A local council has won an interim injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed in a hotel in Epping Forest, sparking fears of a wave of similar legal challenges that could force the Home Office to find alternative accommodation for thousands at short notice.
Epping Forest district council became the first local authority to secure such an order, arguing that the hotel's use had changed without planning permission. The ruling, which requires the removal of 140 asylum seekers by 12 September, has been seized on by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who urged protests outside hotels and said his party's 12 councils would consider similar challenges.
The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels soared from around 1,200 in 2020 to over 55,000 by 2023, before falling to about 30,000. The rise stems from a 2003 ban on asylum seekers working, which legally obligated the government to provide accommodation for those who would otherwise be destitute.
Home Office officials were initially relaxed about the Epping Forest case but were shocked by the verdict. If multiple councils succeed in closing hotels, the government faces the politically explosive task of rehousing thousands of people at short notice.
