Number of asylum hotels falls to 185 after 11 close
Number of Asylum Hotels Drops to 185 After 11 Closure Announced
The Home Office has confirmed the closure of 11 hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers, reducing the total number to 185 from a peak of approximately 400. Home Office Minister Alex Norris cited the decline as a result of increased deportations of individuals without the right to remain in the UK and the expansion of alternative housing solutions, such as military barracks. He described the use of hotels as a source of community frustration and a contributing factor to the influx of illegal arrivals.
Asylum seekers are generally barred from working for the first 12 months of their stay, which can make independent housing difficult to secure. The Home Office is legally obligated to provide lodging when individuals cannot afford their own accommodation. The surge in hotel usage began in 2020, driven by delays in processing asylum claims and a shortage of long-term housing options. This led to widespread local protests and legal challenges from councils, with concerns over rising costs also being raised.
Government spending on hotel-based asylum accommodation reached £2.1bn in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, marking a decrease from the £3bn spent in the prior year. Norris noted that the next set of official figures, due in May, could show a further reduction, aiming to bring the number of people in hotels below the 29,585 threshold seen when Labour took office. The peak usage of asylum hotels under the Conservative government was over 56,000 in 2023, with numbers rising again after Labour’s election in July 2024 before declining.
Labour has pledged to eliminate the use of hotels for asylum seekers by July 2029, estimating annual savings of nearly £65m. The party plans to announce additional closures in the coming weeks. Norris argued that ending hotel accommodation would weaken the incentive for people to cross the English Channel illegally, stating, “We know the traffickers say ‘come to the UK, live in a hotel, work illegally,’ we’re changing that reality.”
Political Reactions
“Conservatives criticized the move, arguing that the government was shifting asylum seekers to residential apartments to mask the scale of the issue.” — Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp
“Those apartments are then not available for young people struggling to get on the housing ladder.” — Chris Philp
“Closing asylum hotels is right for both communities and asylum seekers themselves, but it doesn’t fix the problem; it just moves it elsewhere.” — Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Max Wilkinson
“It is absolutely shocking that the government is boasting about moving illegal migrants from one form of taxpayer-funded accommodation to another.” — Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf
Plans for the Future
The government aims to replace hotel-based housing with “large, basic accommodation sites,” a strategy to permanently relocate asylum seekers. Up to 350 illegal migrants have already been moved to the Crowborough military barracks in East Sussex. However, some local officials and politicians have expressed dissatisfaction, with councillor Rachel Millward stating to the BBC that the Home Office had not adequately consulted the community or explained the plans.
While the closure of 11 hotels is part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on temporary housing, the overall number of people arriving by small boat remained high in 2025, with 100,625 crossings recorded. The Green Party has been invited to provide its response to the policy shift.
