(LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM) The number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels across the United Kingdom has risen again, even as official figures show overall net migration falling sharply, placing fresh focus on the strain within the asylum system and the government’s promise to end the use of hotels by the end of the decade.
Latest figures and what they mean
According to newly released Home Office data, 32,059 asylum seekers were living in hotel accommodation on 30 June 2025, making up 30% of everyone supported in the asylum system. That is an 8% increase compared with the end of June 2024, despite ministers repeatedly saying they want to move people out of hotels and into cheaper, more stable housing.
While the total is still 43% lower than the peak of 56,042 people in September 2023, the latest rise underlines how hard it has been to shift away from using hotels as a default option.
The increase in hotel use comes on the same day that the Office for National Statistics released provisional figures showing net migration to the UK continuing to fall. For the year ending June 2025, net migration was estimated at 204,000, around two-thirds lower than the 649,000 recorded in the year to June 2024.
Ministers are likely to welcome the wider drop in migration, but the separate asylum accommodation figures show a stubborn problem that has not eased in the way headline migration numbers might suggest.
How hotel use expanded and its persistence
The use of hotels for people seeking asylum expanded rapidly during the pandemic, when normal housing systems struggled to cope and arrivals could not be moved on quickly.
By March 2025, almost one in three asylum seekers were in what the Home Office calls “contingency accommodation”, mainly hotels. That is a huge jump from just 5% at the end of the first quarter of 2020, before Covid-19 reshaped public services and travel patterns.
What began as an emergency measure has, in many parts of the country, become a long‑term feature of the asylum landscape.
London and the two-tier experience
London stands out as the city most affected by this shift. By the end of 2024, 65% of supported asylum seekers in the capital were living in hotels, the highest proportion of any UK region.
This heavy reliance on hotels in London reflects both:
- the city’s tight housing market, and
- its central role as a hub where new arrivals are often first placed.
It also means many boroughs are hosting large numbers of people in short‑term accommodation that was never meant for long stays, with schools, local health services and community groups trying to support families who may be moved at short notice.
Beyond London, analysis by VisaVerge.com shows the widening use of hotels since 2020 has created a two‑tier system:
- Some asylum seekers are placed in more stable housing.
- Others spend months or longer in hotel rooms with little privacy, limited cooking facilities and frequent moves.
Local charities warn this can damage mental health, especially for people already coping with trauma from war, persecution or dangerous journeys to the UK.
Government pledges, actions and contradictions
The government says it wants to change this picture. Ministers have pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum accommodation by 2029, arguing hotel stays are too expensive and unsuitable for long‑term living.
Officials claim they have already cut the number of hotels in use from 400 to around 200 since taking office, a reduction they present as proof the policy is working. Yet the latest figures show that, despite halving the number of hotels, more asylum seekers are actually staying in those that remain — suggesting rooms are being used more densely and that finding other places to house people has been harder than planned.
Costs and financial pressures
Cost is a central concern. The Home Office says the average cost of housing asylum seekers in hotels fell from £176 per person per night in 2024/25 to £170, a small but politically important drop.
Officials link this to “more efficient use” of the remaining hotels and greater use of room‑sharing policies. However, even at £170 per person per night, the total outlay runs into millions of pounds each week when multiplied across tens of thousands of people.
Critics argue that money would be better spent on:
- funding permanent housing,
- speeding up decisions on asylum claims, or
- supporting local councils to provide community‑based homes.
Broader migration context
Behind these debates lies the broader question of who is arriving in the UK, and in what numbers.
Key migration numbers for the year ending June 2025:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Net migration (total) | 204,000 |
| Non‑EU+ nationals arriving | 670,000 |
| Non‑EU+ nationals (previous year) | 1,063,000 |
| Net migration for non‑EU+ nationals | +383,000 |
| Net migration for EU+ citizens | -70,000 |
| Net migration for British nationals | -109,000 |
Most arrivals during that period were non‑EU+ nationals. Net migration for non‑EU+ nationals remains positive but has fallen sharply from the prior year, reflecting tighter rules on work and study visas.
In contrast, more EU+ nationals and British nationals left the UK than arrived. These patterns mean the UK is becoming increasingly dependent on non‑EU migration for any overall population growth, even as headline net migration drops.
However, the asylum hotel figures show that changes in work and study routes do not quickly solve the pressures inside the protection system, where people apply because they say they cannot safely return to their home countries.
Human impact: daily life in hotels
For asylum seekers in hotels, the statistics translate into everyday hardships:
- Families often share single rooms.
- Parents report difficulty finding quiet space for children to study or play.
- People with medical needs may be placed far from specialist services.
- Moves between hotels in different towns or regions can break links with local schools, doctors and support groups.
These conditions are not detailed in government spreadsheets, but they sit behind the rising totals and the political argument over hotel use.
“These conditions can damage mental health, especially for people already coping with trauma.”
— Local charities and support groups
Local authorities, councils and planning concerns
Local councils in and around London say they were not given enough time, money or planning detail when hotels in their areas were turned into asylum accommodation.
Concerns from councils include:
- pressure on school places and GP appointments,
- insufficient funding and planning time, and
- a lack of long‑term planning for where asylum seekers will live and how they will be supported.
Other councils and charities stress the real issue is not the presence of asylum seekers, but the absence of firm, long‑term planning.
What officials say they are doing
Officials say part of the answer lies in:
- moving people more quickly into permanent housing once they receive decisions,
- reducing the backlog of undecided asylum claims, and
- expanding alternative accommodation options.
When alternative accommodation such as dedicated reception centres or community housing is not ready or available, hotels remain the only immediate option for new arrivals.
The Home Office says it is working to reduce costs and dependence on hotels through measures such as:
- negotiating better rates with hotel chains,
- expanding the use of shared rooms, and
- exploring other forms of accommodation, including refurbished former student halls or large‑scale reception sites.
Official details on these plans are often limited, but the department’s broader asylum and migration policies can be tracked on the UK government website, including the Home Office migration and asylum statistics collection.
Fault lines in the debate
For many observers, the contrast between the falling net migration figure and the rising number of asylum seekers in hotels raises hard questions:
- If far fewer people overall are coming to live in the UK, why is the asylum system still under such pressure that thousands must stay in costly emergency accommodation?
- Supporters of tighter controls argue that stricter border policies and reduced legal routes will, in time, lower asylum numbers as well.
- Refugee groups and some legal experts counter that people fleeing conflict or persecution will continue to arrive as long as crises in their home countries continue, regardless of broader migration trends.
Key takeaway
What is clear from the latest data is that net migration is going down, but reliance on hotels for asylum seekers has gone up again, especially in London and other major urban areas.
The government’s pledge to end hotel use by 2029 now depends on:
- finding enough alternative housing,
- speeding up asylum decisions, and
- working with already stretched local communities.
Until those steps are taken, tens of thousands of men, women and children will keep living in hotels across the UK, their lives on hold while politicians and officials argue over numbers, targets and costs.
Home Office figures show 32,059 asylum seekers living in hotels on 30 June 2025, a year‑on‑year 8% rise and 30% of the asylum caseload. London bears the heaviest burden, with many placed in short‑term hotel rooms. The government pledges to end hotel use by 2029 and reports reducing 호텔s in use from roughly 400 to 200. Costs fell slightly to £170 per person per night, but charities warn of long‑term harms without faster housing moves and quicker asylum decisions.
