Landlords ‘pushed to rent homes to Channel migrants with TAXPAYERS footing the bill’ as crossings continue to surge
LANDLORDS are being pushed to rent homes to Channel migrants – and taxpayers are going to foot the bill, according to reports.
The Home Office has reportedly launched the drive as crossings continue to surge, with private accommodation substantially cheaper than hotels.
Serco – one of three private contractors working for the Government department – is offering property owners five-year guaranteed full rent deals to house asylum seekers, reports The Daily Telegraph.
In literature seen by the newspaper, the company says it is responsible for more than 30,000 refuges in an “ever growing” portfolio of at least 7,000 properties.
At least 16,000 “dispersal accommodation” properties, are currently being run by Serco, Mears and Clearsprings.
Record arrivals
It comes after a new record day was set for arrivals this month and officials expect another major surge next week with temperatures set to hit 27C.
And, as The Sun exclusively revealed last week, Stay Belvedere Hotels Ltd, which runs 51 UK sites, is raking in £700million a year in taxpayers’ cash.
A total of 656 migrants crossed the Channel on April 12 – which capped off a 46 percent increase during the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2024.
And 81 percent on the same time in 2023.
Landlords have been invited to a Serco event at a hotel in the Malvern Hills next month.
The firm is said to be seeking properties in the North West, Midlands and east of England.
A specially-launched website is headed “Calling all landlords”.
It says: “We are confident that our lease provision offers an attractive and competitive proposition within the industry.”
Serco is guaranteeing prospective clients their rent paid “on time every month with no arrears”, as well as full repair and maintenance, free property management, utilities and council tax.
Labour is expanding the drive to use landlords – first pioneered by the Conservatives – in a bid to scrap the use of hotels for migrants.
During his winning election campaign last summer, PM Sir Keir Starmer pledged to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”.
The Home Office says there are fewer asylum hotels open than when Labour came to power in July — when 213 were in use.
More are set to be closed, but 206 are still expected to be in operation by the end of next month.
The latest data shows as of December last year there were 38,000 asylum seekers being housed in hotels – up from 29,585 last June, currently costing £5.5 million a day.
10,000 people who arrived in the UK with a visa, such as for study or work, were now being provided with taxpayer-funded asylum digs.
The figure raised concerns that migrants who could financially support themselves — a fact they would have had to declare to get a visa — are still being given free stays.
Box ticking
To access asylum support, claimants have to tick a box saying they would otherwise be destitute. People are unable to work while asylum claims are being processed.
The Home Office said they will start reviewing the finances of residents staying in hotels from May.
Labour has blamed the Tory government for allowing a backlog of unprocessed claims to build up.
The latest data shows that at the end of the year, 41,987 people were waiting for a decision on their asylum applications.
A department spokesman told the Telegraph: “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.”
Fury as hotel firm housing asylum seekers in 'all-inclusive resort' paid £700m a year of YOUR money
EXCLUSIVE By Rachel Dale and Julia Atherley
A HOTEL firm housing asylum seekers raked in £700million a year in taxpayers’ cash.
Stay Belvedere Hotels Ltd, which runs 51 UK sites, has been a big winner from the boats crisis. Crossings stand at 9,638 already this year.
Labour has pledged to close the hotels and “save billions”.
Providing rooms for asylum seekers costs £5.5million a day, with 38,000 people housed in around 210 sites.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The taxpayer is picking up the bill for Labour’s loss of control of our borders.
“So far 2025 has been the worst year ever for migrants crossing the Channel, who invariably end up in taxpayer-funded hotels or flats.
“They should be in Rwanda but Labour cancelled that scheme before it started.”
A Labour source hit back: “Tories let the accommodation system spiral out of control, with 400 hotels costing £8million a day at its peak.
“We have made changes to save the taxpayer billions and are committed to exiting asylum hotels altogether.”
One of Stay Belvedere’s asylum seeker hotels has been likened to an all-inclusive resort for offering entertainers, fitness classes, guitar lessons and fresh meals.
The Ibis Budget in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, is one of around 210 hotels housing 38,000 asylum seekers at a cost of £5.5million a day.
The mostly-male population can choose from a timetable of activities including singing and cookery classes. English lessons are provided along with a support service for immigration cases.
A twice-daily free bus ferries them to town where they spend their £8-a-head weekly allowance — also funded by taxpayers.
Children are entertained by the visiting Buffy Playbus, a charitable organisation funded by donations.
A whistleblower told The Sun: “It is a very well-run hotel with loads on offer. It’s basically at the same level as the four-star all-inclusive I went to on holiday last year.
“They get three fresh meals a day included. Fresh fruit is available around the clock.
“I don’t begrudge the kids getting the help and the residents are generally polite. But it does make you wonder will they ever want to leave?
“They all have phones and I imagine they send pictures to their mates saying, ‘Come over here!’ ”
Stay Belvedere Hotels, which runs the Ibis, recently had its Government contract ended for 51 UK hotels they operate, because their behaviour “fell short of expectations”.
Their deal — part of a £2billion contract for accommodation — will now end in September 2026.
Asked about the daily running of the Ibis Budget and the activity timetable, a spokesperson would say only: “SBHL has provided a consistent bus service, which has been well-received by guests.”
The Home Office says there are fewer asylum hotels open than when Labour came to power in July — when 213 were in use.
More are set to be closed, but 206 are still expected to be in operation by the end of next month.
Ending their use was a key election pledge from Labour, a task they said would be “saving the taxpayer billions”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp last night said it was “another Labour promise that has turned out to be a lie”.
He added: “These migrants shouldn’t be getting cooking lessons in hotels — they should have been sent to Rwanda.”
Demand for the migrant-housing hotels is unlikely to be stemmed any time soon, with 2025 crossings on track to break records.