Private housing providers are offering property owners up to double the local council rental rates to house migrants, triggering widespread anger over British families being priced out.
A south London property owner was offered £4,500 a month for a three-bedroom flat to house asylum seekers, dwarfing the £1,790 a month offered by the local council for social housing tenants.
The deal was presented by Clearsprings Ready Homes, a private provider offering three-year agreements that include coverage for utility bills, council tax, and ongoing property maintenance.
The Southwark landlord turned down the sum, describing the proposal as “nuts” and warning that accepting it would have required ending his existing agreement with Southwark Council.
He explained his decision to reject the lucrative offer:
I already rent to Southwark Council, and they are able to offer significantly more than the local authority, which to me is bizarre.
I didn’t go with them because it would have meant terminating my contract with Southwark Council and putting families at serious risk of homelessness. I am not prepared to do that.
Housing contracts sparking fury
The revelations have fueled fierce backlash over the allocation of public funds for migrant accommodation while local residents face severe shortages of affordable homes.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp slammed the arrangement.
It is a day of shame for Labour that hard-working Brits are being kicked out of flats so they can be let out at twice the price for illegal immigrants.
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary
Robert Jenrick of Reform UK also condemned the policy, arguing that taxpayers are funding special treatment for migrants while vulnerable British citizens are ignored.
This is everything that’s wrong with broken Britain.
The Government is spending millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to roll out the red carpet for illegal migrants, while leaving domestic abuse victims as afterthoughts.
Jenrick pledged that a Reform government would ensure armed forces veterans and domestic abuse victims are prioritised for housing ahead of asylum seekers.
Billion-pound firms securing properties
Clearsprings Ready Homes manages a ten-year Home Office contract valued at roughly £7billion to secure accommodation across southern England and Wales.
Alongside Serco and Mears Group, the firm is one of three major contractors tasked with housing around 30,000 migrants.
An internal document revealed that Clearsprings is currently hunting for properties across several target areas:
- Bedford: Active search for migrant housing properties
- Southampton: Accommodation expansion in coastal areas
- Forest of Dean: Securing residential homes in rural districts
- Caerphilly: Regional expansion across South Wales
- Wrexham: Property acquisition drive in North Wales
Clearsprings requires some landlords to refurbish properties to meet specific standards, including fresh redecoration and fitting brand-new carpets.
The Southwark property owner questioned why such strict demands are being made for migrant housing when local authorities offer far less to house families at risk of homelessness.
Why are these standards applying to migrants and not to families at risk of homelessness?
Profits soaring alongside arrivals
Clearsprings is headed by businessman Graham King, whose firm generated £62.6million in profit during the year to January 2025 on a total turnover reaching nearly £1.4billion.
The escalating spending comes as ministers attempt to shift migrants out of hotels, following the arrival of more than 220,000 people via small boats since 2018.
Officials have closed over 100 hotels, relocating residents into houses in multiple occupation and disused military sites.
Ministers defending spending figures
The Home Office has defended the contracts, insisting taxpayers are not directly funding the inflated rent offers made by private companies.
A Home Office spokesman stated the government’s position on contractor payments:
We pay a capped and contractually agreed rate to accommodation providers.
Any amount above that is covered by the contractor and not taxpayers.
Government officials stated that asylum seekers are being accommodated fairly across the UK, claiming hotel closures have saved taxpayers more than £1billion in support costs since the general election.
The department added that 80,000 individuals with no legal right to remain in the country have been removed since the election took place.
Both Clearsprings Ready Homes and Southwark Council were approached for comment.