A private contractor working for the Home Office, Serco, has reportedly initiated an event aimed at recruiting landlords to provide housing for asylum seekers under a government-backed scheme. The initiative comes amid an increase in migrant crossings of the English Channel, with more than 700 people crossing in 12 boats recorded earlier this month—a new record for 2025.

Serco, one of three companies contracted by the Government to manage asylum seeker accommodation, is offering landlords a guaranteed full rent deal spanning five years. According to Serco’s website, the company currently manages housing for over 30,000 asylum seekers across more than 7,000 properties in regions including the North West of England, the Midlands, and East of England.

The website states: “Serco provides asylum accommodation and support services in the North West of England, Midlands, and East of England. Our purpose is the provision of accommodation, transportation, and subsistence payments for asylum seekers whilst their claims are being processed.”

Serco’s operating model involves leasing properties from landlords, investors, and agents, with Serco acting as the tenant. The company is open to working with all types of properties within the specified regions, including traditional houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), family homes, former care homes, residential, and student accommodation. The website also promotes the arrangement as “an attractive and competitive proposition within the industry.”

The Telegraph reports that landlords were invited to attend a Serco-hosted event at a hotel in the Malvern Hills scheduled for next month. The purpose of the event was to encourage landlords, investors, and agents in the relevant regions to consider leasing their properties for asylum accommodation.

A Home Office spokesman told the publication: “These arrangements with the private rented sector have been in place for years, including under the previous government. We have a statutory duty to support destitute asylum seekers who will not be able to pay for fees such as utilities and council tax.”

The spokesperson added: “We are restoring order to the asylum system and cutting costs to taxpayers by reducing the number of people we are required to accommodate through a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK.”

The announcement has sparked political debate. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticised the arrangement, stating to The Telegraph: “Because they have let in record numbers of illegal immigrants so far this year, via Serco the Government is offering better than market terms to landlords to house them. This is taking away homes that hard-working tax-paying Britons who are struggling to find a place to rent need. Labour is once again giving a better deal to illegal immigrants than people who have lived, worked and paid tax here all their lives. These illegal immigrants should have been sent to Rwanda, not put up in nice flats.”

In response, a Labour source emphasised the longevity of such arrangements, countering: “It’s worth reminding the shadow home secretary that this has happened since 1999. This includes all of his tenure in the Home Office and the last 14 years of the Tory government. He well knows that Labour inherited a system in complete chaos – he had stopped making decisions and left people stranded, so more hotels were needed. Instead of harping from the sidelines, he should reflect on his mistakes.”

Serco declined to comment on the matter. Following the publication of the report, the Home Office cancelled the planned landlord recruitment event at the hotel in the Malvern Hills.

Source: Noah Wire Services