Councils are set to rebel against the Labour Government and their plans to move hotel migrants into Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO). They are used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers, with current rules allowing contractors to turn a house into an HMO for up to six people without a planning process.
It is believed that eight councils across the UK have passed, or are trying to pass, measures that make it harder for landlords to set up bedsits. In Wigan, where around 200 HMOs are used to house asylum seekers, the council said new rules would allow them to scrutinise every application. Other councils, including Derby City, Warrington Borough, North Lincolnshire, Bolton, Lambeth, Sefton and Eastbourne Borough, are also considering pressure to make planning permission essential.
As reported by The Sun, Wigan Council said it has “no powers or say in the number or location” of properties used by the Home Office to home asylum seekers. Meanwhile, both Eastbourne and Bolton Council said their measures were unrelated to plans to house asylum seekers.
HMOs are also used as student housing or to house homeless people and ex-prisoners. They must be rented out by at least three unrelated people, forming more than one household who share amenities.
Housing migrants in hotels is currently costing British taxpayers around £5.5 million every day. The Home Office said: “As we seek to close all asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, we are working closely with local authorities.”
In Lincolnshire, locals recently expressed their frustration over plans to turn RAF Scampton, the former Dambusters headquarters, into a migrant detention centre. The Labour Party toutted the site as a centre for asylum seekers as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer struggles to get a grip on the migrant crisis.
It was also revealed that Leeds City Council is considering turning a block of student flats into migration accomodation. The application to convert it into a hostel was submitted last month, with the outcome expected in October.
The council said: “The Home Office has advised the council that the submission is part of wider central government efforts to reduce the reliance on hotel use for those seeking asylum.”