Number of asylum seekers left homeless after Home Office eviction soars

Data analysed by the Refugee Council found that 12,630 households in England faced homelessness after eviction from asylum accommodation in the two years to the end of September 2023.

Despite the closures the number of asylum seekers accommodated since the end of September 2023 has not reduced, suggesting that more people are being squeezed into fewer hotels.

It found that loading the housing costs of UK asylum seekers on to a budget set aside to alleviate poverty abroad was creating “perverse incentives” and that the FCDO had in effect “to take the financial hit” for the Home Office’s overspending.

The chief executive of Care4Calais, Steve Smith, said: “Our volunteers have seen hundreds of people who have been granted refugee status being made homeless over recent months.

We know that habitable housing, embedded in communities, provides the best foundation for those granted refugee status, who only want to integrate into society and move forward with their lives.”

Focusing solely on closing hotels and speeding up evictions just places people in the asylum system in ever worsening housing or increased risk of homelessness.”