Response 3795140

Response to request for information

Reference

3795140

Response date

9 September 2025

Request

This is an information request relating to complaints made to the council about asylum seekers in the area.

Please include the information for the current financial year, from April 2025 to present

• Whether there have been any complaints to the council that mention any of the following words/terms: “asylum seeker”, “migrants”, “refugees”, “immigrants”
• If possible, the number of complaints
• A copy of each complaint, anonymised to remove any personal information or addresses

Response

Please include the information for the current financial year, from April 2025 to present

• Whether there have been any complaints to the council that mention any of the following words/terms: “asylum seeker”, “migrants”, “refugees”, “immigrants” - yes
• If possible, the number of complaints - there have been four complaints
• A copy of each complaint, anonymised to remove any personal information or addresses - see below.

Complaint 1

I am writing as a concerned resident and homeowner in xxxxxxxxxxx to formally raise serious grievances concerning a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) situated adjacent to my home, which is being used to house Asylum Seekers via the Serco Landlord Scheme. The address of the HMO is xxxxxxxxxxxxx. The HMO is currently a licenced 6 Bed which is seeking permission to convert to a 7 Bed HMO.
 
Since March 2025, this property has caused persistent disruption, distress, and unease for the safety and wellbeing of my family and other neighbours in the area.
 
The issues have included repeated instances of excessive unreasonable domestic noise, disruptive behaviour late into the night, and antisocial conduct that has significantly diminished the peaceful character of our neighbourhood. These incidents have not only affected our quality of life but have also raised concerns for the safety and stability of our community — especially for families with young children, like mine.
 
Providing accommodation to numerous young undocumented and unsupervised men into HMO’s next to hard working families without any consultation with residents is a genuine cause for concern. I am therefore stunned at the apparent lack of oversight from Rushcliffe Borough Council to adequately manage HMO’s within the borough to ensure they are appropriate.
 
As a resident I am urging decisive action. Specifically, I respectfully request that the Council:

1. Reject the current proposal to convert to a 7 Bed HMO licence for the property in question, in order to preserve the residential character of the community.
2. Review and consider revoking the current 6 Bed HMO licence for the property in question, due to ongoing community disruption and breaches of acceptable standards.
3. Apply Article 4 Direction within xxxxxxxxx to restrict future conversions of family homes (C3) into HMOs (C4) without planning consent, in order to preserve the residential character and cohesion of our neighbourhood.

While I fully support the need to provide safe accommodation for vulnerable individuals, this must be done with appropriate consideration for the surrounding community and with proper regulation. The current situation demonstrates a clear failure in this respect.I would appreciate an update on what steps the Council intends to take in response to these concerns. Thank you for your time and attention to this important issue.

 

Complaint 2

Lack of correct process followed when allowing xxxxx to be converted into a 6 person HMO, the local community wasn’t briefed or consulted over this issue. We now have a refugee hostel in the middle of our street not a household, it seems money over community in this case and perhaps lack of professional conduct hence this complaint

 

Complaint 3

We have received notification of a planning application to convert the house next door to a 7 bed property. We were unaware that the property is currently a 6 bed property and a HMO has been granted to Serco. I wish to formally complain about the lack of consultation and the apparent disregard to the impact of housing asylum seekers in a small residential cul de sac in approving the HMO. This has essentially turned a residential family property into a ‘hostel’ My concerns are: Persistent disruption since March 2025, such as:

• Excessive domestic noise 
• Late-night disturbances
• Antisocial behaviour affecting community safety and peace
• The negative impact on families, particularly those with young children
• A lack of consultation with residents prior to housing young, undocumented asylum seekers whose backgrounds are unknown
• The unsuitability of accommodating vulnerable individuals in an unsupervised HMO within a quiet residential area

Apparent failures by Rushcliffe Borough Council to effectively manage and regulate HMOs locally am asking that the following action is taken:

• Reviewing and revoking the existing 6-bedroom HMO licence due to ongoing community disruption
• Introducing an Article 4 Direction for xxxxxxxxxx, requiring planning permission for any future HMO conversions
• I will be objecting to the planning application but there is a serious wider issue to be resolved and I look forward to your response

 

Complaint 4

I note from your HMO licence portal that a licence was granted 20 August 2025 to the following property xxxxxx.

As a statement of fact this property was operating as an unlicensed HMO from at least May 2023.

The building is also being used to house asylum seekers.

It is a disgrace that you have issued a licence when it was acting unlawfully prior to the licence being granted only a matter of days ago.

I respectively ask that you withdraw the licence, due to a vulnerable LAC living next door. It is not appropriate to have up to 12 asylum seekers living next to a vulnerable female child.

As a father I plead with you to do the right thing.

If not, may I ask that the Council purchase my home at the market rate to save me from this nightmare.

The result of your actions is causing considerable hardship for my family.

We will be seeking legal action against Rushcliffe Borough Council.

Not once in the whole process has anyone contacted me when determining the licence.

I will also be making a freedom of information request to understand the decision making process of grating the license, particularly when the building was operating illegally for a number of months prior to your grant of a license.