Official data shows that the cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels and other accommodation between 2019 and 2029 is expected to reach £15.3 billion. The figure equates to £4 million a day or £3,172 a minute despite the cost of housing asylum seekers initially being estimated to be £4.5 billion.
An increasingly tight public purse and a rise in numbers of people crossing the English Channel has led to calls to adjust the strategy on how to handle large numbers of people awaiting processing. Following her election as Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Reform UK’s Dame Andrea Jenkyns caused controversy by calling for an “end to soft touch Britain” by placing people in tents rather than hotels. She said: “I say no to putting people in hotels. Tents are good enough for France, they should be good enough for here in Britain.”
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Labour has not ruled out the use of tents to house asylum seekers, insisting that all options remain on the table, but refugee charities have previously hit out at plans to house migrants in such a way.
Speaking in 2023 after then Home Secretary suggested tents could be used to house migrants, Tim Nao Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action said: “It really shouldn’t be too much to ask that people who have fled violence, torture and persecution have their claims assessed quickly and justly and are housed in safe homes in our communities.”
It comes as Keir Starmer plans to end the use of asylum hotels by offering private landlords five years of guaranteed rent to accommodate those awaiting the outcome of their applications. It is expected that the cost of doing so will be cheaper, working out at around £14 per night on average as opposed to £145.
But property experts have warned that doing so could exasperate the country’s existing housing crisis.
Angharad Trueman, of charity Propertymark, said: “While schemes like this are potentially appealing to some landlords who might be struggling with increased mortgage costs and amended regulation, as they help provide guaranteed income, they do have the potential to add further pressure to already dwindling supply levels.”
The plans come as Labour attempts to make renting more difficult for landlords with the Renters’ Rights Bill which is set to be enshrined in law later this year.
Under the proposals, no-fault evictions will be banned as will fixed-term tenancy agreements.