Asylum seekers living in hotels report rats, overcrowding and bad food leading to disabilities, research finds.
Healing from People: Inside UK asylum hotels, a report from the refugee and migrant forum in Essex and London people in Asylum Hotels between January 2023 and February 2025.
Asylum seekers report overcrowded conditions, including families of six living in one room. Many described the diet as overwhelming and some reported having a medical condition or disability that made no changes for them.
The report calculated that the three home office providers made a combined profit of £380m between September 2019 and August 2024. That equates to five minutes. Despite the ministers of the ministers to close the asylum hotels as soon as possible, the report found the total number lost to only three because the work was done in power.
The findings follow a recent damning report from the Commons’ affairs select committee that found billions in housing in a “failed, chaotic” system. The department recently confirmed it had clawed back £74m from accommodation profits.
The home office has confirmed Those two military sites – the crow in East Sussex and Cameron in Inverness, are considered to be used as a temporary demonstration of asylum. Other barracks and affordable sites are also being considered.
The Ramfel report found that the asylum hotels were so full that if a person in a family room sat at a small table among other tables with food tables and tables for children to do homework.
Rats are common, with a family numbering five in their room, while the food provided is either burnt or uncoated and frozen in the middle. The report, which includes extracts from GP letters to the home office, has raised alarm about the health of some of the asylum hotels. Malnutrition and weight loss, especially among children, is a recurring concern.
“Hotel Life is robbing children of their future,” the report concluded.
Nick Beales, head of campaigns at Ramfel, said: “While politicians are all over the fuel hotels, the reality is that they are poor hygiene standards.
“Instead of fantasizing about constant accommodation options, this government’s focus should be on developing community-based housing and improving social welfare and their local communities.”
The home office has been approached for comment.