More than nine out of ten councils across the UK will soon be housing asylum seekers, according to new information revealed by the Sunday Express. Documents from the Home Office show that unemployed male migrants will be living in communities nationwide, funded by taxpayers.
Almost 40,000 asylum seekers are expected to be placed in publicly funded homes across London, the East of England, the South East, and the South West. This is part of the government’s plan to close down hotels currently used to house migrants. But there’s a major issue — the Home Office still needs to find accommodation for more than 66,000 people, and there is already a shortfall of about 20,000 spaces.
To deal with the lack of housing, the Home Office is considering using abandoned buildings and old military bases. The number of councils taking part in housing asylum seekers has already risen from 82% in the summer to a projected 92% by the end of the year.
Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly criticised Labour’s handling of the situation. He said the government had promised to fix the migration crisis but instead ended up forcing nearly every local council to host asylum seekers. According to him, “more young unemployed men” are being housed at public expense while many British families struggle to find affordable homes.
Home Office data shows that in North West England alone, 17,218 asylum seekers are already living in taxpayer-funded homes, even though the original plan allowed for only 13,486. In the South East, accommodation providers are still searching for enough homes to meet demand. London also faces pressure, with more than 12,000 migrants still needing homes.
The cost of dispersal accommodation — houses, flats, and shared spaces — is around £23.25 per person per night. By comparison, hotel accommodation costs about £145 per person per night, and even former military bases like the one in Wethersfield, Essex, cost around £132 per night.
Despite efforts to move asylum seekers out of hotels, five out of twelve regions have not yet met half of their targets for housing them. Across the country, there are currently 68,000 asylum seekers already housed and more than 66,000 waiting. The Home Office has space for about 114,000 people in total but is falling short by nearly 20,000 beds.
Some regions, like the North East and North West, have already gone over their targets but still need thousands more homes. The West Midlands, for example, planned to host around 10,900 asylum seekers, but over 9,000 are already there and nearly 5,000 more are still waiting.
Home Office Minister Alex Norris wrote to MPs explaining that housing plans depend on local factors such as housing availability, GP access, homelessness levels, and social balance. He confirmed that as of July 2025, 82% of councils were already housing asylum seekers, and that percentage is expected to rise to 92% by the end of the year.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the situation a “national disgrace,” accusing the government of losing control of the borders. He argued that nearly every community will now bear the burden of housing asylum seekers. He also called for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) so that illegal arrivals could be deported within a week, claiming that this would stop the Channel crossings altogether.
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson also criticised the government, saying it’s “a betrayal of every hardworking family” and that local communities are being changed without their consent. He promised that his party would leave the ECHR, stop illegal boat crossings, and deport those entering the country unlawfully.
The issue has already affected communities in places like Thanet, Canterbury, Dover, and Folkestone, where entire streets and blocks of flats have reportedly been converted into asylum accommodation.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “furious” about the number of illegal migrants in hotels and insisted that it is taking action to close all asylum hotels, which would save taxpayers billions. They added that the number of hotels being used has already been cut in half, with plans to use military bases and other empty properties instead.
The situation remains a growing challenge for both the government and local communities, as the demand for accommodation continues to rise faster than the available housing.
