Council considers legal action over asylum hotels

Hillingdon Council is considering mounting a legal challenge aiming to prevent the housing of asylum seekers in hotels

A west London council is considering taking legal action against the government over the placement of asylum seekers in hotels.

Hillingdon Council is considering its options following the High Court injunction won by Epping Forest District Council on Tuesday.

The Bell Hotel had planning permission to operate as a normal hotel, but the court found once it was housing asylum seekers it counted as a different use of the building, which it had not been applied for.

Hillingdon Council leader Ian Edwards told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "Our head of legal will be reviewing the judgement to determine if a similar case can be brought."

Hillingdon is one of many councils across the country considering whether they could mount a similar legal challenge aiming to prevent the housing of asylum seekers in hotels.

Mr Edwards, from the Conservative-led council, added: "We need to understand fully why the Epping case has succeeded, where others previously failed, before we can determine if those differentiating circumstances also apply in Hillingdon."

As of May 2025, Hillingdon had 2,812 people receiving asylum aid from the Home Office living in hotels – 685 more than neighbouring borough Hounslow, which had 2,127, the LDRS found.

As a port authority, Hillingdon takes in more asylum seekers than other London boroughs, with a large majority coming from Heathrow Airport. The hotel bill is paid for by the Home Office.

Once asylum seekers are evicted from this accommodation by the Home Office, the responsibility for them passes to the local council.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, councillor Steve Tuckwell described the number of asylum seekers being housed in the borough as a "huge burden".

Conservative Leader, Kemi Badenoch, has written to Conservative council leaders "encouraging" them to follow Epping Forest District Council's footsteps by launching bids to shut these hotels "if their legal advice supports it."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said: "I think these councils are sick and tired of having these asylum hotels housing predominantly young men who entered the country illegally in their communities.

"They want to see them closing down and that is why I think they're rightly looking at legal action."

The LDRS understands the nearby Labour-led Ealing Council has no intention of seeking a High Court injunction against the Home Office to prevent the housing of asylum seekers in hotels in the borough.