Exempt properties are ruining the community spirit on Albert Road

Albert Road in my ward has always been a great place. The large, well-built homes and tree lined pavements have attracted families and professionals for over a century. 

With faith buildings, schools and local amenities nearby, and a quick run into the city centre, it’s a great spot to buy a home. What’s more, as many families have lived here for decades, there’s a good feeling of community spirit. This is a place where neighbours know each other, support each other, and live peacefully together. 

All of these factors mean that it is an ideal place for people to live. 

Ten years ago, or maybe even five years ago, I could have said that and meant it. 

Unfortunately, the road has changed beyond recognition. 

Local people will say that HMO’s are ruining the road. 

Now, some of these places are not HMO’s, they are what we know as exempt accommodation, but no one would expect the residents to know that. There’s nowhere to look this type of thing up, so HMO’s get the blame. 

HMO’s are a necessary part of our housing ecosystem. They are a product of years of under-investment in genuinely affordable housing. They help young people and students to find accommodation in a market where rents are high, and supply is scarce. They are licenced, and the council has powers over how they are run, meaning that problems, if they arise, can be dealt with. 

Exempt properties are different. With no approval from the council needed, landlords can purchase properties – family homes – adapt them and offer bedsit type homes and support services to highly vulnerable people. These could be people fleeing domestic violence, people with severe mental health issues, people with addiction problems, people who have been released from prison or people who are homeless. These people are often at a crisis point in their lives. They need support and compassion, and this system often fails to provide that. 

Because our inner cities have good quality, inexpensive homes that are easy to refit, it’s an ideal market for exempt property landlords. They can set up these properties with less hassle than setting up an HMO which requires planning permission. Furthermore, the people they house are not tenants but licence holders. They don’t have tenancy rights. Put simply, they can just be thrown out. 

Why? Because there is no regulation of the system. There are no basic standards of care, no qualifications needed. So, the most vulnerable people in our society are being housed together, often miles away from friends and family, next to families with young children and elderly couples, with threadbare support. 

It’s a recipe for disaster.  

Back on Albert Road in Stechford, families now stay indoors as violence erupts next door. People who have visited the local church all of their lives now fear going as drug deals take place on the church steps.

As a local councillor, I regularly deal with casework relating to anti-social behaviour from exempt properties. 

My fear for Albert Road is that the creep of exempt properties will eventually cause families to leave meaning that more exempt properties will spring up.

If this happens across our city, whole streets will become ghettoised. Homes that once housed families for decades will become transient, soulless buildings where the most vulnerable in our society are at risk and isolated. Where police resources get sucked in leaving other areas of the city exposed. 

This problem affects councillors directly and indirectly throughout our city. Payments for properties are a national issue, but the increased demand on health and emergency services puts other parts of the city at a disadvantage and extra strain on our local services. 

Something needs to be done, and quickly. I urge all councillors to support this motion unanimously so that we send a clear message to Westminster that action is needed.