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'Racist agitators' behind HMO attacks

Adam Mandevilleand
John Campbell,Economics and business editor, BBC News NI
BBC A terrace house which is painted cream with a brown door. The door has "NO HMO" painted on it in white twice, the two windows are boarded up with plywood. BBC
A number of properties were targeted, including this one on Templemore Avenue

A Belfast city councillor has described recent attacks on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in east Belfast as racially motivated.

The Green Party's Brian Smyth said HMOs have become the "new battleground for several known online racist agitators to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment".

The attacks, which took place at around 00:45 BST on Tuesday 31 March in the Templemore Avenue and Paxton Street areas, targeted a number of properties.

Windows were broken and graffiti was daubed on the outside of the houses. Police said a family who were in one of the homes at the time were not injured but were left badly shaken.

Brian Smyth has ginger hair and beard and is looking at the camera, he is wearing a black denim jacket and T-shirt and is standing next to a metal fence. Behind him out of focus is a street scene in Belfast with parked cars.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said many of the "issues arising with HMOs in the last number of months" are racially motivated

Police added that a hate crime motivation is a "line of enquiry".

BBC News NI understands two young girls were in one of the homes at the time of the attack.

Brian Smyth told The Nolan Show many of the "issues arising with HMOs in the last number of months" are racially motivated.

"HMOs have become the new battleground for several known online racist agitators to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment," he said.

Smyth added that the attacks need to be "quickly curtailed because it's going to spiral out of control".

"What we're seeing here is online race-baiters digging into this and using it as an excuse because they simply do not like people who have brown skin.

"There are a number of well-known racist accounts driving this."

Smyth said the local community would be "utterly disgusted" by the attacks.

However, Smyth also added that there exist serious issues with the use of HMOs.

"HMOs are symptomatic of the failure of the Stormont Executive to build enough social housing," he said.

"There is a wider issue here. We need rent caps and we need social housing to be rapidly expanded."

A woman wears clear spectacles as she smiles to the camera. She has long brown hair and wears a dark-green waterproof coat. Behind her, out-of-focus, is a row of two-storey red-brick houses.
Alliance Party councillor Fiona McAteer said a "sinister underbelly from social media" is a factor in these attacks

Alliance Party councillor Fiona McAteer condemned what she described as "absolutely disgusting" attacks.

"Everyone is allowed a roof over their head, everyone deserves a home," she said.

"East Belfast is an inclusive, diverse community and we're a welcoming community."

She said the graffitti was "not acceptable" but added the issue was "not new".

"I think there is a sinister underbelly from social media about people riling things up," she said.

"It's something that we need to get a handle on."

What is a HMO?

The legal definition of a HMO is a property lived in by three or more people from three or more separate households who share facilities like a kitchen.

A house which is currently used as a single family home needs planning permission before it can be operated as a HMO.

All HMOs in Northern Ireland must also be licensed by their local council. Running an unlicensed HMO is a criminal offence.

Planning rules also restrict the number of HMOs, generally a maximum of 20% of houses in designated areas and 10% everywhere else.

HMOs have traditionally been used by students but have become a source of controversy across the UK as the government shuts asylum hotels and disperses people into HMOs.