Statement of HMOs and Asylum Seeker Accommodation

Statement of HMOs and Asylum Seeker Accommodation

This week, our borough was included in a prominent feature across BBC platforms regarding asylum seeker accommodation. 

The online article highlights that the "borough has approximately 900 homes in multiple occupation - HMOs - some of which now house asylum seekers.”

For clarity,  this does not mean there are 900 HMOs housing asylum seekers in our borough.

The majority of HMOs in the borough are run by landlords as private rented housing. These can be used by anyone from students, to care workers to office workers; anyone who is happy to share facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom and rent a room for a fixed price each month.

In addition, HMOs have different uses in Wigan Borough including as children’s homes,  and houses for those who are facing homelessness provided by The Brick.

Serco (the contractors who manage asylum seeker accommodation on behalf of the government) operates around 300 properties in the borough for asylum seeker housing, approximately 200 of which are HMOs.

The Council has no powers or say in the number or location of these Serco properties. For completeness, Wigan Borough is made up of approximately 146,000 houses of varying sizes and types, as of 2025.

As the council has highlighted many times before, Wigan Borough is a welcoming and inclusive community but the current system needs to be urgently addressed. Our position is outlined in the approved motion to full council agenda on Wednesday 20th September 2023 (external link).

Since 2023 we have had an agreement with the Home Office that no further properties are to be procured by Serco in our borough.

Since 31 August 2025, every single new HMO in our borough, regardless of size, requires planning permission. In which gives the council added powers to scrutinise the application and manage how many there are and where they are, ensuring no one community has a disproportionate number. Please view our Cabinet approval for borough-wide Article Four direction for Houses in Multiple Occupation article.

If there are any issues around antisocial behaviour or crime at an HMO, as at any other property, we would urge residents to report it to Greater Manchester Police.