London boroughs warn of rising refugee homelessness amid ‘dangerous winter conditions’

A growing number of refugees are ending up homeless on the streets of the capital after leaving Home Office accommodation, according to new research from London Councils.

The cross party group has reported 846 homelessness cases made in October from refugees and asylum-seekers evicted from Home Office accommodation such as hotels- a 39% increase from September’s figure.

Boroughs warn that these numbers will rise even further over the coming months as the government continues ramping up the number of asylum decisions and works to close several hotels by the new year.

This comes following a report by the Local Government Association which warns that tens of thousands of refugees are at risk of sleeping rough this Christmas.

People who had been granted refugee status while staying in asylum accommodation were not being given enough notice to find new places to stay, councils have said.

According to Home Office data, there were around 90,000 decisions on older cases forecasted to be made before the end of December 2023.

London councils say boroughs are struggling with a severe shortage of accommodation, with many reporting having nothing to offer refugees who are sleeping rough – such as places in hostels or other forms of emergency accommodation.

The cross party group says this is exacerbated by the Home Office providing no funding to local authorities to support asylum-seekers in hotels since April this year.

Cllr Grace Williams, London Councils’ Executive Member for Communities, said: “No one wants to see refugees becoming homeless after leaving Home Office accommodation, but this is happening at an alarming rate across the capital.

“Boroughs are deeply concerned by the situation, which will only get more dangerous as winter sets in. Those granted asylum need adequate support for settling in the UK, yet too often are forced into sleeping rough on the streets.

“At a time when London already faces enormous and unsustainable homelessness pressures, the government urgently needs to prevent this happening. A longer move-on period for those leaving Home Office accommodation is crucial, as well as funding for the councils whose local services provide vital support and sanctuary for those in need.”

With winter setting in, boroughs fear a spike in rough sleeping just as conditions on the streets become even more dangerous.

London’s severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) was activated six times last winter, with around 2,000 placements made at short notice to help rough sleepers get off the streets. 

For the first time, accommodation shortages were so extreme that boroughs’ resilience teams were required to assist homelessness staff and volunteers in setting up rest centres across the capital.  

SWEP was already triggered last week and boroughs fear how services will cope should there be a repeat of last winter’s weather conditions.

Kathy Mohan, Chief Executive of Housing Justice, said: “The situation is desperate. The churches, mosques, and temples in our network are seeing rising numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers approaching them for help, asylum decision letters in hand, with nowhere to sleep, and no idea how to get the support they need. We help where we can but many are resorting to rough sleeping.

“In the coming weeks we will be setting up a new supported lodgings scheme for refugees leaving Home Office accommodation with a positive decision, funded as a pilot by 14 London boroughs. It’s not enough, but it’s something. If we can make it work, we might be able to scale it up further.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “What the government has to do is to make sure those in Home Office accommodation aren’t evicted this winter unless they have somewhere to go to.

“Firstly if they have nowhere else to go to they’ll end up on the streets but secondly the temperatures are so cold that could lead to ultimately I’m afraid a loss of life.

“We’ve seen up north a couple of rough sleepers who have lost their lives because they have been out in the cold and we can’t afford that to happen in London so I’m asking to government to not evict anyone who is in Home Office accommodation till the winter is over and make sure they have somewhere safe to go.”

London Councils is calling on the government to ensure a minimum 28-day notice period between an asylum-seeker receiving both their asylum decision and Biometric Residence Permit and being required to leave Home Office accommodation and extend the move-on period to 56-days to align with the Homelessness Reduction Act.

The cross party group is also asking for government funding to sustain SWEP provision and to fund a local wraparound support model that can be rolled out in all boroughs.