Explainer
Hotels,
barges, military sites: where can England house people seeking asylum?
Ministers
said to be considering a ‘range’ of options after hotel protests and high court
ruling – but choices are limited
Harriet
Sherwood
Wed 20
Aug 2025 12.16 BST
The
government is looking at a “range of appropriate accommodation” in which to
house asylum seekers in England, the Home Office minister Dan Jarvis told BBC
Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday.
He
refused to specify what kind of accommodation was under consideration, although
he acknowledged that “nobody really thinks that hotels are a suitable location”
after this week’s high court ruling. But the options are limited.
What is
the issue?
The Home
Office is responsible for ensuring compliance with the UK’s legal commitments
regarding asylum seekers. That includes supporting destitute people seeking
asylum while it makes a decision on their claim, by providing financial support
and accommodation.
Asylum
seekers are initially housed in “contingency” accommodation, such as hotels,
hostels or special secure facilities. Later they may be moved to “dispersal”
accommodation, including shared houses or self-contained flats or houses.
The
number of people seeking asylum who were accommodated by the government has
increased from about 47,000 in December 2019 to about 110,000 in December 2024.
Hotels
About 200
hotels were housing more than 30,000 asylum seekers in England and Wales at the
end of March 2025.
Since
2020, there has been greater reliance on hotels to house asylum seekers, but
Labour has promised to end the use of hotels by 2029 by cutting small boat
crossings and building new government-owned accommodation.
According
to the Migration Observatory, in 2024-25 the average daily cost of housing an
asylum seeker in a hotel was estimated at £170 per person, compared with £27
for other types of accommodation – more than six times more expensive.
In recent
months there have been protests outside some asylum hotels, with some people
claiming they pose a threat to the safety of the neighbourhood. The protests
have often been orchestrated by the far right.
This week
the high court granted an interim injunction to Epping Forest district council
to stop asylum seekers from being placed at the Bell hotel, after protests
nearby.
The
government is braced for dozens of legal challenges from other council leaders
after the ruling. Home Office lawyers told the court that the decision could
“substantially impact” the government’s ability to house asylum seekers in
hotels across the UK.
Flats and
houses
A
possible alternative is for the government to house asylum seekers in flats or
houses rented from private landlords or social housing providers.
In
December 2023, about 56,500 people were in dispersal accommodation, meaning
flats or houses occupied by single families or multiple single people,
according to the National Audit Office.
However,
if the government opted to increase the proportion of asylum seekers in flats
and houses, it would increase pressure on the rental sector at a time when
finding accommodation is extremely competitive and rents have gone up
significantly.
It may
also increase the vulnerability of asylum seekers to protesters.
Plans to
accommodate 35 families in flats above shops in Waterlooville, Hampshire, were
dropped earlier this month after more than 1,000 people protested in the town.
Last
October, a Home Office lease on flats at Pinehurst Hill Side in Farnborough,
Hampshire, was not renewed after protests. Alex Baker, the local MP, said “many
residents were aspiring to live in” the newly built town-centre accommodation.
Large
sites or camps
In 2022,
the Conservative government said it would use “large sites”, such as former
military facilities, barges, ferries, and cruise ships, to reduce reliance on
hotels for asylum accommodation.
The Home
Office planned to house 1,875 people in large sites by January 2024, but only
900 were accommodated by that date. “On 31 December 2024, this number had
dropped to 500 following the closure of the Bibby Stockholm barge,” said the
Migration Observatory.
The Bibby
Stockholm, a converted barge moored in Portland, Dorset, was decommissioned by
the Labour government in November 2024 amid safety concerns, protests and
condemnation from campaign groups. The barge, which provided accommodation for
about 400 single male asylum seekers a night at maximum occupancy, had cost the
taxpayer at least £34.8m, according to the National Audit Office.
Labour
said it would end the use of all large secure sites to accommodate asylum
seekers but may now be forced to reconsider.
For
example, Wethersfield, a former Ministry of Defence site in Braintree, Essex,
may increase its capacity to house single adult male asylum seekers between the
ages of 18 and 65. According to Graham Butland, the Conservative leader of
Braintree district council, the current number of about 800 men could increase
to 1,220.
A report
from the National Audit Office in 2024 found that the costs of large sites were
significantly higher than expected. This was largely because of the Home Office
overestimating occupancy rates and underestimating the expenses associated with
the setup and refurbishment of these sites.
What do
other counties do?
In
Germany, many asylum seekers are housed in initial reception centres – large
facilities with dormitory-style accommodation. People can stay in these centres
for 18 months or longer before being transferred to collective accommodation
centres or decentralised housing. The type of housing varies by region and may
include former army barracks, housing containers, or self-contained flats.
In
France, reception centres (Centre d’Accueil pour Demandeurs d’Asile – CADA)
serve as the main form of accommodation for asylum seekers. These can be either
collective or private accommodation within the same building or separate flats,
usually managed by NGOs.
Likewise
in Spain, reception centres (Centro de Acogida a Refugiados – CAR) are the
primary accommodation facilities. In France and Spain, there is a shortage of
accommodation, leaving many asylum seekers in informal camps or settlements.
In
Sweden, asylum seekers are primarily housed in shared flats through a dispersal
accommodation system, although municipalities face difficulties in securing
suitable housing.
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