By Joseph Timan
Copyright manchestereveningnews
A Reform candidate who has pledged to reduce the ‘spiralling’ number of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in his town has been accused of hypocrisy after his property company listed rooms for rent in the type of shared housing that he is campaigning against. Wigan council candidate Lee Moffitt says he has never owned any HMOs, but one of his companies manages three such properties for private landlords. Mr Moffitt, who is standing in a by-election next month, says he is still committed to reducing the number of HMOs. He said: “Neither I, nor any business that I own, HAVE ever owned nor WILL ever own, a HMO (House of Multiple Occupation).” Six candidates are standing in the Wigan Central by-election on October 2, triggered by the death of Labour councillor George Davies. Sign up to the MEN Politics newsletter Due North here Mr Moffitt, who stood for Nigel Farage’s party in the Gorton and Denton constituency last year, is now standing for Reform in Wigan. The ‘passionate Wiganer’ is the director of several property firms in the borough including LV Property Group and Lobster Lettings. Last week, listings by one of his companies advertising rooms for rent in HMOs appeared online, leading to criticism on social media. Responding to questions about these HMOs on Facebook, Mr Moffitt said that one of the companies that he is a director of has managed approximately three HMOs for private landlords for nearly 10 years and that these properties populated by ‘working people’. He wrote: “None of them have ever been occupied by illegal migrants or used as a halfway house for former prisoners.” Commenting on the claims of hypocrisy, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “If the Reform Party candidate in Wigan says he wants fewer HMOs, but his own company runs three of them, that doesn’t seem fair. He’s saying one thing and doing the opposite. “Does he only want to stop the ones he’s not making money from? “The Reform Party often shouts and blames others, but when people ask them how they would actually fix problems, they usually don’t have a real answer. And when they do have a plan, it often doesn’t make sense when people look closely. “It’s important that people who want to be leaders are honest and have good ideas that actually work.” Responding to Labour’s comments, Mr Moffitt told the Manchester Evening News : “Whilst I do own part of a property management company, that manages 3 HMOs, this is a tiny part of the hundreds of residential properties that they have under management. “Whilst I am committed to reduce the exorbitant amount of HMOs in Wigan, (which the Labour council has allowed to spiral beyond 280!!) that isn’t to say that there is no place for HMOs at all, when used for the right purposes. “Whilst Labour seem to be more concerned with any commitments that I have made to the people of Wigan, a review of their candidates literature offers no such commitment at all.” Mr Moffitt said he is ‘incredibly proud’ of his ‘modest success’ in business and intends to use his skills, experience and initiative to help return ‘our beloved Wigan to its former glory’.
