Fears are growing that shared houses may become the focus of anti-migrant protests, with residents and charities saying tensions are building in some areas.
Homes of multiple occupation (HMOs) have grown in number as renters seek affordable accommodation amid a housing crisis.
Defined as a property where three or more tenants live with shared facilities, HMOs are most often used to house students, young professionals, asylum seekers or, increasingly, anyone on a tight budget.
Messages have been posted on social media urging action against HMOs thought to be housing asylum seekers, with some individuals trying to compile lists of addresses.
A former pub on the edge of Warrington in Cheshire was daubed with graffiti last month saying “No HMOs” after rumours it was due to be converted. The local council said it had not received any planning application.
Reform UK politicians, including George Finch, the teenage leader of Warwickshire county council, have criticised the use of HMOs to house asylum seekers.
Protests led by the far right over the summer have been blamed in part on inaccurate and inflammatory claims from politicians including Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, and Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary.
The Home Office has promised to close dozens of asylum hotels in the new year with ministers due to unveil plans to move asylum seekers into military barracks instead.
But there has been growing speculation about whether they could, or should, resort to a greater use of HMOs which – separately from the asylum debate – have been blamed for tensions in some communities.
Louise Calvey of Asylum Matters, which campaigns for better asylum conditions in the UK, said the charity had received reports of an increase in hate crimes near HMOs as well as rumours circulating in communities that HMOs were housing migrants, even if they were not.
“This anger around HMOs, this fearmongering around HMOs, risks hate crime against all racialised people,” she said. “There’s huge risk. At least if people are in hotels, there’s security there and there’s usually some form of support. In HMOs, it’s much more likely that people are going to be attacked walking around the street and it’s much more likely that those attacks will go unreported.”
However, she stressed that the use of HMOs to house asylum seekers was not new and was unlikely to substantially increase.
“The use of HMOs for asylum accommodation has been employed for far longer than hotels,” she said. “But I highly doubt the government is going to be able to close hotels and set up HMOs. There just isn’t access to that housing stock out there.”
Calvey urged the government to tackle the asylum claims backlog and allow asylum seekers to work, rent rooms or live with family. “The solution is to get people out of both hotels and HMOs where they’re at risk of violence,” she said.
The Office for National Statistics estimates there were 182,554 HMOs in England and Wales in April, although some councils believe this figure may be too low.
Local authorities have taken steps to try to clamp down on the rise of HMOs in their areas, with councillors in Warrington and Bolton voting to scrap exemptions that meant homes could be converted into small HMOs (with six tenants or fewer) without planning permission.
Last week, Phil Brickell, the Labour MP for Bolton West, urged the government to allow a debate on why companies such as Serco, which leases hundreds of HMOs across the country, do not tell local communities when and where they are placing asylum seekers.
He said the lack of transparency meant proposals for HMOs ended up on social media and surrounded by misinformation.
