Landlords and councils urged to find homes for Afghan refugees

Landlords in the private rented sector and local councils are being urged by the government to help house Afghan refugees who are living in hotels and costing taxpayers £1m every day.

Speaking in Parliament, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer called on local authorities to make use of the Government’s £285 million package of re-housing support.

The Minister, who has fought several tours of Afghanistan, is now coordinating the Government’s resettlement support for Afghans.

Landlords are also being urged to join a ‘national effort’ to support the resettlement scheme – including the provision of accommodation through their local council or via the Afghanistan Housing Portal.

Entitled to a range of support to find settled accommodation

The Afghans who are currently living in bridging accommodation are entitled to a range of support to find settled accommodation and have arrived in the UK through safe and legal routes.

They have indefinite leave to remain, the right to work, access to healthcare and access to public funds.

Mr Mercer said: “We owe a debt of gratitude to Afghans who have moved to the UK under our resettlement schemes.

“But hotel accommodation must end – it’s unfair on the Afghans living in them, unable to put down more permanent roots, and it is unfair on the taxpayer, who is currently footing the bill.”

He added: “To do this we’ve put in place extensive support, which local authorities can use in a variety of ways to support Afghans into permanent accommodation including funding for deposits, rent top ups and furniture, as well as bespoke advice from staff in hotels.”

Mr Mercer explained the situation in Parliament:

Welcomed more than 21,000 Afghan nationals

The UK has welcomed more than 21,000 Afghan nationals through its resettlement scheme following the withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Since then, thousands of Afghan nationals have been living in hotel accommodation across the country – which was never intended as a permanent solution.

To support the move into settled housing, the government has committed new funding and case working teams have been deployed to every bridging hotel in the country to give advice and guidance.

The funding package includes additional funding for Local Authorities, equivalent to £7,100 per person – which councils can spend on where they think it is needed.

The cash is already being used by some councils to help with deposits, furniture and rent, amongst other things, but council engagement across the country has been ‘inconsistent’, the government says.