The Home Office has issued an urgent appeal for 5,000 properties to accommodate up to 20,000 migrants as a landmark High Court ruling threatens to trigger a wave of asylum hotel closures across Britain.
Asylum accommodation contractors reached out to property specialists in August seeking 5,000 residential units, with insiders suggesting each two-bedroom flat would house an average of four migrants. The desperate search for alternative accommodation comes after Epping Forest District Council secured a temporary injunction forcing the closure of the Bell Hotel as an asylum facility by 12 September.
The ruling has sent shockwaves through Westminster, with two dozen councils signalling they would consider similar legal challenges that could leave thousands of asylum seekers without accommodation. The crisis deepens as Labour struggles to manage record Channel crossings, with 27,997 migrants arriving so far in 2025 – the highest figure ever recorded at this point in the year.
This is great news for our residents,” declared Epping Forest Council leader Chris Whitbread after winning the injunction. Home Office policy ignores the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents. Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance.”
The Bell Hotel had become a flashpoint for protests after an asylum seeker staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction on Tuesday, ruling that using the hotel for asylum seekers breached planning regulations as it constituted a change from hotel use to hostel accommodation.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick immediately launched “Lawyers for Borders,” offering free legal assistance to councils seeking similar injunctions. “Every patriotic council, whether Conservative, Reform, whatever, should follow Epping’s lead and seek an injunction,” Jenrick said in a video posted online. “If you are a council or a community group and you need our help, contact my office.”
The Government faces mounting pressure as approximately 200 hotels continue housing more than 32,000 asylum seekers at a cost of £5.77 million per day – down from £8.3 million daily in 2023 but still representing nearly £2.1 billion annually. Labour had pledged to end hotel use by 2029, but the surge in Channel crossings and potential council challenges threaten to derail these plans.
Home Office sources confirmed the search focuses on shorter-term leases of 90 days with potential three-month extensions. Properties under consideration include disused tower blocks, student accommodation, and former teacher-training colleges as “medium-sized” accommodation sites. The former RAF Wethersfield base in Essex has already seen its capacity raised from 800 to 1,225 migrants.
The Government is looking at contingency options,” a Home Office spokesperson said, insisting they would “find alternative locations” for asylum seekers affected by the Epping ruling. However, the department warned that granting injunctions could “substantially interfere” with statutory duties to house asylum seekers and potentially breach their human rights.
The accommodation crisis coincides with record Channel crossings, with more than 20,000 arriving between January and June 2025 – a 48 per cent increase on the same period in 2024. Afghan nationals topped the list of arrivals, followed by Iranians, Iraqis, and Syrians, as global conflicts drive unprecedented displacement.
Several councils have already indicated they may follow Epping’s lead. Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire announced it would “take legal advice as a matter of urgency,” whilst South Norfolk District Council said it would not pursue similar action despite protests over a Diss hotel housing asylum seekers.
Philip Coppel KC, representing Epping Forest Council, argued the situation had created “a very serious problem” with “irreparable harm to the local community.” He noted the hotel’s proximity to five schools and a residential care home had amplified safety concerns, with Essex Police requiring mutual aid from other forces to manage protests.
The hotel’s owners, Somani Hotels Limited, warned that contracts to house asylum seekers were a “financial lifeline” after the hotel saw just one per cent occupancy in August 2022. Their barrister argued the injunction would set a harmful precedent affecting “the wider strategy” of housing asylum seekers in hotels nationwide.
Labour faces a potential council revolt, with even some Labour-controlled authorities considering legal action. Party sources expressed frustration that councils were “wasting taxpayers’ money fighting a government that is already working to end the use of hotels.”
The crisis highlights the failure of successive governments to control Channel crossings despite billions spent on enforcement. The previous Conservative government’s Rwanda scheme was abandoned by Labour immediately after taking office, with no asylum seekers ever being relocated there despite £290 million in payments to the African nation.
As councils prepare their legal challenges and the Home Office scrambles for alternative accommodation, thousands of asylum seekers face an uncertain future. With winter approaching and accommodation options dwindling, the Government’s promise to “restore control” over the immigration system appears increasingly hollow.
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Image Credit (Shortened):
Home Office headquarters at 2 Marsham Street, London (15 Nov 2005) – by Canley, licensed under CC BY‑SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
