A time-limited proposal from the Refugee Council would grant asylum seekers from certain countries with high asylum grant rates temporary permission to stay, with the aim of ending hotel accommodation for asylum seekers by March 2026. The charity argues the Government’s target to close hotels by the end of this Parliament in 2029 is unsustainable, costly and risks fuelling community division.

Last week, Epping Forest District Council was granted a High Court injunction preventing asylum seekers from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, following weeks of protests. Several other councils are considering similar action, while the hotel owner Somani Hotels and the Home Office plan to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal on Thursday. The Refugee Council said the High Court decision shows the current timetable is no longer viable.

Under the proposal, asylum seekers from Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan and Syria who were in the asylum system by the end of June would be granted temporary permission to stay, subject to security checks. Official figures show about 32,917 people from these countries were housed by the Home Office by the end of June, compared with 32,059 in hotel accommodation in the same period. The plan would prioritise groups with high grant rates for refugee status or humanitarian protection—around 98% for Sudanese and Syrians, 60% for Iranians and 87% for Eritreans; 39% of Afghans in accommodation were granted status, down from 96% the previous year after changes to country guidance. The Refugee Council also proposed spreading the process over several months and expanding community housing, drawing on the Homes for Ukraine model to place people with local households while they seek longer-term accommodation.