HMO housing quality used as rallying cry for racist protest

The notoriously racist and Islamophobic group, the Official Protestant Coalition (OPC) is at it again, this time advertising a protest entitled “Local home for local people”. The intention here is clearly to signal that houses should not be reserved for migrants.

As has been the case for other protests they’ve promoted, the group seems to be adopting the plausible deniability approach when it comes to taking responsibility for organising the hate fest. The loyalist group say:

We have been informed. This protest is organised for the people by the people and everybody and every group no matter who they are is welcome time to make a stand. We have been asked to share this. We have not organised it, but we support it God bless.

OPC’s other recent posts include an example of how the far-right will find a way to bash Muslims regardless of the circumstances. They show a mocked-up headline featuring a picture of alleged rapist Andrew Windsor, with the words:

Prince Andrew converts to Islam; police immediately drop all charges

HMO dog whistle an excuse to bash migrants

The poster for the protest indicates it will take place on March 27 outside the planning offices for Belfast City Council. It also urges supporters to “Say no to HMOs”. HMO stands for House in Multiple Occupation, and has become a form of dog whistle for racists wanting to whip up anti-immigrant sentiment, under the guise of demanding better housing.

It can be an effective tactic, given that HMOs often are low-quality dwellings, suffering from mould and cramped rooms. Landlords will frequently convert a large home designed for a family and split it into separate flats. This increases what they term ‘yield’; i.e. you can cram a lot more people in than would previously have been the case, and make more money.

Often this ends up with unsuitable living conditions, such as kitchens or bathrooms without windows leading to the aforementioned issues with damp. In an article on how housing issues wrecked his mental health, Novara journalist Aaron Bastani described them as:

…shoeboxes with a focus on nothing but value extraction.

The other issue often raised is the issue of transience, in that HMOs are typically populated by young, single people who don’t stay long. This has led to complaints about a breakdown in “community cohesion“. In reality, they’re probably moving out quickly in most cases because the tiny damp flat they’re boxed into is unliveable.

The point about dire quality is doubly true for migrants, who typically end up in the worst places around. A recent report entitled Hostile Housing – The Health Impacts of Housing for People Seeking Asylum looked at the devastating impact shitty housing had on asylum seekers.

The vile reality — worst housing is reserved for asylum seekers

These are people who have typically had to flee their homes in horrendous circumstances, escaping persecution and war. Yet we disgracefully fail them by focusing on what the report terms “containment over care”. The authors found that:

Four key themes emerged from the survey data: inadequate housing conditions, loss of autonomy and rights, privacy and safety concerns, and food insecurity.

On housing quality, respondents described widespread problems including overcrowding, damp, mould, poor ventilation and persistent noise. These conditions were linked by participants to respiratory problems, skin conditions and deterioration in mental health.

One woman said:

Yes, I’m suffocating a lot, I’m 31 weeks pregnant in very small room where there is no ventilation… I have breathing issue because of this.

The likes of Serco, Mears Group and Clearsprings Ready Homes — who provide accommodation for asylum seekers — have attempted to have HMO legislation watered down.

The issue of housing should be the ultimate low hanging fruit for the left. Under a project of “more — and better quality — housing for all”, we could ensure better homes for everyone, and cut off an easy rallying point for the far-right.

The organisers of these protests are likely bile-filled racists, and some attendees will be too. That won’t be true of everyone going, however. Some will be angry people stuck on the obscenely long list for social housing, others will be people living in crap rentals under dodgy landlords. It’s a lot easier to scapegoat asylum seekers for social problems when those social problems are real.

The trick is to fix those problems, and show that it’s the likes of landlords, massive corporations, and their political lackeys who are to blame, not vulnerable people seeking protection after fleeing their home abroad.

Featured image via Belfast Media