Lincolnshire landlords being asked to house asylum-seekers

Serco are said to be offering landlords in Lincolnshire incentives to lease their homes

Private landlords in Lincolnshire are being asked to house asylum-seekers in a bid to free up hotels.

Home Office contractor Serco has offered home owners and estate agents incentives to lease their properties, according to a county council report.

The government has previously said it spends more than £5m a day on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

According to the council the number of asylum-seekers in Lincolnshire's hotels peaked at nearly 500 last year.

A report to Lincolnshire County Council's Public Protection Committee said Serco has been looking to rent houses from "a wide network of landlords, investors, and agents" to free up alternative accommodation.

Council officers said private landlords were being offered "an attractive and competitive proposition" including five-year leases with no void periods, repairs and maintenance, monthly property inspections, and all bills being paid by Serco.

Seven hotels in Lincolnshire are currently being used as asylum accommodation; five in Skegness and one in Boston house single men, while one in South Kesteven provides accommodation for women, children, and families.

Earlier this year, East Lindsey District Council said the use of hotels had depleted the resort's stock of accommodation and caused "harm" to its reputation as a family resort.

Many asylum seekers entre the UK via perilous boat journeys across the English Channel

Lincolnshire County Council does not have a direct role in arranging housing for asylum-seekers but said it had been in communication with Serco, the Home Office and the relevant district councils to ensure the safety and coordination of services for new arrivals.

Councils do not currently get any extra funding for asylum-seekers allocated to their area.

Under new rules going through Parliament, however, they could receive £3,500 funding for every bed occupied.

The number of asylum-seekers expected to be taken in by local authorities under the arrangement would be no more than 0.5% of the local population. This would mean around 525 individuals for the Lincolnshire County Council area, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence is in talks with local authorities in Lincolnshire about housing Afghan refugees in empty service accommodation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"A small number" of properties which "may be suitable" have been identified, according to the council paper.

The document also contained the latest figures on Ukrainian refugees.

As of 30 December, nearly 1,200 Ukrainians had been housed in Lincolnshire since Russia's invasion. Of these, 971 - of whom a third are children - are still living in the county and 815 are still with a host.