Housing Party chair took gift from asylum HMO firm

The Conservative party chair accepted thousands of pounds worth of hospitality from a company that converts family homes into houses in multiple occupation for asylum seekers, official records show.

- Aletha Adu

According to the register of MPs' interests, Living Redefined Ltd covered £2,000.45 worth of flights, hotel accommodation and dinner for Kevin Hollinrake and a family member to attend a property conference in the south of France this year.

The company presents itself as a lucrative route for landlords to enter the asylum system accommodation market. On its website, Living Redefined says it has provided the Home Office with 84 properties offering 352 bedspaces across the Midlands and east of England, usually with lease agreements under five years.

On Instagram, the company boasts of turning a two-bedroom house in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, into a five-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO). It claims the conversion generated an annual profit of £27,000, equivalent to a 32% return on investment.