26 April 2025, 10:47 | Updated: 26 April 2025, 10:56
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The Home Office has asked British landlords to rent homes to migrants amid surging Channel crossings.
Serco, a private contractor working with the Home Office, has offered landlords a five-year guaranteed full rent deal to house asylum seekers.
The firm is responsible for more than 30,000 asylum seekers in 7,000 properties, promotional literature claims.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of “giving a better deal in favour of illegal immigrants than people who have lived, worked and paid tax here all their lives”.
This comes as a new record for small boat crossings was set earlier this month – as 705 migrants made the journey in just 12 boats.
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Serco has invited landlords to an event in May, as the contractor is “looking for” landlords, investors and agents with properties in the East of England, North West and Midlands, the Telegraph reported.
Their website, titled “Calling all landlords”, reads: “We are confident that our lease provision offers an attractive and competitive proposition within the industry.”
They promise rent paid “on time every month with no arrears”.
Serco also pledged landlords full repair and maintenance, free property management and utilities plus paid council tax bills.
Housing migrants in private housing proves cheaper than hotels, costing just £14 per night compared to £145 a night in hotels.
Some 38,079 asylum seekers were in hotel accommodation as of the end of last year, down from a peak of 56,042 in September 2023.
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A Home Office spokesman told the paper: “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.”
Mr Philp said: “This lays bare Labour’s shameful failures. Because they have let in record numbers of illegal immigrants so far this year, via Serco the Government is offering better than market terms to landlords to house them.
“This is taking away homes that hard-working, tax-paying Britons who are struggling to find a place to rent need. Labour is once again giving a better deal to illegal immigrants than people who have lived, worked and paid tax here all their lives. These illegal immigrants should have been sent to Rwanda, not put up in nice flats.”
A labour source responded, telling the newspaper: “It’s worth reminding the shadow home secretary that this has happened since 1999. This includes all of his tenure in the Home Office and the last 14 years of the Tory government.
“He well knows that Labour inherited a system in complete chaos. He had stopped making decisions and left people stranded, so more hotels were needed. Instead of harping from the sidelines, he should reflect on his mistakes.”
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There are approximately 1.3 million people on the social housing waiting list as cheaper private rented accommodation is in high demand.
One council leader commented: “It’s Serco who are encouraging landlords to exploit taxpayers, then it’s blamed on councils because of the impact it has on local rents, services and social cohesion. I don’t think it’s good for the fabric of society or the individuals involved.”
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, told The Telegraph: We have long been concerned that the dispersal system in its current form is deeply flawed and must be reformed.
“Dysfunctional and costly, it comes at terrible value for taxpayers’ money, but also sees people in need of safety being accommodated in very isolated areas with little support. This makes it really difficult for those recognised as refugees to properly integrate into British life.
“Instead of working with private contractors, which helps no one by disrupting local housing supply, the Government must work in close partnership with local authorities. This is a much more reliable arrangement and the surest way of delivering suitable, cost-efficient accommodation for people who come to this country in need of safety.”
The Telegraph reported that Serco declined to comment.
The Home Office said its Malvern Hills event had been cancelled after being contacted by the newspaper.
More Channel crossings have been recorded in January to April 2025 than in the equivalent four-month period in any year since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.
Figures bring the cumulative number of arrivals in 2025, up to March, to a provisional total of 8,888.
This is 42% higher than at the same point last year, when the total stood at 6,265, and 81% higher than at this stage in 2023, when the total was 4,899.
The figures come as the Government has vowed to crack down on people-smuggling across the Channel.
A Home Office spokesperson said they are “intensifying” collaboration with France and other countries over tackling gangs’ business models, and introducing tougher enforcement powers under new legislation.