A crowd of angry residents have clashed with councillors during a protest against burgeoning HMOs within the London borough of Ealing.
Protestors picketed a council meeting to challenge its perceived inaction over HMOs in Perivale which they claim have caused increasing incidents of violent and antisocial behaviour, reports MyLondon.
Residents told councillors about armed police standing on roofs and raids on HMO properties, along with incidents of drug taking and dealing, machete attacks and robberies in the past few years.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, one of the protestors said: “We have police and ambulances down our road all the time - I have also seen open drug dealing. Every house that has been sold on our street has been turned into an HMO.”
During the meeting, council officers confirmed that there were 28 registered HMOs in Perivale, however they admitted the number could be double this, due to the way these types of tenancies are registered.
Protesters called for increased CCTV, better lighting and the enaction of Article 4 in their area – something Ealing Council is looking into. A spokesman said it wanted to work closely with residents and the police to tackle antisocial behaviour and criminal activity.
“The council is working on proposals to introduce an Article 4 Direction to require future HMOs in the borough to receive planning permission before they can be created,” he added.
“Council staff are currently working closely with the police to review and share information about the most problematic addresses that local residents have reported. In these cases, we will make formal contact with landlords to ensure tenancies are effectively and appropriately managed.”
In Ealing, mandatory HMO and additional licensing schemes apply borough-wide and two selective licensing schemes cover part of the borough.
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