Court cases have focused on whether using hotels to house asylum seekers constitutes a material change of use to a hostel.
This Insight updates the version published in February 2023 to include the recent case on the Bell Hotel in Epping.
The Home Office uses hotels to accommodate asylum seekers as a contingency measure while alternative longer-term accommodation is found.
Local planning authorities have challenged this use in the High Court, arguing it constitutes a material change of use and requires planning permission.
This Insight summarises planning considerations relating to the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, and the outcomes of recent High Court decisions.
The Home Office has a statutory duty to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who appear to be destitute. The Commons Library briefing Asylum support: Accommodation and financial support for asylum seekers (April 2024) explains that the use contingency accommodation such as hotels “has been necessary to avoid the Home Office breaching its statutory responsibilities to destitute asylum seekers”. The Commons Library briefing Asylum accommodation: hotels, vessels and large scale sites (July 2023) details other asylum accommodation options, including Crown Estate land.
In November 2024, the House of Commons debated the use of hotels for asylum seekers and the government said its aim is to discontinue the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of the current Parliament in 2029.
Planning permission is needed from a local council (local planning authority, LPA) where there is a material change of use to a building or land. It is for an LPA to decide if there has been a material change of use, or the courts where there is a dispute.
If planning permission is required, the LPA will decide the application in line with its local plan, unless “material considerations” such as the government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) indicate otherwise. The LPA will hold a public consultation where local residents can express their views on the application.
Failure to obtain planning permission where it is required is considered a breach in planning control. It can result in enforcement action by the LPA, the most serious of which is a court injunction.
The government advises LPAs to “act proportionately” in responding to breaches in planning control.
Under planning regulations, buildings and land are assigned different use classes.
The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) classifies:
There is no specific ‘use class’ for asylum seeker accommodation.
Planning permission is required for a material change of use from a hotel (C1) to a hostel (sui generis). Therefore, a key question is whether using a hotel as asylum seeker accommodation means the use class of the building has changed from hotel to hostel. The legal definition of a hostel is described in section 622 of the Housing Act 1985.
Some LPAs have pursued court injunctions to stop hotels being used to accommodate asylum seekers, because they considered it a material change of use from a hotel to a hostel.
In each case, a judge decided whether to grant an injunction to stop the change of use so that the case could go to trial, where a final decision would be made. Each matter was dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The Simonicity blog, Accommodating asylum seekers: some recent planning law cases (January 2024), explains that “the question is specific to the relevant facts, circumstances and policy position in every case”.
In November 2022, the High Court declined to continue injunctions sought by Ipswich Borough Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council. This meant the hotels could continue to be used for asylum seeker accommodation.
The judge found there were arguments pointing towards and against hostel use, concluding: “the distinction between a hotel and hostel … is [a] fine [one]”. Whether a change of use from hotel to hostel is material depends on the planning consequences. In these cases, the consequences were “very limited”: the alleged change of use would not alter the buildings, cause environmental damage or affect the character of the area.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
In January 2023, the High Court decided to continue an interim injunction preventing the use of a seafront hotel in Great Yarmouth to house asylum seekers. In the Local Government Lawyer website’s summary the judge highlighted the “special circumstances of that case” including:
“highly specific” protective policies in the local plan, the duration of likely occupation by asylum seekers, and the likely harm to the tourist economy.
Great Yarmouth’s local plan includes a policy to protect the seafront because of its importance to the town’s tourism economy. The local plan defines uses that are not permitted on the seafront, including hostels.
The judge also considered Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s use of other enforcement powers prior to seeking an injunction. Great Yarmouth’s enforcement notice was in force but had not deterred the asylum accommodation provider until the High Court issued the injunction.
Epping Forest District Council
On 19 August 2025, the High Court granted an interim injunction preventing the use of the Bell Hotel in Epping to accommodate asylum seekers, ahead of a full hearing.
The judgment considered:
The judge gave less weight to the fear of crime following three arrests of asylum seekers living at the Bell Hotel, as well as lawful and unlawful protests. No weight was given to the LPA’s speculations regarding community divisions or to local plan policies which the LPA considered relevant.
The Home Office and hotel owner appealed the High Court decision. On 29 August, the Court of Appeal overturned the interim injunction. The main points are that:
The full High Court hearing in mid-October will determine whether planning rules have been breached in this case due to a material change of use. The decision arising from that hearing is likely to be viewed as a precedent for other cases, given that there has not been a final judgement on this and the matter was not addressed by the Court of Appeal. In the meantime, the hotel can continue being used for asylum seeker accommodation.
About the author: Sarah Lewis is a researcher at the House of Commons Library specialising in planning, building regulation and fire safety.
Photo by: William via Adobe Stock
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