Landlords are reportedly being offered rents of up to twice the market rate to house asylum seekers, prompting a debate over whether they should receive higher payments for such accommodation.
The arrangements involve Clearsprings Ready Homes, an accommodation provider contracted by the Home Office to house asylum seekers in southern England and Wales. The deals offered by the provider include three-year contracts and payments covering bills, council tax and maintenance, the Express previously reported.
Landlord's Offer Highlights Disparity
One landlord in south London said he had been offered £4,500 per month to accommodate asylum seekers in a three-bedroom flat. That compares with £1,790 a month offered by Southwark Council for the same property to house social housing tenants. The landlord declined the offer, explaining that accepting it would have meant ending his existing agreement with the council and potentially putting vulnerable families at risk of homelessness.
He told The Sun: “I already rent to Southwark Council, and they are able to offer significantly more than the local authority, which to me is bizarre.”
He added: “I didn't go with them because it would have meant terminating my contract with Southwark Council and putting families at serious risk of homelessness. I am not prepared to do that.”
Political Criticism and Government Response
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the arrangements, claiming that British families were being disadvantaged by the higher rents offered for asylum seeker accommodation. He said: “It is a day of shame for Labour that hard-working Brits are being kicked out of flats so they can be let out at twice the price for illegal immigrants.”
Reform UK's Robert Jenrick also expressed his views on the matter. He said: “This is everything that's wrong with broken Britain. The Government is spending millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to roll out the red carpet for illegal migrants, while leaving domestic abuse victims as afterthoughts.”
Clearsprings is run by Graham King, whose company reportedly made a profit of £62.6 million in the year to January 2025.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Sun: “We pay a capped and contractually agreed rate to accommodation providers. Any amount above that is covered by the contractor and not taxpayers. We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country and closing every hotel, saving taxpayers over £1 billion on asylum support since the election.”
Context of Tensions and Migration Data
This comes amid growing tensions surrounding houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), particularly in Salford, Greater Manchester, where a series of vandalism incidents has targeted properties believed to house migrants or thought to be HMOs. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that 38 incidents of criminal damage had been reported across Salford since October 5, with some properties mistakenly identified as HMO. Enquiries remain ongoing, including CCTV trawls, intelligence development and work with partners as officers continue to identify those responsible and disrupt further offending.
The latest Government data shows that around 38,000 people were detected arriving in the UK via unauthorised routes in the year ending June 2026. Small boat crossings reached a peak of around 46,000 in 2022. Arrivals then fell in 2023, before rising again to 41,000 in 2025. In the year ending June 2026, the number of detected arrivals fell to around 33,000, similar to the level recorded in the year ending June 2024 (31,000), according to the Government's latest statistics published at the start of September.
