The agency said it is still managing to provide beds for all asylum seekers, but that capacity has been “at its limit for a long time”. The number of asylum applications usually increases in August, prompting the COA to urge eight provinces last month to step in.

The appeal was made to Gelderland, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland and Zuid-Holland – all of which have yet to meet their legal targets under legislation to spread asylum seekers around the country.

A COA spokesperson declined to say where the 800 places have been found, but Noord-Brabant province confirmed to Omroep Brabant that none of the new places are located there.

The legislation to spread refugees around the country was introduced to ensure all local councils found housing for their fair share of asylum seekers – many of which have not provided any accommodation for years.

By last month, 101,500 reception places were supposed to be “ready for use” under the law, but that figure has not been reached. The outgoing government had been planning to scrap the legislation but that is now unlikely.

In the second quarter of this year, 5,295 people applied for asylum, up around 800 on the first quarter, but well down on the 7,800 who applied a year ago, the CBS said at the end of last month.