Rotterdam will stop providing emergency accommodation for asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected but have not returned to their country of origin.

Asylum minister Marjolein Faber said last month that the government will stop funding the shelters – known as bed, bath and bread provisions – at the end of this year. Rotterdam council agreed earlier if the funding stopped it would not pick up the bill itself.

Amsterdam and Utrecht have decided to continue funding the shelters out of their own resources while Eindhoven and Groningen have not yet taken a decision.

Some 45 people are currently making use of the Rotterdam shelters. City officials say they expect 15 to return to their country of origin and five others to leave if given extra help.

But in 10 of residents are in “extremely complex” situations and could face “extremely inhumane situations” with a “strong likelihood of death”, officials say.  

Ministers and local government officials have been grappling with the problem of failed asylum seekers for years.

At the moment, refugees who fail in their applications for asylum are evicted from refugee centres and expected to return home. Thousands have ended up living rough or in emergency accommodation run by churches and other charities.

The council shelters offer basic bed, food and board to refugees who have been living on the streets or in squats. Refugees can stay at the shelters if they agree to work towards their return.