The relocation of asylum seekers from hotels into private housing has led to hundreds of family homes being converted into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) across England, press and local reports show.
An investigation by the Daily Mail, using land registry records, council reports and private sales data, identified roughly 100 villages, towns and cities where properties have been leased to accommodation contractors or refurbished to provide rooms for people in the asylum system. The paper and local broadcasters have highlighted a string of examples from Birmingham to Grimsby and Skegness, and council meetings in areas such as Wigan and Basildon have registered concerns about the changes.
The conversions have been linked to a Home Office push to reduce reliance on hotels for asylum accommodation. The government has said it intends to close all hotel sites housing asylum seekers by 2029; critics have labelled parts of the redistribution programme "Operation Scatter." Oxford University’s Migration Observatory published analysis in March indicating that of about 110,000 people in the asylum system, roughly 30,000 still remain in hotels, leaving tens of thousands placed in alternative accommodation.
Commercial contractors that hold Government contracts to provide asylum accommodation include Serco, Mears Group plc and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Local reporting and interviews conducted by the BBC and national papers show those contractors offering landlords multi‑year guaranteed tenancies, repair coverage and management services to encourage property owners to convert or offer houses as HMOs for single adults. Serco told the BBC that it was not responsible for the conduct of people living in the community and said those matters were for the police or the Government to address.
Local authorities and residents have reported rapid rises in HMO numbers in some places. Wigan council documents and local reporting show the number of licensed HMOs there increased by around 190% in four years to about 900; the council also cited a housing waiting list running into thousands. A resident quoted by local media said tenants were moved in without community consultation and described disturbances, while local councillors in Basildon have warned landlords are converting homes to house asylum seekers at the expense of local renters.
The Daily Mail’s market analysis and other property data cited by local media indicate that demand for HMOs has pushed prices and yields up in parts of the north and east of England. The paper reported that the number of HMOs in England is now in the hundreds of thousands and that average HMO sale prices outside London have risen in parallel with strong rental returns. Developers and private landlords have been identified as purchasing and refurbishing former bedsits and small family homes in seaside and post‑industrial towns to house groups of single men in separate rooms.
Councils have taken different approaches. Some local authorities have purchased or leased homes for refugee resettlement, including council reports showing the acquisition of new‑build properties in East Sussex and homes in Suffolk used for refugee families. Oxford’s Migration Observatory reported in March that most local authorities have accepted placements, with only a minority declining to host people from the asylum system.
The shift from hotel provision to dispersed private accommodation has raised competing pressures for local housing markets. Campaigners and some elected officials say the conversions reduce the already limited supply of homes available for local renters and first‑time buyers, while providers and landlords argue the contracts secure long‑term guaranteed income and offer maintenance that individual landlords could not otherwise obtain.
The Home Office has declined to disclose comprehensive national figures for the number of HMOs it currently contracts or will require in future, saying only that it is working to manage accommodation needs. The Migration Observatory and local authorities continue to monitor patterns of placement and housing stock changes as the government implements its plans to close hotel sites.
Reporting by national and local outlets shows the policy shift has produced a patchwork of arrangements and outcomes across England. Central government policy to remove asylum seekers from hotel accommodation is expected to continue over the coming years, while councils, contractors, landlords and residents adjust to the changing distribution of people in the asylum system.