THOUSANDS of refugees from Afghanistan face eviction from their housing this month as a government deadline for them to “help themselves” nears.

But they are being refused accommodation elsewhere, leading many to report themselves as homeless to local councils.

The government rushed thousands of vulnerable Afghans through refugee channels when Britain and the United States hurriedly pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021as the Taliban regained control.

The government provided “bridging accommodation” in hotels for many who arrived in this country.

In July, the government confirmed that the refugees have been given notice to quit the hotels by August 31.

About 8,000 Afghans were still in hotels almost two years after the evacuation.

Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer told Parliament that there is no reason they cannot live independently of central government support, saying that ministers expect “families to help themselves.”

Royal Air Force veteran Matt Simmons, who set up community aid organisation Bridge to Unity, said private-sector landlords and agents “changed their tune” when they found out that an applicant was from Afghanistan.

He said the refugees were asking themselves: “Why are landlords being so difficult?”

“We, as part of a coalition of charities, have been phoning round estate agents and landlords.

“Afghans in hotels — the English speakers — have been doing the same and just getting knockback after knockback.”

Mr Simmons criticised a “lack of on-the-ground resources in place and the slow nature of help provided.”

The National Residential Landlords Association blamed “tax policies intended to reduce the number of available homes to rent” and called on ministers to “revisit these damaging policies if we are to stand any chance of meeting housing need.”

Meanwhile, dozens of asylum-seekers were removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge — having only just moved in this week — after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water supply.

Care4Calais chief executive Steve Smith said: “We have always known our concerns over the health and safety of the barge are justified and this latest mismanagement proves our point.

“The Bibby Stockholm is a visual illustration of this government’s hostile environment against refugees, but it has also fast become a symbol for the shambolic incompetence which has broken Britain’s asylum system.”

Kolbassia Haoussou of Freedom from Torture was similarly scathing, blasting the government’s “punitive policies and deliberate neglect of the asylum system” as “not just cruel [but] dangerous.”

Fire Brigades Union assistant general secretary Ben Selby said the union still had concerns about fire safety and operational safety on board the vessel.