The Home Office has been increasingly moving newly arrived asylum seekers out of hotels and into private houses and houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) across Britain, a shift that officials and local authorities say aims to reduce the visibility and cost of accommodating migrants as crossings rise.
The move has led to clusters of asylum seekers in market towns, suburbs and former student accommodation, drawing criticism from local councils, residents and campaigning groups who say the policy places pressure on communities and exacerbates local housing shortages. New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described a recent surge in Channel crossings as "utterly unacceptable" and is reported to be considering a range of options, including transfers to military sites and changes to human rights laws to speed deportations.
The shift away from hotel accommodation has been accompanied by contracts with private providers such as Serco, Mears Group and Clearsprings Ready Homes, and by purchases or leases of terraced houses, former halls of residence and other properties. Under many of the arrangements, landlords or property companies are offered guaranteed rents for multi-year periods whether rooms are filled or not, and landlords report that converting properties to HMOs can be commercially attractive.
Official and parliamentary library data cited by local authorities and investigators show a marked geographical concentration of asylum seekers in some areas. The House of Commons Library figures cited in recent reporting show towns such as Burnley, Pendle and Middlesbrough among those with the highest numbers of asylum seekers per head of population, while other places report large increases where previously there had been none. One council said hundreds of asylum seekers in its area are now accommodated in HMOs and private properties, with none remaining in hotels.
Individual accounts collected from residents and asylum seekers illustrate both practical and social strains. In Nuneaton, a 20-year-old man who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel is one of eight young men sharing a terraced house that had been bought and converted to multiple occupancy. He said he preferred the house to hotel accommodation and described amicable relations with neighbours, while other locals said tensions had grown after several high-profile criminal cases involving people housed in migrant hotels elsewhere.
In Burnley and Middlesbrough, asylum seekers say they are waiting months or years for decisions on their claims and live on weekly Home Office allowances, while sharing kitchens and bathrooms with dozens of other residents in some converted properties. In one large converted HMO in Middlesbrough, a woman who competed for her country at the Commonwealth Games said her initial asylum claim was rejected and she is awaiting an appeal hearing while living in cramped conditions with her infant.
Councils and some residents have expressed concern about the suitability of HMOs and large shared units for people arriving after traumatic journeys, and about the loss of family housing as landlords convert properties to rooms for asylum accommodation. One local authority leader said the use of HMOs for asylum accommodation risked "inflaming strain, conflict and division" in communities. Neighbours near some converted properties described noise, anti-social behaviour and repeated police call-outs; other local people and asylum seekers said day-to-day interactions were peaceful and services such as local charities and arts centres provide support and integration activities.
The dispersal policy follows a period in which thousands of asylum seekers were housed in hotels, including several sites that became the focus of protests after criminal incidents. The government says dispersal into private accommodation reduces pressures on the hotel estate and can be less visible to the public, while critics argue it shifts burdens onto communities with limited support and can drive up rents and displace local tenants.
Companies contracted to provide accommodation have defended their role as part of the response to unprecedented asylum system pressures. Advocates for asylum seekers and some councils have called for clearer oversight of contracts, stronger standards in converted properties and greater transparency about locations and numbers to help councils plan and provide services.
Ministers face a system with growing caseloads: tens of thousands of people are awaiting initial decisions or appeals, and reported crossing figures remain high this year. Officials say they are seeking a mix of temporary and longer-term responses while working on preventing irregular crossings and reforming the asylum system.
Local political and community reactions have ranged from calls for increased policing and rapid removal of unsuitable accommodation to appeals for more central funding for reception services and better welfare and integration support. As the government adjusts its approach, councils, providers and residents say clearer lines of responsibility and more information are needed to manage the social and housing impacts of dispersing asylum seekers into private homes.