The Home Office is urgently trying to find 5,000 home for up to 20,000 asylum seekers as councils prepare widespread evictions from hotels.
It comes after a shock court ruling which will see migrants move out of the Bell Hotel in Essex.
Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to shut down the hotel by the High Court over alleged planning breaches.
The ruling could have a ripple effect as town hall leaders across the country said they are already looking to follow Epping Forest District Council and take legal action to prevent small boat arrivals being placed in local hotels.
At least four Labour-run authorities were understood to be studying the ruling and considering their own course, posing a new headache for the Prime Minister.
The Home Office has been left to frantically search for alternative accommodation for the thousands of migrants who could be removed from the hotels.
Contractors for the Home Office have reached out to property specialists earlier this month in an attempt to find 5,000 residential units, The Telegraph reported.
A source said each flat would have two bedrooms on average, with space to house up to four migrants.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government are urgently trying to find 20,000 more homes for asylum seekers
Protests have taken place at hotels around the country, including at the Bell Hotel in Essex
Men walk in The Bell Hotel, following Tuesday’s High Court ruling in London that granted a temporary injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed at the site
A landmark court ruling ordered the Bell Hotel to be closed within weeks
The search for alternative options is part of the government’s pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.
Home Office minister Dan Jarvis admitted on Wednesday that he could not say where displaced migrants will end up following Tuesday’s landmark High Court ruling, which ordered the Bell Hotel in Epping to be closed within weeks.
Currently there are around 32,000 migrants in 210 hotels around the country, at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £6m a day, with others in the private rental sector including HMOs (houses of multiple occupation), which are often used by students and young people.
The number of asylum seekers has not decreased significantly as Labour was forced to put up the record 27,997 migrants who have crossed the Channel so far in 2025.
Ministers are working with councils to buy, lease or rent house or vacant properties to use as an alternative to hotels.
They are also considering using disused tower blocks, student accommodation and former teacher training colleges as ‘medium-sized’ accomodation sites.
Shorter-term leases are reportedly being sought after by the government, to house the migrants for 90 days with an additional 30 days notice.
Kemi Badenoch wrote to all leaders of Tory-led authorities on Wednesday night, pledging her support for any legal action they take.
Protesters open bottles of Prosecco outside the Bell Hotel on Tuesday after it was announced it would be closing
Migrants pictured trying to board a smuggler’s boat in the Channel this month. Around 32,000 migrants are currently placed in 210 hotels around the country
Kemi Badenoch, pictured last week, wrote to all leaders of Tory-led authorities on Wednesday night, pledging her support for any legal action they take
Ms Badenoch accused Labour of ‘trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation and without proper process.’
‘They are treating local residents and local councils with contempt,’ she said.
Those councils seeking to emulate Epping, which was granted its injunction on a planning technicality, could coordinate their actions, with at least one already contacting the Essex authority asking for help with its own case.
The government has already closed two of the larger accommodation sites, the Bibby Stockholm barge on Portland and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.
The former Wethersfield RAF base near Braintree in Essex is now set to house more migrants after the Home Office raised the cap to allow around 400 more migrants to move in.
In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour.
‘People are also concerned that you are now moving people from hotels into apartments and other accommodation which is sorely needed by young people here who are struggling under this Labour Government.’
Paula Basnett, the Labour leader of Wirral Council, confirmed she was refusing to toe the party line and had asked officers to seek ‘urgent legal advice’ to see if the local authority could oppose government plans for the Holiday Inn Express in Hoylake.
Leader of Epping Forest District Council, Chris Whitbread, speaks to the media at the Royal Court of Justice in London
Demonstrators pictured outside the Bell Hotel in Epping last month. Other councils are seeking to emulate Epping, which was granted its injunction on a planning technicality
Protesters gather outside the Bell hotel on July 31 to express concern about migrants being housed there
The hotel was embroiled in controversy in 2022 when RNLI volunteers on a training day were kicked out midway through their stay to make room for asylum seekers.
More recently it was a target for protests over plans to house single male migrants, rather than families.
Ms Basnett said: ‘The situation in Wirral with the continued use of hotels as asylum accommodation is unacceptable.
‘Recent legal developments in other parts of the country have shown that councils can successfully challenge the Government’s approach. In light of this, I have instructed that urgent legal advice be sought on whether Wirral Council can pursue similar action to protect our communities.
‘Wirral has always shown compassion towards those in genuine need.
‘But compassion does not mean central government can impose poorly thought-through, short-term solutions that undermine local communities and ignore democratic accountability.’
In Labour-run Tamworth, council leader Carol Dean confirmed that the council was considering challenging the use of a hotel in the town, which was the focus for violent disorder during last summer’s riots.
She said: ‘I understand the strong feelings within our community regarding the use of the Holiday Inn to house those seeking asylum, and I want to reassure residents that we are listening to their concerns and taking them seriously.
Home Office minister Dan Jarvis admitted on Wednesday he could not say where displaced migrants will end up following Tuesday’s landmark High Court ruling
Paula Basnett, Labour leader of Wirral Council, confirmed she had asked officers to seek ‘urgent legal advice’ to see if the local authority could oppose government plans for the Holiday Inn Express in Hoylake (pictured)
‘The situation at Epping Forest represents a potentially important legal precedent, and we are carefully assessing what this might mean for our circumstances here in Tamworth.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This Government has consistently said the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is neither sustainable nor suitable as a long-term approach.
‘We remain committed to working with our partners to identify more suitable and cost-effective alternatives.’
