Labour warned of migrant crisis on Britain's streets amid fears of asylum homelessness explosion

Britain is facing a surge in migrant homelessness not seen for years, a think tank has warned.

Fresh analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research has said Labour's efforts to reduce the asylum backlog are forcing migrants out onto the streets.

Faster asylum decision-making mean growing numbers of "refugees" are being pushed out of Home Office accommodation without anywhere to live.

Though the IPPR, rather than calling for deportations, has demanded asylum seekers are given more time to claim benefits and find a house.

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Homelessness cases connected to people leaving asylum accommodation surged dramatically in late 2023, climbing from 3,450 between July and September to 7,160 in the October to December period, the think tank found.

This represented more than a doubling within a single quarter.

Although figures went on to decline, they have not returned to previous levels - and the conditions that triggered the previous homelessness crisis are now building once more, the report says.

Further research from the Centre for Social Justice revealed that since 2021, the number of non-UK nationals sleeping rough has risen by 92 per cent.

Among those with non-European Union nationalities, the increase has been higher - a rise of 396 per cent.

Recent data shows between 4,000 and 6,000 households need homelessness assistance each quarter after leaving asylum housing.

The IPPR's research, which drew on interviews with migrants across London, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands, documented people becoming homeless immediately upon leaving their accommodation.

The initial asylum backlog has been cut by more than half in the year to March 2026, according to IPPR analysis of Home Office statistics, while hotel accommodation numbers fell by roughly a third between late 2025 and March this year.

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The think tank said these were positive developments, because swifter decisions mean fewer people are stuck in uncertainty.

But it warned that improvements within the asylum system could paradoxically drive up homelessness without appropriate protections in place.

The IPPR goes on to complain that successful asylum seekers are not given enough time to arrange housing, claim benefits, and contact local authorities before their Home Office accommodation ends.

It is now calling for a "safe move-on guarantee" to prevent migrants being "forced" into homelessness upon leaving asylum accommodation.

This would include a full 42 days' notice from when someone is formally told to leave, as well as standardised data-sharing with councils to enable earlier intervention, and specialist immigration advisers embedded within homelessness services.

The think tank also proposed a "homelessness test" requiring ministers to assess whether asylum policy changes will increase rough sleeping before implementation.

Amreen Qureshi, a research fellow at the IPPR, said: "This is not just a housing problem or an immigration problem, it is a gap between systems.

"The Home Office controls when asylum accommodation ends, but councils are left dealing with the consequences when move-on support fails."

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