, in 2029."

"The number of asylum seekers coming to the UK has risen sharply in recent years, because of small-boat crossings. In the year ending December 2024, a record 108,138 people claimed asylum (84,231 main applicants plus 23,907 dependants). The figure for 2019 was 44,494. When asylum seekers have been processed, if they are judged to be "destitute", as most are, they are eligible for accommodation and subsistence while their claims are being assessed (most are not allowed to work)."

"New arrivals are placed in "initial accommodation". Then they are moved to longer‑term "dispersal accommodation" - flats or houses of multiple occupation, often in areas such as the North West, where housing is cheaper - until an asylum decision has been made. But when this is not available, "contingency accommodation" is used: usually hotels. All this accommodation is provided by private contractors: in 2019, the Home Office gave ten-year contracts to three companies: Serco, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Mears."

Thousands of asylum seekers are being placed in hotels because dispersal accommodation is insufficient. As of June 2025, 32,059 asylum seekers were in hotels, an 8% increase on the previous year but lower than the September 2023 peak of 56,042. A record 108,138 people claimed asylum in the year ending December 2024 (84,231 main applicants and 23,907 dependants), up from 44,494 in 2019. New arrivals go to initial accommodation, then to dispersal housing; when dispersal is unavailable contingency hotels are used. Private contractors (Serco, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Mears) hold ten-year Home Office contracts. Local opposition and parliamentary criticism have targeted costs and management, and the government intends to end hotel use by 2029.

Read at The Week