ELECTION NEWS: Dave Nellist to run for Erdington MP as Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate in upcoming by-election

By Erdington Local election news team

On Thursday 27 January, Dave Nellist declared his intention to run for Erdington MP in the upcoming by-election – standing as the official candidate for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

Having previously been a Member of Parliament for Coventry South East, a seat he held for the Labour Party for nine years, Mr Nellist is a longstanding supporter of worker’s right – famously donating 60% of his MP’s salary to the Labour movement, trade unionists, and community campaigners.

It is expected his campaign will take a strong anti-austerity stance, challenge Government cuts, and put the plight of workers at the heart of its manifesto.

Accepting the TUSC nomination, Nellist commented: “With Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour welcoming a Tory MP into the parliamentary party last week – while confirming Jeremy Corbyn’s exclusion from the PLP at its national executive committee meeting on January 25th – it couldn’t be clearer that the interests of Britain’s wealthy establishment will be in safe hands if and when they decide to move on from Boris Johnson’s disintegrating premiership. Starmer is so obviously not on our side.

“That is why I am proud to represent TUSC in the Birmingham Erdington by-election and would urge other trade unionists, socialists and community campaigners to also consider standing for TUSC in the forthcoming local council elections in May.

“Red Tories, Blue Tories or Yellow Tories carrying out policies against the interests of the working class majority cannot expect to be unchallenged at the ballot box”.

With people already taking to social media to demand a ‘union man’ to replace the late Jack Dromey MP, Dave Nellist’s campaign could find a welcome voice in the Erdington constituency – home of the ill fated GKN Chester Road factory and long suffering Jaguar Land Rover Castle Bromwich plant.

Having once shared an acrimonious office with Tony Blair, when both men were entered the House in 1983, Dave Nellist has been a longstanding supporter of Militant – an internal Labour Party born movement that became the Socialist Party in 1997.

Expelled from the Labour Party for his affiliation with Militant, ahead of the 1992 General Election, Dave Nellist was continuously voted in as a Coventry City councillor between 1998 and 2012.

After announcing his nomination for the Erdington by-election, the Socialist Party went on to state:

‘Former socialist MP Dave Nellist will be standing to put forward an anti-austerity, pro-worker alternative’ – hoping to regain a place in the House ‘to give a voice to the struggles of working class people in Erdington fighting attacks on public services, for decent pay and working conditions and for urgent action to deal with the cost of living crisis.’

Dave Nellist is the second candidate to announce their intention to run for MP in the upcoming Erdington by-election, following the Labour Party’s selection of Cllr. Paulette Hamilton – who was nominated by local party members on Wednesday, 26 January.

Although with a date yet to be set, and many other parties expected to put forward a candidate, the political race for Erdington’s next Member of Parliament has only just begun.

For more from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition visit www.tusc.org.uk

For more from the Socialist Party visit www.socialistparty.org.uk

ELECTION NEWS: “As your MP I will demand the better deal that we deserve” – Cllr. Paulette Hamilton set to run for Erdington MP as official Labour Party candidate

By Erdington Local election news team

Cllr. Paulette Hamilton (Lab, Holyhead) has been confirmed as Labour’s official candidate for the upcoming Erdington constituency by-election.

Looking to take the seat left vacant after the sudden death of Jack Dromey MP, if successful Paulette Hamilton would be Birmingham’s first black Member of Parliament.

Selected by local Labour Party members during an online vote late on Wednesday, 26 January, Cllr. Hamilton won a landslide victory over her only rival Ashley Bertie – receiving nearly three times more votes than the one time West Midlands Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner.

Currently the Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr. Hamilton was the first candidate to publicly declare their intention to stand for the Erdington seat – a place “where me and my family have lived for 35 years.”

During the session she spoke about the importance of mental health and social care, whilst also heralding the work of the once Prime Minister Gordon Brown, according to a Labour Party source.

Soon after the results late on Wednesday evening, the West Midlands Labour Party declared:

“Congratulations to Paulette Hamilton who has been selected as Labour’s candidate for the Birmingham Erdington by-election.”

Message of congratulations and support quickly followed, as the news quickly spread across social media. Soon after, Paulette Hamilton made the following statement:

“Thank you to the @ErdingtonLabour members for selecting me – I promise to work hard every day of this campaign and with your support look forward to representing Erdington in Parliament. I will do my best to continue the legacy of @JackDromeyMP’s outstanding work.”

In a subsequent email to Labour Party members, Paulette Hamilton established her strong ties to Erdington – where she moved to from Handsworth with her husband 35 years ago, and where they raised their five children.

“35 years is also how long I’ve been qualified as a registered nurse,” she went on to say, before reiterating her intentions to “keep fighting for more funding for mental health services while working with the police to combat anti-social behaviour and provide accessible support to those battling alcohol and drug dependency – which are blighting our area.

“As your MP I will demand the better deal that we deserve.”

Birmingham Labour’s BAME Officer, Naziah Rasheed, was also quick to celebrate the nomination – which could see Paulette Hamilton enter the house as Birmingham’s first black MP.

Following the result, Naziah told Erdington Local: “I believe Paulette Hamilton is the best choice for Erdington, she will serve this community well and I am looking forward to working with her – to ensure she gets elected and be the pride of Erdington.”

However, the evening was not all a cause for celebration as the online meeting ran into problems when officials tried to sign in dozens of members on Zoom whilst trying to prove their IDs.

The process took hours and there were complaints several members were unable log into the meeting – which was due to start at 6:30pm but due to the verification problems the winner was not announced until 9.55pm.

There were also concerns raised that by conducting the vote online it isolated local Labour Party members who did not have the right technology or digital know how.

One veteran Erdington Labour member, who did not want to be named, complained: “It was an organisational shambles.

“It was bad enough only those with computer access or smart phones could take part.

“What about a pensioner who is not online? And because it took so long online rows began breaking out.

“People understandably were fed up because of how it has been organised, families with young children disenfranchised and there were complaints that many BAME members have been excluded at verification.”

Several Labour members also complained the candidates were not grilled as they normally would at a selection meeting.

The Labour member added: “Questions also had to be submitted in advance but not all members knew.”

The Labour Party is yet to set an official date for the Erdington constituency by-election, although it is suspected polling day will land in early to mid March.

Candidates from across the political spectrum are expected to contest the Erdington seat, although at the time of writing no official announcements have been made by other parties or independents.

However, fierce campaigning for the 5 May local elections has already begun by the local Conservative Party – who currently have several councillors in the constituency, including the leader of the Birmingham Conservatives and Erdington Ward Councillor Robert Alden.

Cllr Alden lives in Erdington and is a prominent figure across the constituency, which could make him a viable candidate if the “go local” messaging from Labour continues to drive their campaign.

ELECTION NEWS: Conservative big hitters celebrate ‘enormous potential’ in Erdington and push for ‘improved funding pitch’ to regenerate High Street

By Erdington Local election news team

With 100 days to go until the local elections on 5 May, Conservative Party big hitters have been celebrating Erdington’s “enormous potential” – with one leading cabinet minister calling for an “improved funding pitch” to secure millions for the High Street.

Following a special visit to Erdington, Conservative Party Co-Chair Oliver Dowden said:

“Seeing Erdington first-hand showed the enormous potential of this town centre – there is a huge range of shops with relatively few empty units, and some great independent traders generating footfall.

“So, there is a real opportunity here to build on what has been achieved by local businesses and the BID and secure a better future for Erdington.

“I was struck by the passion and vision that Cllr. Robert Alden has for the centre and there is no doubt he is a strong advocate for Erdington and attracting the investment that is needed.

“The Government is committed to Levelling Up communities like Erdington, and I look forward to an improved funding pitch being submitted, which could help unlock the High Street’s potential.”

Mr Dowden was on a tour of the constituency with Erdington Ward Councillor Robert Alden, who is also Leader of Birmingham’s Conservatives.

Meeting with local residents, campaigners, law enforcement, and the local business community, the visit was arranged to help understand the needs and concerns of people who live and work in Erdington, ahead of the upcoming local elections.

Erdington is also facing a by-election where local voters will decide the next constituency Member of Parliament, following the sudden death of Jack Dromey MP on Friday, 7 January.

Cllr. Robert Alden, who represents the Erdington Ward along with Cllr. Gareth Moore, is also a local resident and has been involved in many constituency campaigns – including recent applications for regeneration money from the Government led Future High Street and Levelling Up funds.

Whilst both bids were initially rejected, due to reasons that span the political divide, there is still hope a renewed application for the Levelling Up Fund could ultimately be accepted – which, if successful, could see millions invested into Erdington High Street.

Cllr. Alden added: “I was pleased to showcase Erdington’s potential to Oliver, a leading member of the Government. We have all been disappointed that the previous Council bids have not had everything we need in them, but we know what needs to be addressed.

“We have already met with the Council and the Department and are fighting to get the changes needed to successfully reapply in the next round.

“Regenerating Erdington will ensure that it has a secure future as a place that local people actively choose to want to come and spend their time.

“We are working positively with Government and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street who has been another supporter of Erdington, including calling it out as a priority in his manifesto.”

Mirroring the hopes and aspirations of the Erdington councillor, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street added:

“I am very struck by the strength of community support, including from organisations like Witton Lodge Community Association, the BID, and Cllrs. Robert Alden and Gareth Moore for regenerating Erdington.

“I’m committed to continuing to work with the local team in securing investment into Erdington.”

But on the High Street itself, there are people who see day after day the problems facing local shoppers and businesses. Erdington Street Warden John Lynch, who met with Oliver Dowden during his visit, told Erdington Local:

“There will always be a problem with shop lifters, and we do need to target the shop lifters – at the moment the police don’t often come out for shoplifters unless they’re violent and aggressive. Even then it’s a struggle.

“I would like to see more police presence on the High Street.”

Another local resident, who didn’t wish to be named, added: “If we’re not talking about shop lifting, then personally I think it’s the littering and dog fouling – people need to take more pride (in the area) – the High Street is for everybody to enjoy.”

But as sun follows rain, there was one positive note from Magdolena Gal – when asked what the biggest problem facing the thoroughfare was, she told: “I have no problem, I think the High Street is good.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1485922235399430149

ELECTION NEWS: Labour set to “go local” in Erdington by-election as initial candidates announce their place on the party shortlist

By Erdington Elections news team

Labour look set to follow a “go local” strategy in the upcoming Erdington by-election according to a party source, the same approach which helped them win the Batley and Spen by-election last July.

Pollsters from the Labour’s London headquarters have been in Erdington asking voters who they would prefer to stand in the by-election, with many reportedly rooting for a local candidate – which rules out several big names who lost their seats in the 2019 Tory landslide.

But as candidates are still being considered, Holyhead Councillor Paulette Hamilton has already announced her place on the Labour Party shortlist. A post made on Cllr Hamilton’s social media on Sunday, January 24 stated:

“I have put myself forward to become the next @UKLabour MP for my home constituency of Birmingham Erdington. @JackDromeyMP will be a tough act to follow – I’m honoured that my party have shortlisted me and hope the party members endorse me.”

Currently the Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Cllr Hamilton was the first candidate to publicly declare their intention to stand for the Erdington seat, a place “where me and my family have lived for 35 years.”

However, another announcement came only an hour later with Ashley Bertie also declaring his candidacy saying:

“I’m honoured to have been shortlisted to become the next @UKLabour MP for the constituency I grew up and live in – Birmingham, Erdington. @JackDromeyMP will always have a special place in my heart and those of Erdingtonian’s and I hope that party members will support me.”

Currently the Chief Executive Officer for the Independent Custody Visiting Association, Mr Bertie served as the West Midlands Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner for over three years.

Big hitters from Labour HQ are also heading to Erdington, joining local party members as they conduct ‘doorstep conversations’ with registered voters across all the constituency wards.

On Sunday 24 January, Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds MP was canvassing across Erdington, with Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP hitting the streets the following Monday.

The Erdington by-election campaign, which could be seen as a referendum on Boris Johnson’s record as Prime Minister, will be six weeks long. It is expected the Labour Party chief whip will submit a motion for a by-election after Monday, 31 January, the day of Jack Dromey’s funeral, resulting in polling day landing on Thursday, 3 March or 10 March.

With Labour more than ten points ahead in the polls and fighting a safe seat, Sir Keir Starmer will be under pressure to deliver a big victory.

However, the Conservative Party have several councillors in the Erdington constituency – including the leader of the Birmingham Conservatives Cllr Robert Alden, who is the elected representative for the Erdington Ward alongside Cllr Gareth Moore.

Cllr Alden lives locally and has strong name recognition in the area, which will favour the Conservative campaign if Labour indeed fight for the seat from a local angle.

The Conservative campaign will further benefit from dissatisfaction from local residents about the Labour council administration over HMOs, green spaces, and crime – issues Cllr Alden has repeated raised in Cabinet meetings.

In the coming weeks, the political eyes of the UK will leave Westminster for Erdington, as the fiercely fought by-election is expected to attract more candidates than a normal General Election. Last month’s North Shropshire’s by-election had 14 candidates including one from the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Labour still has time to announce more candidates for the Erdington seat, with the final candidate being voted on by local party members later this week.

An email to Labour Party members from West Midlands regional director Charlie Walker said: “Following the sudden death of friend and colleague, Jack Dromey MP, there will be a Parliamentary by-election for the seat of Birmingham Erdington.

“Please be aware if you are successfully included on the longlist you will be required to attend a shortlisting interview via Zoom on Saturday, January 23 or Sunday 24.

“Successfully shortlisted candidates will be invited to a selection hustings meeting on Wednesday, January 26 where all members of the Constituency Labour Party will vote as to who will be the candidate.”

NEWS: West Midlands mayoral candidate Andy Street will “do everything I can” to save Short Heath Playing Fields

Words & video by Adam Smith / Pics by Gary Phelps

Conservative West Midlands Mayoral candidate Andy Street has promised “to do everything I can” to save Short Heath Playing Fields.

Mr Street met campaigners and volunteers from Short Heath Wombles at the playing fields yesterday afternoon – capping off a busy week on the campaign trail ahead of the poll on Thursday, May 6.

Saving green belt land and preserving green spaces has been a central plank of Mr Street’s re-election campaign and he called on Birmingham City Council to scrap controversial plans to build more than 80 houses cherish Erdington playing fields.

He told Erdington Local: “The first time I heard about the plan to build houses on this site, I thought ‘this can’t be right’. To me, it’s not even a debate whether houses should or should not be built – I cannot understand why they would be built here. It cannot happen.

“Across the region we are campaigning to save green belt but also green spaces, they are our green lungs.

“Housing in Erdington is quite dense and we’ve learnt in Covid how important green spaces are for our mental and physical health.”

He added: “Long before the election I supported the campaign to save Short Heath Playing Fields. I have visited the site before and I am in regular contact with Stephen Hughes from the campaign.”

The decision to build homes on the former school playing fields will be made by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee – but the West Midlands Combined Authority can prepare and recommend alternative brownfield sites for development.

Mr Street said: “I can make sure we prepare the brownfield sites we’ve got for development and there are funds from the combined authority available for this. So, I can make the alternatives happen because there is no denying we need more homes in the city.”

He added: “Ultimately it is a Birmingham City Council decision which I cannot directly influence but I can give voluble support to the campaigners – so those who will decide its future will know what the community want.

“Everyone in the community must shout to make their voice heard over this issue and they can make a difference.”

Stephen Hughes, from Short Heath Fields Trust, thanked Mr Street for his support and described how the campaign, which began last summer, had galvanised the community.

He said: “I know how passionate Mr Street is about saving green spaces and knowing he is backing our campaign, and willing to come and see what we are doing down here, is really important for us.

“We have a lot of exciting plans and the community is right behind us.”

Short Heath ‘Womble’ Sheila Appleby, aged 79, picks up litter seven days a week from the playing fields – along with other local residents as the ‘Short Heath Wombles’.

Upset over the Council’s plans for the beloved local green space, which Shelia and the other ‘Wombles’ rely on for exercise, she gave Mr Street a hand written letter explaining why losing the playing fields would break her heart.

Shelia wrote: “Our children need this place so they will not play in the roads or sit in all day on their X-boxes. So, hands off our green space – even the late Prince Philip saw the need for playing fields, so does Prince William.

“Once green spaces are gone they are gone forever.”

Andy Street visits Short Heath Playing Fields

For more on Andy Street visit: www.andystreet.org.uk

For more on the campaign to Save Short Heath Playing Fields, visit: www.facebook.com/groups/1007069176404521

VOTING FOR BOTH THE WEST MIDLANDS MAYOR AND POLICE & CRIMES COMMISIONER TAKES PLACE ON 6 MAY 2021 – to register to vote visit: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

For more on elections and voting from Birmingham City Council visit: www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20097/elections_and_voting  

Q&A: West Midlands mayoral candidates Liam Byrne MP and Andy Street

Words by Ed King and Helen Knott / Profile pics supplied by cadidates, supporting images by Ed King 

The West Midlands will elect a mayor for the combined authority on 6 May 2021, the second time the position will be contested – alongside the position for Police and Crime Commissioner.

Incumbent mayoral candidate Andy Street (Conservative) is facing fierce competition from his rival across the aisle, Liam Byrne MP (Labour), mirroring the close call of the first West Midlands Mayor election in 2017.

Erdington Local caught up with both Liam Byrne MP and Andy Street to find out their thoughts on some of the issues most pertinent to our readers.

Each candidate has been asked the same questions and given the same overall space/word count to reply – and as with the rules of most competitions, the challenger goes first.

**VOTING FOR BOTH THE WEST MIDLANDS MAYOR AND POLICE & CRIMES COMMISIONER TAKES PLACE ON 6 MAY 2021 – to register to vote visit: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote**

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Erdington has suffered from high rates of unemployment – if successfully elected, how would you help people get back to work?

LB: “The future for Erdington is for us to bring back industry. I want Birmingham to be the Green Workshop of the world. That will be good for Erdington because it will bring manufacturing jobs to Jaguar Land Rover and its supply chain.

“In the short term, we will do an emergency audit of all public contracts, council, police, NHS and anyone in the public sector and we will ask them to start routing those contracts to local businesses to support local jobs.

“And we need to start actually using the Adult Skills Budget to deliver free re-training for people who lose their jobs.”

AS: “We’ve given a clear commitment that we will work to produce 100,000 jobs in two years – the fastest growth this region would ever have seen. It’s called the Mayoral Jobs Plan; it’s not about fantasy, it’s about stuff that is happening now.

“First of all, take advantage of the big investments that’s we’ve already won. HS2, that’s 7,000 jobs. And make sure the highest proportion of those jobs go to local people though local SMEs getting those jobs.

“Secondly, thinking about new areas where growth is going to come – the best example of that is the electrification of the automotive sector, which is so important to JLR at Castle Bromwich. Think about the new sectors, get public money behind them, generate jobs there.

“The next thing is about retraining people for the jobs of the future – programmes are open and available at the moment for people to reskill in the areas that are growing.”

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The impact of coronavirus has left many businesses closed and high streets suffering, how would you support local shops and businesses?  

LB: “Firstly, we have to push through the Future High Street Fund, which is key to unlocking investment in Erdington High Street.

“We have to recognise that high streets will look different in the future, so we need to make sure that there is a mixture of not just business space, but start-up space for new businesses.

“We need to start using festivals and markets, culture and sport to bring life back to high streets. What high streets need more than anything else is footfall.”

AS: “I genuinely believed that the Erdington (Future High Street Fund) bid was a good bid, I actively got behind it.

“We have already, straight away, stepped with the Witton Lodge Community Association – to encourage their application for the regeneration of the Erdington Baths.

“I would also support Councillor Alden’s bid for the balance of the regeneration to come from the Erdington Levelling Up Fund bid.

“A critical point is getting SMEs the contacts – whether it be through HS2 or the Commonwealth Games, whether it be on the transport contacts that we’re running – we actively try to make sure local SMEs get those contacts.”

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Building on parks, allotments and playing fields has been a big issue for many local residents and families. How would you protect our green spaces?

LB: “Local residents like those involved in Short Heath Playing Fields are right to kick up a fuss. We need to start building the houses that we need without losing the places that we love. We don’t think that you should be losing green space, in fact you should be investing in green space to make it nicer.

“My commitment is that we will build on brownfield first and I’m confident that we will only need brownfield sites for the next mayoral term.

“We think that there is plenty of space on the estates that we’ve already got, to redevelop them to create the housing numbers that we need.”

AS: “The categoric reassurance is that I would not develop any of the green spaces, so I stand shoulder to shoulder with the team over on Short Heath Playing Fields.

“The way that you meet the housing need is to ensure we do develop the brownfield sites; I would welcome any brownfield application from a developer so we can protect those green spaces.

“To communities recovering from Covid, green spaces are critical to their physical wellbeing and their mental wellbeing. The Council also need to maintain the green spaces so they can be used appropriately.”

____________

Erdington has a high number of HMOs, with areas like Stockland Green suffering from the crime and social disorder they can invite. How would you, as mayor, address this issue?

LB: “The MPs in Birmingham have worked together to create a five-point action plan on HMOs that Jack Dromey MP is helping to galvanise. It is an especially serious problem in Stockland Green, but it is a problem all over the city.

“Many of the changes are legal changes nationally to give the council the power it needs. This is another is example of where we need a campaigning Mayor, someone who is going to stand up and fight for the powers that we need locally to make our communities nice again.

“Part of the problems with HMOs is that there is such an acute shortage of homes for social rent. 97% of the homes built in the West Midlands last year were not for social rent. So, it’s not surprising that we’ve got a housing crisis.

“We would use the resources that the Mayor has sitting there to double the number of homes for social rent that we’re building.”

AS: “Across the West Midlands we have doubled the number of homes being built in the last five years and doubled the amount of affordable housing. We’ve also changed the definition of ‘affordable’ so it relates to people’s income and not the property’s market value. So, it genuinely is ‘affordable’.

“HMOs and exempt accommodation are an acute issue. We will work with the city council to review the geographical allocation, their management, and the national legislation. That sector has been overdeveloped in Birmingham.

“I would hope to be in discussion with Government within a year, I know this needs tackling. Particularly in Stockland Green.”

For more on Liam Byrne MP visit www.liambyrne.co.uk
For more on Andy Street visit www.andystreet.org.uk

For more on elections and voting from Birmingham City Council, including links to check if you’re registered to vote – or to register, visit: www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20097/elections_and_voting  

EXPLOITED: Part 3 – The unchallenged rampage of HMOs and shared houses, wreaking havoc for a profit across our community

Words by Adam Smith

In the third instalment of EXPLOITED, Adam Smith looks at the oversaturation problem in the HMO and supported living sector – hearing from the top of two housing associations and going right down to the root cause of the misery.

It’s a license to print money,” one former employee of a housing association tellingly revealed.

And it stands to reasons where there is easy money on offer there will be a queue of people ready to take it.

On the Birmingham City Council website there is a list of HMOs where landlords can charge the benefits system £900 for a room, which often can be more than £500 over the private rented market value. And the list runs into the thousands.

Across Birmingham there are 2345 HMOs with six or more people living in them, with applications pending for another 758 properties – including houses in Mere Road, Queens Road, Chester Road, Hillaries Road, Norfolk Road, Kings Road, Slade Road and George Road in Erdington.

As well as the licensed HMOs there are thousands more smaller HMOs and shared houses which fall into the category of ‘exempt’ or ‘supported’ accommodation. There are hundreds of companies which can apply for an HMO license in Erdington, many of which have been arguably set up just to take advantage of the system.

Spring Housing Association (SHA) is a Birmingham based Housing Association which operates HMOs, hostels and social housing – an organisation that has been referenced in previous Exploited articles. SHA has close links to Birmingham City Council and is one of the biggest housing associations in the Midlands, managing or owning more than 700 properties.

SHA, which has Edgbaston MP Preet Gill on its board of directors, has lobbied the Government to tighten up regulations and is now even turning shared houses into family homes.

SHA group chief executive and founder, Dominic Bradley, told Erdington Local there should be tighter regulations on the mushrooming number of companies which can run HMOs and shared accommodation.

He said: “We believe that there is over saturation of exempt shared housing provision in Birmingham. This is not to say that this type of housing doesn’t have an important part to play in the prevention of homelessness in all of its forms. In fact it’s essential.

However, we have long recognised that in parts of the city we are over saturated with this style of housing – which is disruptive to local communities. Stockland Green is an obvious example of this.”

Dominic added: “It’s one of the reasons we are about to purchase a shared house in Erdington and convert it back to a family home. We are aiming to do something similar in Edgbaston, which has had similar community issues to Stockland Green.

Whilst this is a start and one we are keen to develop further there are wider more systematic issues that need to be tackled around strengthening existing regulations about what we mean about care, support and supervision and work with providers to curb the current unmitigated growth and target provision linked to local strategy which we know Birmingham City Council are very keen to achieve.”

In the last article, Exploited – Humans Must Obey,  we outlined the rules tenants have to follow whilst living in supported housing and HMOs.

In the housing sector the term used is ‘Exempt Accommodation’ because in 1996 Housing Benefit regulations were changed to include ‘non-commissioned EA’ which were defined as ‘accommodation which is…provided by a non-metropolitan country council, a housing association, a registered charity or a voluntary organisation where that body or a person acting on its behalf also provides the claimant with care, support or supervision.

‘If a provider or landlord meets these criteria, they are exempt from rent restrictions within the private rented sector and are able to yield rent levels, paid for from housing benefit, far in excess of ‘general needs’ social sector rents and, often, market rents.’

These two paragraphs provided the starter of the sector gun, as landlords and housing associations realised they could charge more rent without the hassle of tenancy agreements – and the introduction of Universal Credit in 2012 massively increased the sector. The Conservative government’s change of rules, that the tenant received the housing benefit and not the landlord, meant it made sense for landlords to claim their houses were ‘exempt’ so they could get the cash directly as had been the case for decades.

The last Parliamentary research into HMOs, published in 2019, revealed there were more than 497,000 HMOs in England in Wales in 2018. And that number is growing.

Spring Housing Association, the University of Birmingham, and Commonweal Housing combined to produce a 60 page report – Exempt from Responsibility? Ending Social Injustice in Exempt Accommodation – which detailed the shocking state of housing provision and detailed how thousands of people were stuck in negative housing situations across the city.

Ashley Horsey, chief executive of Commonweal Housing, a charity formed to ‘implement housing solutions to social injustice’, described the damage exempt housing is doing to tenants and communities.

He said: “The findings of this report are stark. That over 11,000 people in Birmingham – and many thousands more across the country – are living in potentially unsafe and unsuitable ‘exempt’ accommodation should concern us all.

Residents interviewed for this report described feelings of ‘entrapment’ in financial instability; exclusion from decision-making processes; lack of control over where, and with whom, they are housed.

At the same time, the nature of too many of the business models involved in this space are causing some concern, not least inflation linked leases from property owners requiring ever rising rents.

In addition, the deficit-based tenant modelling – talking up your tenant’s weaknesses to justify your income stream – is all too common, and a tricky place to be morally. Especially where there remains little oversight.”

Ashley added: “The ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ nature of some of the governance and regulation of this sector is alarming. Of course, everyone accommodated in the exempt accommodation sector is in need of a home. But asking no questions simply because this sector is putting a roof over a head is not good enough.

In particular, the exempt accommodation sector is too often the only housing available for the marginalised, the overlooked, the undervalued and the de-valued in society. They are the women who find themselves here after fleeing domestic violence, as their only housing option.”

The next instalment of EXPLOITED will reveal the shocking stories of women who have either lived in, live in, or have been affected by HMOs, exempt, or shared housing.

To read Exempt from Responsibility? Ending Social Injustice in Exempt Accommodation, visit www.springhousing.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Spring-Housing-Final-Report-A4.pdf

To read the 2019 Parliamentary briefing paper on HMOs, visit www.commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00708 

For more on Spring Housing Association, visit www.springhousing.org.uk

For more on Commonweal Housing, visit www.commonwealhousing.org.uk

If you have been affected by HMOs or any of the issues mentioned in this article, we want to hear your side of the story – email Erdington Local on exploited@erdingtonlocal.com

EXPLOITED: HMOs – the cruel rules that Humans Must Obey

Words by Adam Smith / Pics by Ed King

Erdington Local continues its investigation into the frightening world of HMOs (homes of multiple occupancy) shining a light on the cruel rules and regulations thousands of tenants are forced to live under.

Chief reporter Adam Smith talks directly to the tenants living in uncertainty and fear across Erdington and the UK, wading through the inhumane bureaucracy behind HMOs – in his next article for EXPLOITED.

It took centuries for tenants to get legal rights so ruthless landlords could not evict them on a whim.

After a string of slum landlord scandals in the 1960s and 1970s several acts of parliament safeguarded renters rights – preventing enforced evictions, rent hikes, intrusion and intimidation.

However, right now thousands of Erdington HMO tenants are living as if the 20th Century never happened, in fear of being made homeless at any time.

HMO companies force tenants to sign license agreements, which leave them at the mercy of a raft of rules – many of which are vague and subjective, but which if broken can lead to eviction.

Three HMO tenants have shown Erdington Local their license agreements – relating to properties from Three Conditions Housing Association (3CHA), Green Park Housing (GPH), and Spring Housing (SH).

All three agreements are remarkably similar in their authoritative tone and demands on the tenant; the multiplicity of rules needed to be adhered to might as well see Houses of Multiple Occupancy redefined to Humans Must Obey*.

Green Park Housing and 3CHA warn tenants they could be evicted in a ‘REASONABLE’ amount of time. Although ‘REASONABLE’ is spelled put in capital letters on the official documents, an actual unit of time is not mentioned.

In the first EXPLOITED, Erdington Local revealed how social housing giant Spring Housing could evict tenants within seven days.

However, a whistle blower from another housing association, which has homes in Kingstanding, contacted Erdington Local to say: “Our housing association could evict within three hours if they wanted, the rules  people sign up to are vague so the housing associations can use them to evict immediately – if they say the person is in danger or other tenants they can remove them in three hours. That is what reasonable means.”

A consistent feature with all the HMO licence agreements is the stress on the importance of tenants paying a weekly service charge. Despite housing benefit covering the rent, often in the region of £800 to £900 a month for one room, housing providers demand a further weekly fee – Spring Housing £12, 3CHA £15, and Green Park £13.

Which the tenant has to pay, meaning tenants on benefits have to stump up 20% of their monthly money.

Unscrupulous landlords have realised the money spinning benefits of turning their house into an HMO, so now rooms are advertised for ‘£15’ per week and can only be rented to benefit claimants. Tenants sign up for ‘supported living’ in their licence and then Birmingham City Council will pay in the region of £900 a month for a room.

All the licence agreements are explicitly clear, if the weekly service charge is not paid then the tenant will be evicted.

What’s more, HMO tenants are forced to live under rules which means their house can never feel a home. Rules include: ‘no pictures can be hung on the walls.’ They cannot drink alcohol, smoke, or even swear in their own home.

3CHA‘s licence agreement says in bold black letters: ‘You cannot have anyone stay with You at the House overnight’ which bans adults from having the comfort of sleeping with another human being.

Spring Housing‘s agreement states: ‘You will not allow any visitors on site’ – meaning tenants in their properties cannot invite friends, family members, partners, or anyone in for a cup of tea or chat.

Even prisoners are allowed visitors, a right that is seemingly not extended to you if you live in an HMO.

A female HMO tenant, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said: “I’ve lived in several HMOs and it always feels like they are trying to isolate me. I can’t even have my friends round for a laugh; I can’t decorate my room. The only time I hear from the support worker is when they demand the service charge.

And the rules are vague and open to interpretation, if they come up with a scenario which they say I am in danger or a danger to others then I have three hours to vacate. I’m old enough to remember when tenants had rights, but HMOS are different, they are evil. HMO for me stands for Humans Must Obey.”

Shamir Hussain, who was evicted by Spring Housing during the COVID-19 lockdown, said: “I just signed what they wanted me to when I got the room, but Spring used the small print rules to evict me during the pandemic. 

They used the fact that the kitchen was messy to evict me because of some rule they said I was breaking.”

The lack of privacy is another feature of living in a HMO, staff can enter a room whenever they want. Erdington Local has obtained a recording of a ‘landlord’ and ‘support worker’ entering a house at 11.30pm – demanding residents names, despite having no identification and refusing to give their own names.

GPH‘s licence agreement explicitly says on the first page: ‘This licence does not confer exclusive possession. GPH and its staff have the absolute right to enter Your Room at any time without notice.’

And even more disorientating is the fact that tenants can return their rooms and find them altered, as Spring Housing states: ‘Spring may change Your Room from time to time without notice or Your agreement. This can be done for any reason.’

Housing charity Shelter gives advice to tenants and tells them what they should legally expect.

Shelter states: ‘Landlords must let you live in your home without unnecessary interference. Your landlord should not let themselves into your home without your permission. Your landlord should not harass you or make it difficult for you to live in your home.’

However, thanks to the introduction of the HMO into the housing market these basic rights that tenants should expect have been removed.

3CHA boasts on its website: ‘It is a 21st century social landlord for 21st century customers.’

Which, sadly, is true – in the 20th Century tenants had more rights than the 21st Century. Because of HMOs.

*Humans Must Obey is copyrighted by Napier Productions – pertaining to the name of a forthcoming documentary about HMOs.

If you have been affected by HMOs or any of the issues mentioned int his article, we want to hear your side of the story – email Erdington Local on exploited@erdingtonlocal.com

EXPLOITED: HMOs – when greed meets vulnerability, carving up communities for a profit

Words by Adam Smith / Pics by Ed King

Erdington Local launches a series of articles investigating the devastation caused by the mushrooming number of HMOs (homes of multiple occupancy) in Erdington and Kingstanding.

Chief reporter Adam Smith spent the last year living in HMOs and has seen first-hand how housing associations and rogue landlords are ripping off taxpayers – whilst exploiting the most vulnerable people in society.

Do you pay tax?

If so, then your hard-earned money is lining the pockets of ruthless housing associations and rogue landlords – whose greed is wrecking the lives of Erdington residents, tenants, and the most vulnerable people in society.

Nationally the taxpayer shells out billions of pounds for eye-wateringly inflated rents for benefits claimants’ rooms in HMOs – which get planning permission, despite Erdington residents and politicians bitterly complaining they are destroying the very fabric of the local community.

Hundreds of Erdington houses, including historic and beautiful Victorian properties, have been turned into HMOs – creating a living hell for both tenants and local residents who watch helplessly as the area they love becomes blighted.

Stockland Green is one of the worst examples in the country for the negative effect of HMOs and supported accommodation.

Those classed as ‘vulnerable’ and living in HMOs and/or supported accommodation are locked in a vicious circle; landlords charge the taxpayer £900 a month for a single room, leaving the tenant no motivation to get a job as the rent will be too high on a low wage. This investigation will explore examples of housing association staff actively discouraging tenants to work.

Tenants in ‘supported accommodation’ should get an hour of professional support a week, which qualifies their extortionate rent from benefits – but instead of proper psychiatric help, staff often only see tenants to demand a weekly ‘maintenance charge’, usually between £12 and £20, out of their benefits.

Instead of tenancy agreements which offer some protection to renters, those living in HMOs are forced to sign ‘licenses’ containing pages of draconian rules and potential infringements – which if broken can see the tenants made homeless with just a week’s notice.

Staff can enter rooms when they like and there have even been examples of male staff bursting unannounced into women’s rooms after 11pm.

HMOs radically changed the rental market in Erdington, with landlords now preferring benefits claimants and even advertising rooms for the price of the maintenance charge. Meanwhile, working people are trying to find somewhere to live from a dwindling amount of properties – which are increasing in price due to their scarcity.

This scandal crosses political lines too.

Legislation from the Conservative government has allowed ruthless companies, landlords, and housing associations to exploit the benefit system – whilst Birmingham’s Labour administration has allowed thousands of HMOs to be created in the city, without the ability to scrutinise the conduct of those organisations running them.

This investigation will unveil the close links between Birmingham City Council  and to the companies profiting from the system.

During the Government’s ban on evictions during the coronavirus crisis, housing associations in Birmingham have been quietly evicting people during the deadly pandemic.

Recently, Edgbaston MP Preet Gill called on the Government to extend the evictions ban. However, Gill is on the board of Spring Housing Association, which works extremely closely with Birmingham City Council – but which also evicted vulnerable tenants during COVID-19 lockdown.

One evicted Spring Housing tenant, Shamir Hussain, told Erdington Local: “I was evicted during lockdown by Spring Housing, just when I thought I was as low as I could they made it worse. They made me homeless during a pandemic where people were dying all around us, I will never forget that.

They (Spring Housing) were getting £900 a month for me to live in a room; I could have paid a mortgage on a nice house for that obscene amount of money for one room. And when I did put a claim in for a much cheaper rent amount, for a whole flat, I was refused. It seemed like they were happy to pay £900 to Spring Housing but not a fraction of that to sort my life out.”

The area’s two most powerful politicians, Labour’s Erdington MP Jack Dromey and Erdington Councillor and leader of Birmingham’s Conservatives Robert Alden, both recognise the damage being done to the area by the scourge of bad landlords.

Dromey said: “I know how angry residents are about this issue, I went to a meeting on Frances Road two years ago expecting six people to be there and 70 residents turned up. And the problem has worsened in that time not got better.

Stockland Green is where the problem is at its most acute, where the most prosecutions of landlords in Birmingham have been due to work with the police, and with the disproportionate dumping of vulnerable tenants into the area by landlords who do not give a damn about them and not give them any help.

Some of these landlords let their tenants live in squalor in Erdington whilst they live in the lap of luxury in Sutton Coldfield. However, there are some very good landlords out there, which is all the more the shame when the bad ones undercut them to cram an extra person in.”

In the 1980’s Dromey helped residents in London fight a bitter dispute with slum landlords and even created a ‘Hit Parade of Bad Landlords’ with help from Radio 1 DJ Alan Freeman – who would regularly do a run down on television of the worst offenders.

The MP said: “We have use imaginative ways to fight these type of people but in Erdington we also need proper joined up action with the police, council, probation and mental health services working together to solve the problems created in the last five years in the housing sector which coincides with the Tories being in power.”

Councillor Robert Alden laments the changing face of the area’s housing stock, which used to be the envy of the rest of the city in years gone by.

He said: “Erdington has been blighted by HMO’s run by bad landlords.

Erdington’s large stock of larger Victorian family homes have sadly often been taken over and turned into swathes of HMO’s – in many places seeing whole rows of housing turned from the purpose they were built for, to provide housing for families, into a collection of substandard and often below even minimum standard room size bedsits.”

He added: “Often quiet residential streets have suddenly found themselves besieged by bedsits acting under exempt housing placing drug addicts, alcoholics, and ex-offenders into our local community.

Sadly, those rogue landlords have used loopholes in the system to convert houses far and beyond the scope they were designed for, often seeing three bedroom homes turned into six or seven room bedsits.

Sometimes they also claim for alleged support provided to people while failing to provide anything like that – in the process taking huge amounts of tax payers money for services barely provided, failing their tenants, while also leaving communities like Erdington to suffer from the fallout.”

As well as the co-operation of all relevant agencies in Erdington, there also needs to be strong political leadership to stop the situation getting worse – but to also undo the systemic problems caused by five years of loopholes being exploited by those who had the most money to gain from flooding Erdington with high profit dangerous housing.

Throughout this series of stories, a light will be shone on some very murky corners and shocking practices – and this investigation will follow the money.

This investigation will explore how neighbouring HMOs crammed full of men have created ‘no-go roads’ for women and teenagers fed up of cat calling, sexual harassment, and threatening acts of misogyny.

There will also be stories from the female perspective, from suddenly having men moved into your safe space, as well as the unique HMO experiences of trans refugees.

This investigation will challenge those responsible on their behaviour – reporting them to the appropriate authorities if any laws were broken. Expect explosive revelations and, as readers, you have the right to demand resignations.

If you have been affected by HMOs or any of the issues mentioned in this article, we want to hear your side of the story – email Erdington Local on exploited@erdingtonlocal.com