Government scraps plan on HMO requirements for asylum seekers

The government has abandoned a plan that would have exempted landlords of asylum seekers from houses in multiple occupation (HMO) regulations, which ensure safety and quality standards for shared properties.

The government claimed that this would have increased the availability of housing for asylum seekers, who are often placed in hotels or other temporary accommodation.

However, the eight asylum seekers argued that the plan was unlawful and violated their rights to equal treatment.

They also said that Michael Gove, the housing secretary, had no power to make the draft regulations, which contradicted the purpose of the HMO licensing scheme.

Withdrew the plan hours before a high court hearing

The government withdrew the plan hours before a high court hearing on Wednesday and agreed to pay the asylum seekers’ legal costs.

The Guardian reports that Mr Gove had opposed the plan in a letter to the prime minister in November 2022, saying that he had seen no evidence that HMO licensing was a barrier to housing asylum seekers, and that the plan could encourage lower quality housing.

Jeremy Bloom, the solicitor for the asylum seekers, said: “The government’s last-minute withdrawal of regulations that would have reduced protections for asylum seekers housed by the Home Office is a spectacular U-turn.

“The asylum seekers now have the enduring protection that they will not be placed in accommodation which does not meet licensing standards, which are so vital to fire safety and to prevent overcrowding.”

‘Regulations risked creating a two-tier system’

Louise Hosking, an executive director at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “These draft regulations risked creating a two-tier system for enforcement of standards in HMOs.

“They could also have incentivised unscrupulous landlords to move into the supply of asylum-seeker accommodation.”

A government spokesperson said: “Our success maximising the use of existing sites and delivering alternative accommodation means it is no longer necessary to pursue the removal of licensing requirements for houses in multiple occupation.

“We are making significant progress moving asylum seekers out of hotels, which cost UK taxpayers £8.2m a day. We have already returned the first 50 to their communities.”

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