More than 66,000 migrants are living in dispersal accommodation (Image: Getty)
More migrants should be crammed into homes across the country despite concerns over community cohesion, ministers have been told.
Asylum accommodation provider Serco wants the Home Office to force town halls to accept more houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in their areas.
The company said stuffing “three to six” people into a single property “offers the best value for money” for taxpayers.
The claim sparked fury, with politicians warning of an influx of “unwanted arrivals” in cities, towns and villages already struggling to cope with more than 100,000 asylum seekers and refugees.
Serco told the Public Accounts Committee: “The nature of the current cohort means that HMOs for three to six occupants offers the best value for money for Dispersed Accommodation.
“However, we note wider community concerns about the wider proliferation of HMOs, resulting in increased adoption by local authorities of Article 4 restrictions, limiting our ability to procure HMOs.
“While we continue to engage with local authorities to find solutions, we believe there is a greater role for the Home Office to direct local authorities on this matter that would allow service providers to increase low-cost bedspaces.”
Article 4 restrictions force landlords to get planning permission before converting a property into a HMO.
Some 36,273 migrants are staying in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms, while 66,232 are living in communities across Britain.
And the Express has previously revealed how the number living in ‘dispersal accommodation’ could hit 100,000, under the Home Office’s controversial contracts with Serco, Mears and Clearspring Ready Homes.
Serco, which provides homes in the North West of England, the Midlands and East of England, warned communities that migrants moving into houses, flats and bedsits “will continue to be a central part of the asylum accommodation system” – despite the Home Office currently focusing on using military bases.
Under one proposal, the Government could pay councils to buy or renovate properties. They would then be leased out, and once the crisis is under control, they could be used as part of the housing stock.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is a shocking failure by Shabana Mahmood’s Home Office. Their contractor Serco is planning to cram ever larger numbers of illegal immigrants into HMOs in the middle of communities – all because Mahmood can’t control our borders.
“These illegal immigrants should be deported upon arrival – not put up at taxpayers’ expense. The British people are being let down by this weak government.”
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s Head of Policy, told the Sunday Express: “Companies like Serco are raking in hundreds of millions by housing illegal migrants in HMOs.
“Shifting them from hotels into residential streets doesn’t solve the problem, it relocates it.
“These unwanted arrivals are unchecked and uncontrolled, placing our communities at serious risk. Reform will shut down this racket and deport every illegal migrant in the UK.”
Dispersal accommodation costs £23.25 per person per night, according to Home Office documents, while hotels cost on average £144.98.
Service User Demand Plans – which set out how many people can be accommodated in each region – allocated 114,791 spaces for asylum seekers across the country.
Some 68,151 have already been housed, with another 66,021 waiting for accommodation. The North East of England and the North West have both surged past their targets but need to find additional homes for 2,000 people between them.
The West Midlands will almost certainly soar over its planned amount, with 10,944 supposed to be housed in the region. But 9,086 are already living there and 4,930 more are waiting in the wings.
Shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam said: “The suggestion that Whitehall should strong-arm councils into rubber-stamping more HMOs is disgraceful.
“Instead of asking companies like Serco to tell them how to solve this issue, or forcing communities to accept more illegal migrants, the Government must get to grips with our border crisis.
“The real issue is not planning rules; it is a system that warehouses migrants in communities across the country while councils and taxpayers pick up the bill and deal with the consequences.
“The only solution is to detain all those who come here illegally and quickly deport them back to their own country, or to a safe third country. Only then will we be able to secure our borders.”
The Home Office revealed a staggering 110,051 migrants claimed asylum in the year to September 2025, up 13% in the previous 12 months. It is also 7% higher than the previous crisis, under Tony Blair in 2002.
Labour has vowed to close every migrant hotel by 2029.
And dozens of asylum seekers have moved into Crowborough Training Camp, the first military site converted into accommodation under Labour.
The Home Office has confirmed police will get more information about Channel migrants being moved into asylum accommodation amid fears over crime spikes, anti-social behaviour and community cohesion.
Dr Rannia Leontaridi, Director General of Asylum for the Home Office, said: “One of the things we are discussing [with them] is the case of public protection.
“And we’re putting some work in place jointly with local authorities to ensure police forces have information, as well as local authorities, on the type of individuals that exist in their authority.”