Appeal to landlords for more properties to house rising number crossing in small boats
The Home Office has launched a drive for landlords to house asylum seekers following a surge in Channel migrant crossings.
Serco, one of three private contractors working for the Home Office, is offering landlords five-year guaranteed full rent deals to house asylum seekers at the taxpayer’s expense.
In promotional literature, the firm boasts that it is already responsible for more than 30,000 asylum seekers in an “ever growing” portfolio of more than 7,000 properties.
The move comes after a new record for daily small boat arrivals was set earlier this month, with officials braced for more in good weather next week, with temperatures set to hit 27C.
Migrant accommodation has become a growing issue on the doorstep, with one Labour candidate vowing to close a local asylum hotel ahead of next week’s local elections and Runcorn by-election.
On Friday night, Labour was accused of taking homes away from British people and “giving a better deal in favour of illegal immigrants than people who have lived, worked and paid tax here all their lives”.
Asylum seekers in hotels
Landlords were invited to a Serco event at a four-star hotel in the Malvern Hills next month, with the contractor saying it was “looking for” landlords, investors and agents with properties in the North West, the Midlands and the east of England to lease for over five years.
A website page with the heading “Calling all landlords” tells prospective clients: “We are confident that our lease provision offers an attractive and competitive proposition within the industry.” They are promised rent paid “on time every month with no arrears”, full repair and maintenance, free property management and utilities and council tax bills paid by Serco.
Housing migrants in private accommodation is cheaper than hotels, costing as little as £14 per night compared to around £145.
The use of landlords was first introduced by the Conservatives more than a decade ago. It is being expanded under Labour as the Government faces a growing number of migrants crossing the Channel and seeks to end hotel use.
During the general election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”.
However, the latest Home Office data showed that there were 38,000 asylum seekers in hotels as at December last year, costing £5.5 million a day and up from 29,585 last June, just before the election.
Migrant Channel crossings are on the rise, with 9,638 people arriving illegally so far this year, 44.5 per cent higher than the same point last year and the largest number since the first small boats arrived in 2018.
Home Office figures show that contractors are now responsible for housing 65,700 asylum seekers, a 10-year high and double the 31,000 in “dispersal accommodation” in 2014.
The landlord drive is targeted at HMOs – houses in multiple occupation – family property, former care homes, residential and student accommodation.
It is estimated there are now at least 16,000 “dispersal accommodation” properties run by the three contractors, also including Mears and Clearsprings.
Shortly after last year’s election, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, claimed that an overspend of £4.6 billion on migrant hotels had contributed to a £22 billion black hole Labour said it had inherited from the Conservatives.
Karen Shore, Labour’s Runcorn and Helsby candidate, who is running to replace the disgraced MP Mike Amesbury, said that closing the local asylum hotel was one of her “priorities”, complaining that “millions of pounds have been sunk into these hotels”.
The Government says it has reduced the number of asylum hotels since the election, sped up asylum decision-making to get applicants out of taxpayer-funded accommodation and removed more than 24,000 migrants, the highest number in a nine-month period for eight years.
Asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation hits record high
Number of asylum seekers in dispersal accommodation
A Home Office spokesman said: “These arrangements with the private rented sector have been in place for years, including under the previous government. We have a statutory duty to support destitute asylum seekers who will not be able to pay for fees such as utilities and council tax.
“We are restoring order to the asylum system and cutting costs to taxpayers by reducing the number of people we are required to accommodate through a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK.”
However, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “This lays bare Labour’s shameful failures. Because they have let in record numbers of illegal immigrants so far this year, via Serco the Government is offering better than market terms to landlords to house them.
“This is taking away homes that hard-working, tax-paying Britons who are struggling to find a place to rent need. Labour is once again giving a better deal to illegal immigrants than people who have lived, worked and paid tax here all their lives. These illegal immigrants should have been sent to Rwanda, not put up in nice flats.”
But a Labour source hit back, saying: “It’s worth reminding the shadow home secretary that this has happened since 1999. This includes all of his tenure in the Home Office and the last 14 years of the Tory government.
“He well knows that Labour inherited a system in complete chaos. He had stopped making decisions and left people stranded, so more hotels were needed. Instead of harping from the sidelines, he should reflect on his mistakes.”
A Labour source also pointed out that Mr Philp himself, when a home office minister in 2020, had backed expansion of dispersal accommodation including private landlords. He urged MPs to support the approach in December 2020: “If Members want to see the use of hotels reduced, supporting the Home Office in procuring more dispersed accommodation is the way to do that,” he said.
The fresh drive has sparked a backlash from councils and charities, which have said young British workers, families and homeless people are losing out as the contractors push up the cost of housing and deny them cheaper properties.
There are an estimated 1.3 million people on social housing waiting lists amid acute shortages of cheaper private rented accommodation.
Labour said it had inherited an asylum system ‘in complete chaos’ Credit: Steve Finn
One council leader said: “It’s Serco who are encouraging landlords to exploit taxpayers, then it’s blamed on councils because of the impact it has on local rents, services and social cohesion. I don’t think it’s good for the fabric of society or the individuals involved.”
A housing executive who has advised the Government said the move was denying homes to local people, adding: “Whether they are long-term residents of the UK or immigrants, they should surely come ahead of asylum seekers and illegal migrants who turn up and demand assistance.
“It seems an unfair way to deal with the people in Britain who are struggling by taking away accommodation that they could benefit from.”
On Friday, The Sun reported that a hotel firm housing asylum seekers had made £700 million in a year from the taxpayer.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “We have long been concerned that the dispersal system in its current form is deeply flawed and must be reformed.
“Dysfunctional and costly, it comes at terrible value for taxpayers’ money, but also sees people in need of safety being accommodated in very isolated areas with little support. This makes it really difficult for those recognised as refugees to properly integrate into British life.
“Instead of working with private contractors, which helps no one by disrupting local housing supply, the Government must work in close partnership with local authorities. This is a much more reliable arrangement and the surest way of delivering suitable, cost-efficient accommodation for people who come to this country in need of safety.”
Serco declined to comment. The Home Office said its Malvern Hills event had been cancelled after being contacted by The Telegraph.
