LANDLORDS are being pushed to rent homes to Channel migrants – and taxpayers are going to foot the bill, according to reports.
The has reportedly launched the drive as crossings continue to surge, with private accommodation substantially cheaper than .
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 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, 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
During his winning election campaign last , PM Sir pledged to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”.
The 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 thatwho 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 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.”;
