The UK seeks to overturn long‑standing reliance on hotels for housing migrants and asylum seekers, with ministers weighing a push to end routine hotel use by March 2026. The leading option, promoted by the Refugee Council and under active discussion among policymakers as of August 28, 2025, would grant time‑limited leave to remain to thousands from five countries with very high protection grant rates—Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, and Syria. Supporters say this would let people almost certain to stay move into stable homes and work, while easing pressure on the asylum system and cutting the heavy cost of hotel rooms.
Since 2020, the Home Office has leaned on hotels because of a large decision backlog and a shortage of long‑term housing. By early 2025, about one‑third of all asylum seekers—roughly 40,000 people—were living in contingency housing, mostly hotels, with over 32,000 in hotels alone. Officials accept that hotels are expensive and poor for long stays. Internal figures show average hotel rates fell from £162 to £119 per night in 2024–25 after tougher negotiation and higher occupancy, yet hotels still cost around six times more than other accommodation models.

Policy changes under consideration
The core proposal is a one‑off route that would grant limited, renewable status outside the standard asylum process to people from the five named countries. It would rely on existing Home Office security checks and data, allowing faster decisions without lengthy individual asylum interviews in every case.
The Refugee Council argues this targeted step mirrors practical choices used in past crises, citing schemes such as Afghan relocation and Homes for Ukraine, and would help close hotels within months once rolled out. Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to adopt the plan to speed closures and focus resources on complex cases still in the backlog.
Time‑limited leave to remain is a short, renewable permission to live and work in the UK. Under the Refugee Council plan, recipients could:
- Rent homes
- Take jobs
- Enroll children in local schools
instead of waiting in hotel rooms for many months.
Funding saved from hotel contracts could be redirected to:
- Deposit support
- Short‑term rental subsidies
- Basic integration help
This would make private rentals more accessible and reduce strain on local authorities that manage dispersal housing.
The Home Office is already trying to cut hotel dependence by diversifying accommodation. Its updated Allocation of Asylum Accommodation Policy (version 13, June 2025) points to non‑detained options like redeveloped former Ministry of Defence sites and vessels, plus more use of private rentals. Officials stress these options are cheaper and better suited for medium‑term stays than hotels.
At the same time, the department is reviewing accommodation rules after a High Court ruling on equality duties, a process that could shape how placements are made and monitored across the country.
Costs, capacity, and timelines
The scale of hotel use gives the plan its urgency. Government data and sector estimates indicate more than 32,000 asylum seekers are spread across roughly 210 hotels. Among people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, there are at least 32,917 in Home Office accommodation who could be eligible for the time‑limited status if the policy is adopted.
Meanwhile, the casework backlog has slowed decision times: only 8% of asylum claims were decided within six months by Q3 2024, which led to longer hotel stays and rising costs.
The Refugee Council proposes bringing forward the target to end hotel use to March 2026, a full three years earlier than the prior trajectory toward 2029. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, focusing first on people with very high grant rates and clear barriers to return is a practical way to cut hotel numbers fast while keeping security checks in place.
Moving those likely to remain into regular housing would:
- Reduce pressure on dispersal areas
- Help contractors match people to community‑based homes more quickly
- Free caseworkers to focus on complex files
Officials note that contingency housing grew as asylum support numbers rose from about 28,300 people in 2014 to around 119,000 by 2025, a shift that outpaced available social housing and private rentals in many regions.
While some hotel rates have dropped through bulk deals, even the lower £119 per night average remains far above non‑hotel options. Local councils say long hotel stays strain schools, health services, and community budgets. Contractors add that frequent hotel moves disrupt casework and make it harder to arrange permanent addresses needed for jobs and bank accounts.
Rollout and practical steps
If ministers accept the plan, rollout would be gradual. People granted time‑limited leave would exit hotels in phases as private rentals, council‑arranged homes, or community placements open up.
Likely implementation features:
- Prioritization
- Families and long‑stayers first
- Then single adults
- Checks
- Continued identity and risk screening using Home Office data
- Support funding reallocation
- From hotel contracts to placement incentives and move‑on support
- Deposit assistance to prevent tenancy failures
- Short‑term subsidies while benefit payments are set up
The Home Office has also worked to increase occupancy per hotel and push nightly rates down to save money in the short term. Senior officials acknowledge this is a holding tactic, not a solution for year‑long stays. Ending routine hotel use depends on cutting the backlog and opening more non‑hotel beds. Granting limited leave to people likely to remain would remove a large share of current hotel residents and free caseworkers to focus on the more complex files left in the system.
Legal, political, and equality considerations
Legal and political debate will continue as the plan moves forward. Supporters frame the change as both humane and fiscally sensible, since it gets people into normal life sooner and reduces public costs.
Potential criticisms and challenges:
- Fairness concerns: Critics may question whether fast‑tracking some nationalities is fair to others who must wait longer under the standard asylum route.
- Equality duties: The Home Office must balance speed and cost against equality obligations, especially after the High Court ruling.
- Local capacity spikes: Coordination with councils and contractors is required to avoid sharp local demand increases.
The government is expected to consider the Refugee Council proposal later in 2025, with the option of pilots before a wider rollout. Ministers have not set a final timetable, but officials say every month spent in hotels adds to costs and stress for people stuck in limbo.
Ending hotel use by March 2026 would require:
- Steady transitions into private rentals and community housing
- Continued casework improvements so new arrivals don’t refill hotel blocks
- Close coordination with local authorities and housing contractors
“Every month spent in hotels adds to costs and stress for people stuck in limbo.”
For official information on support available to asylum seekers, see GOV.UK: Asylum support.
This Article in a Nutshell
The UK is considering a targeted policy, advocated by the Refugee Council and discussed by ministers in August 2025, to end routine hotel use for asylum seekers by March 2026. The proposal would grant time-limited, renewable leave to thousands from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria—nationalities with high protection grant rates—using existing Home Office checks to speed placements into private rentals and community housing. By early 2025 around 40,000 asylum seekers lived in contingency housing, with over 32,000 in hotels across roughly 210 sites; hotels averaged £119 per night after negotiation but remain far costlier than non-hotel options. The plan aims to reduce costs, ease pressure on dispersal areas, and free caseworkers to handle complex claims, while addressing legal, equality and local capacity challenges. Rollout would be phased and paired with funding reallocation for deposits, short-term subsidies and integration support, with possible pilots in 2025.