Brits pushed out? Government pays landlords double to house migrants

Home Office contractors are offering British landlords up to £4,500 a month for properties that councils rent for £1,790, according to an investigation by the Daily Mail. The ministry says the premium is covered by the contractor, not the taxpayer.

There is a three-bedroom flat in south London that sums up the tangle. Its owner rents it to the **Southwark** council for **£1,790 a month**. He recently received an offer of **£4,500 a month** for the same property. The difference is **£32,520 a year**, with bills, council tax and maintenance included for three years. The offer came from **Clearsprings Ready Homes**, one of three contractors the Home Office uses to house asylum seekers. The investigation was published by the **Daily Mail**.

The landlord, who spoke to the paper without giving his name, said he turned the contract down. "I already rent to Southwark council, and they can offer me considerably more than the local authority, which I find odd. The council has a cap on what it can pay landlords like me," he said. He added that accepting would have meant terminating his agreement with the council and putting the families he houses at risk of homelessness. "I'm not willing to do that. But many landlords simply see it as an opportunity to make more money and take the contract."

## A contractor with £7 billion in contracts and 30,000 residents

Clearsprings is no newcomer. The company is run by **Graham King**, with an estimated fortune of **£726 million**. It houses around **30,000 asylum seekers**, and in the fiscal year ending January 2025 it posted a profit of **£62.6 million** on revenue of **£1.4 billion**. Its contract with the Home Office is worth around **£7 billion** in public funds, according to the published information.

It is not alone. It shares the pie with **Serco** and **Mears**. The three contracts were originally awarded under the Conservative government and run until **2029**. The National Audit Office had estimated that the Home Office's projected spending on the main asylum contracts would reach **£1.67 billion** for the 2024-25 period.

The mechanics described by the Daily Mail are as trinc: Clearsprings looks for properties already occupied by council tenants, students or vulnerable people, including those fleeing domestic violence. It offers higher guaranteed rents and the landlord breaks the previous contract. The result is that those homes leave the municipal circuit and enter the asylum one. The ministry maintains that it pays a maximum contractual rate and that "any amount above that is covered by the contractor and not by taxpayers."

## The Labour MP who says landlords should not be paid more

The issue has crossed the aisle. Labour MP **Graham Stringer** agreed that landlords should not be offered higher rents to house asylum seekers. Presenter **Michelle Dewberry** responded on air with "are you a Labour MP? Because you're a very sensible person!" The Conservative shadow Home Office spokesman, **Chris Philp**, went further and called it "a day of shame for the Labour Party." He added that it is "madness to prioritise illegal immigrants who have broken our laws" over "law-abiding citizens who work hard and pay their taxes."

Philp provided his own figures: more than **85,000 people** have crossed the English Channel since Labour came to power in July 2024, and only **7%** of arrivals are deported. According to his data, more than **93,000 people** are currently in asylum accommodation. The Home Office, for its part, points to the closure of hotels and says more than **£1 billion** has been saved in accommodation costs since the election.

## The pressure on housing does not start here

The property bottleneck has history. Earlier this year, the government indicated that all areas of the country should plan for an influx of migrants, as hotels are closing and people are being housed in properties. According to the projections being used, migrants could account for **40% of new housing** in the UK by 2030 if the trend continues. Local residents have protested when care homes or former military sites have been converted for this purpose.

In northern France, the pressure is not easing either. Border security commander **Duncan Capps** warned MPs that nearly **3,800 migrants** are gathered in camps between Calais and Dunkirk, almost double the usual figure of around **2,000**. "It is only a matter of time before there is a mass drowning in the English Channel," he said. Crossings this year are lower than last year's, but the build-up shows demand remains high: French interceptions do not lead to detention, so the same people can try again.

Since records began in 2018, the total of small-boat arrivals now exceeds the combined strength of the British Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. Former Royal Navy officer **Chris Parry** described the volume of arrivals under the Labour government as the equivalent of "six and a half divisions of fighting-age men." At peak demand, an average of one arrival per minute has been recorded.

## Who is competing with whom for a flat

The practical consequence is a silent auction. British families on housing waiting lists, students and people fleeing domestic violence are competing with a publicly funded premium that goes to those who have arrived in small boats. The contracts were signed under previous governments, but the volume and the political decision to keep the system running at this scale belong to the current administration.

The pattern repeats itself: record crossing numbers, low deportation rates, an asylum system its own officials describe as riddled with fraud, and private contractors using the resulting demand to outbid councils in the ordinary rental market. Without a sustained reduction in arrivals and a higher deportation rate, the pressure on housing and the cost are unlikely to be contained. This article is based on information published by the Daily Mail and statements gathered by British media; the contractual and budgetary figures should be verified against official sources before making any economic or legal decision.