Anti-migration protesters and counterprotesters have clashed in recent weeks outside of hotels housing asylum seekers. While the protests have not reached the violent scale of the riots in summer 2024, a number of people have been arrested on charges related to violent disorder. Councillors in Epping have called for the closure of asylum hotels in the area.
The UK government has a statutory duty under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to provide accommodation to asylum seekers while their claims are being assessed if they would otherwise be destitute.
Asylum hotels have only been used at scale relatively recently. Home Office figures show that as of March 2025, 32,345 asylum seekers were housed in 218 hotels, down from a peak of more than 56,000 in more than 400 hotels in September 2023.
