Belfast City Council has been criticised for keeping its public register of houses in multiple occupation online, despite receiving warnings that the properties were being targeted by anti-immigration activists. The register was removed from the council website only after a recent wave of attacks, having been linked by police to the violence.

Internal correspondence reveals that council officials were aware of threats against HMOs housing members of the migrant community since at least June 2025. During that period of civil unrest in Ballymena and other towns, the register was briefly suspended for about six weeks, but went back online in August.

During the Ballymena riots, 49 asylum seekers were relocated from seven properties due to an active threat. The housing provider Mears Group, which accommodates asylum seekers, was among those targeted. Department for Communities officials expressed concern that landlords might evict tenants or refuse access to certain nationalities to protect their properties.

Geraldine Hanna, the Commissioner for Victims of Crime, described the decision to leave the list online as irresponsible, while stressing that responsibility for the attacks rests with the perpetrators. Daniel Holder of the Committee for the Administration of Justice noted that anti-immigration groups have increasingly organised around opposition to HMOs, often using the term as a euphemism for housing with migrants.

The council stated it is legally required to maintain an HMO register, but Holder pointed out that legislation does not compel publication online. Councils must make the register available at their headquarters and have discretion over further access, as well as a duty to exclude information that could jeopardise safety. The council added that safety and wellbeing are paramount and that there is no place for racism or hate in Belfast.