Home Office drops plan to remove housing protections from asylum seekers

Under the changes, landlords of asylum seekers would no longer have had to register with local authorities. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

A controversial policy to remove basic housing protections from asylum seekers has been withdrawn by the government.

The policy, first disclosed by the Guardian, outlined the proposed removal of houses in multiple occupation (HMO) regulations for landlords accommodating asylum seekers in their properties. People who are not seeking asylum are still entitled to access these safeguards.