Cheap Housing for Asylum Seekers, Expensive Consequences for Everyone Else by Shane Bray

The Home Office encouraging private landlords to house asylum seekers in private rented homes is a ticking time bomb—and it’s shocking this hasn’t become a bigger political issue, despite it making the news in the last fortnight.

That said this isn’t a new thing, although I suspect the previous government at least had the sense to not roll out asylum seekers living in private rental homes en masse due to the obvious poor optics, although it would be giving them too much credit to say they wouldn’t do it because of the related problems I shall go on to detail.  What I am referring to is The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contract (AASC) which has been in place since 2019, further proof (not that we need it) that the Tories will never be the party to tackle our illegal migrant problem.

This scheme introduces a two-tier legal system. If a private landlord rents directly to someone without legal residency, they face fines under Right to Rent laws. But if they rent via a government contractor like Serco, it becomes entirely legal. Just insert a contractor between landlord and tenant, and suddenly the same tenancy becomes “kosher”—a loophole that makes a mockery of our housing laws.

One landlord who took up Serco’s offer shared his experience online: https://www.property118.com/serco-contract-was-a-train-wreck/. And it’s a stark warning. He handed over a freshly refurbished, high-spec student house under a seven-year agreement. Serco promised stable rent, good property management, and a professional relationship. Instead, he got late payments, serious damage, neglect, and—worst of all—a £5,000 utility bill left unpaid by Serco that resulted in bailiffs forcibly changing his meters to a prepayment system. His home was handed back filthy and wrecked, requiring over £2,500 in urgent repairs—money Serco promised but hadn’t paid. Despite numerous contacts, Serco passed the buck between departments while the landlord was left scrambling before the new student tenants arrived.

And that’s another major problem. Many of the homes Serco is renting were previously used as student accommodation. With university towns already struggling with housing supply, students are now being directly disadvantaged—priced out or left without housing—while homes go to people who have entered the country illegally. That’s not just bad policy; it’s fundamentally unfair.

These aren’t isolated incidents. Across the UK, Serco has left landlords out of pocket and tenants displaced. But the bigger concern isn’t just about the landlords—it’s what this does to the already fragile private rental market.

Right now, landlords are fleeing the market. In Q1 of this year alone, landlord sell-offs were up 83%. With reduced stock and increased regulation, private renters are already suffering—facing higher rents, limited availability, and no long-term security. Now the government is diverting homes from private renters and students to asylum seekers, many of whom arrived illegally and lack the legal right to remain.

At least when asylum seekers were housed in hotels, the effects were geographically contained. Now, the government is dispersing people with unknown backgrounds—often undocumented—into residential communities. Many of these individuals reject Western values, and there are serious, legitimate concerns about cultural clashes, especially around issues like gender equality. Just look at the fallout in Germany from the poorly managed 2015 migrant influx.

This policy doesn’t just risk community tension—it rewards illegal entry. If you arrive here unlawfully, the government will now give you a rent-free home in a residential street rather than a hotel or detention centre. That’s not a deterrent—it’s an incentive.

There is a better way. The UK should build secure, basic accommodation centres for new arrivals—detention-style, not resorts. These should provide food, shelter, hygiene, and medical support—nothing more. We do this for festivals, schools, even prisons—why not immigration? If you enter illegally, your first experience should be lawful detention until your claim is assessed.

And don’t be fooled by arguments about capacity—we’re not short on land. The government owns vast swathes of underused MOD land, perfect for such facilities. But instead of using it for the national interest, much of it is has been sold off to their mates on the cheap, that said we still have sufficient land to utilise in such a way, so this isn’t a logistical problem, it’s not a resource problem, it’s a political problem—and it’s time we demanded a government with the will to fix it.

Shane Bray manages an estate agent office in Surrey, and is interim Vice-Chair of Reform UK Godalming and Ash branch. This article was originally written on May 7th, 2025.