Ban foreign nationals from Welsh house-shares, says Reform

Reform has called for foreign nationals to be barred from licensed house shares and social housing, in a motion rejected by a majority of the Senedd.

In a heated debate on Wednesday, the party argued that houses of multiple occupation [HMOs] were the "backbone of our deranged asylum system" and that "British citizens must come first".

Plaid Housing Minister Sian Gwenllian accused Reform of wanting to turf families onto the streets, and said only a small number of HMOs were used by asylum seekers.

Other Senedd members argued the policy would impact students, workers able to live in the UK legally and even Irish citizens. A Reform MS said it would not apply to EU citizens with settled status.

Reform MS Joe Martin said foreign nationals living in social housing should be deported if they could not find privately-owned homes within three months.

Gwenllian called the idea "inhumane" and said it was a "very, very sad day for this Senedd to hear those comments".

On Wednesday evening the party tabled a motion that said the Welsh government should "overhaul houses in multiple occupation licensing and social-housing eligibility rules to end access to HMOs and social housing for foreign nationals, including working with the UK government where necessary".

The motion was rejected by MSs, with 57 voting against, and 31 for. It would not have been binding if it was passed.

An amendment backed by the Welsh government and Labour, which supported "fair and sustainable dispersal arrangements" for asylum seekers was passed with 57 for, and 31 against.

Reform called for social housing to be reserved to Welsh people during its Senedd election campaign.

Francesca O'Brien, Reform MS for Gŵyr Abertawe, said: "We should be prioritising our own families, our veterans, and those who have contributed to our great country.

"Foreign nationals should not have access to council and social housing, and they should not have access to HMOs that our council license."

She said HMOs were the "backbone of our deranged asylum system."

The party's Paul Marr, of Ceredigion Penfro, said constituents of his were concerned about asylum seekers arriving in HMOs "after dark, with little explanation to members".

"Arriving after dark does not establish wrongdoing, but silence from those responsible leaves fears growing and questions unanswered," he said.

He said: "On HMOs, our stance is clear: immigration policy must reflect housing capacity and British citizens must come first."

Reform's John Clark, of Bangor Conwy Mon, said: "HMOs for foreign nationals have become the mechanism by which hard political choices are avoided. Wales does not have a spare stock of family homes."

He added: "Every family home converted into a HMO is a home taken out of the market for a local family and put into a market that pays better."

Conservative MS for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, Peter Fox, accused Reform of not making a serious attempt to solve pressures on housing.

He said the "headline-grabbing motion" would "not just affect the groups they want to talk about".

"It would affect foreign students renting rooms in HMOs while studying at Welsh universities, it would affect workers who have come here legally, and it would affect Irish citizens whose rights are protected under the common travel area."

Fox also expressed concerns that the motion could impact EU citizens with settled status. Reform's Tom Montgomery told the Senedd the policy would not affect them.

The Green's leader in Wales, Anthony Slaughter, said Reform were "disgracefully arguing again that we need to look after our own".

The Caerdydd Penarth MS accused Reform of "fear-mongering" and trying to cause division.

He said: "I represent the most diverse constituency in Wales and its diversity makes Cardiff what it is today.

"People from around the world have chosen to make Cardiff their home and the people of Cardiff will not allow you to divide our communities."

Plaid Cymru Fflint Wrecsam MS Marc Jones agreed: "What we've seen today is people deliberately conflating foreign nationals with asylum seekers, deliberately conflating people on benefits with foreign nationals."

Welsh government Housing Minister Sian Gwenllian said HMOs can play a part in giving everyone in Wales "access to a safe, warm and affordable home", as long as "they are regulated and managed locally".

"Reform says end access to social housing for foreign nationals. That's your policy. Does that mean that families who have a legal right to be here - families and their children - would be asked to leave their homes, turfed out onto the streets?"

She argued Joe Martin's comments showed that it did mean that.

Gwenllian said HMOs were "shared homes, not an immigration category. They provide homes for students, young professionals and others who need housing, and only a small minority are used to house asylum seekers".

She added: "You need a licence for HMOs, which are larger and face greater risks, and local authorities can expand the licensing requirement when local factors justify that.

"They can place conditions, search properties, they can actually penalise and prevent unsafe accommodation from being used, and they can prosecute landlords too."

Existing legislation requires HMOs to be licensed where they are at least three storeys high, have five or more people making up two or more households, and where toilets and bathrooms are shared.