A campaigning MP has helped her constituents get every new HMO application thrown out in the last three years.

Paulette Hamilton (main image) has been at the forefront of a community battle in Birmingham against a raft of HMO proposals in her Erdington constituency and tells Birmingham Live that as soon as she gets wind of a plan, she galvanises householders and starts petitions.

Since her election win in 2022, the MP has successfully opposed a proposal to turn the former Royal Oak pub in Marsh Lane into a ten-bedroom HMO and an application to extend a three-bedroom home in Gravelly Lane to accommodate seven people which, if it had got the go-ahead, would have been the 209th HMO in the ward.

A recent success came last October when Birmingham councillors threw out a plan to turn a four-bedroom house in Danesbury Crescent into an HMO, following objections.

Pressing issues

Hamilton explains that one of the most pressing issues raised by residents was the proliferation of badly run HMOs, which were fuelling anti-social behaviour and causing untold distress in the community.

“Erdington had more than its fair share, and enough was enough,” she says. “I made it my mission to campaign for better housing and to halt the rapid increase of HMOs that were causing misery to families and altering the character of our neighbourhoods.”

From reviewing applications and organising petitions to keeping residents informed and gathering strong objections, Hamilton has worked relentlessly to get all the applications thrown out.

She adds: “This is a testament to what can be achieved when communities come together with their MP to put their area first. It sends a powerful message that we won’t stand by while our neighbourhoods are undermined, we’ll take action to protect them.”

Picture: X/Paulette Hamilton.