Protest outside Ealing Council offices calls for curbs on HMOs as residents complain of violence
| Published date | 22 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
During the meeting, council officers confirmed that in the Medway Village area of Perivale, there were 28 registered HMOs however the number could be as high as double that due to the way these types of tenancies are registered. Developers can convert homes into HMOs and even begin operating them and register the change retroactively, meaning knowing the exact number is difficult.
Residents who spoke to Local Democracy Reporting Service LDRS say HMO numbers in the Medway area were much higher than the council was telling them. It is not just fury that characterises the response by residents of Perivale, but genuine fear.
The meeting contained tales of armed police standing on roofs, raids on HMO properties, and violent and antisocial behaviour. "We are not safe!" one woman had heckled, "you do nothing" another hectored as Cllr Tariq Mahmood attempted to calm the crowd.
The exchange concluded in an unsatisfactory fashion for residents with council officers telling them that the council couldn't do anything preventative to stop HMOs, informing the crowd that the corrective powers of local authorities boiled down to writing a strongly worded letter to the landlords. The only thing left for residents was to make their frustration heard in a more direct fashion.
Wielding placards, signs and even a bullhorn, the tight-knit community of Perivale congregated to fight for the future of their neighbourhood against what they perceived as an ineffective council and greedy landlords. Speaking to the LDRS, one of the organisers from Medway Village said: "We are hoping to disrupt the councillors' meeting tonight just to show our anger. The council has done absolutely nothing in regards of the proliferation of HMOs and have dealt with us individually and brushed us off, but now we have got together it is much more difficult to ignore us.
"We know we are in a housing crisis but the council has done absolutely nothing but to try and destroy the family life in Perivale and in our...
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