“This neighbourhood has been abandoned. Nobody cares about this place, it’s been ruined.”
Mini supermarket owner Dev has operated his busy, colourful shop in the heart of Winson Green for 15 years. He’s seen the area evolve firsthand through the changing faces and stories of his customers and he’s worried for its future.
“It’s getting worse every day. Some customers are abusive, they shout at us, they are violent towards us and each other.
“I still have lots of lovely customers but I think a lot of the families have been scared away by all the drugs and the bad behaviour.”
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A new probe by BirminghamLive has highlighted the rising numbers of hostel style properties across Birmingham, with landlords and providers attracted to open more because of the high rents they can demand and an unregulated system.
Winson Green is among several neighbourhoods seeing the direct impact, with reduced numbers of family homes left between shared properties.
Our investigation found that a total of 120 of the 450 homes in three terraced streets in Winson Green – Markby, Preston and Willes roads – are now licensed HMOs, attracting city workers, students and other private tenants.
We also discovered that 37 additional homes here have been turned into ‘supported exempt’ properties, housing recently released ex prisoners, addicts and those in recovery, people with mental health issues and others with complex needs, brought into Birmingham from all over the country.
They are part of a network of a staggering 11,000 exempt properties, most opened in the last five years, that have turned Birmingham into a national hotspot for the sector.
Landlords who used to rent to families have instead spotted the chance to make more money by quickly dividing properties up into individual rooms and then placing in them people who qualify for ‘enhanced’ housing benefits.
They can get six times as much a month as a result, with providers demanding up to £400 a room per week – and getting it.
The explosion in the number of properties in the sector has been described as a ‘cash cow’ with mass exploitation by dodgy landlords, according to multiple official reports. West Midlands Police have described clear links between the exempt sector and organised crime and money laundering.
READ MORE: ‘Clear link’ between criminals and Birmingham’s supported housing scandal as police urged to act
And where properties are concentrated, usually in poorer neighbourhoods like Winson Green, the impact on community cohesion and safety are profound.
Javeed Iqbal lives with his wife and son, and his son’s wife and two children, in Markby Road, and says he is proud of the community, despite the challenges it faces.
“There are a lot of those HMO and supported properties now, some are well looked after and the landlords come out if there are problems and sort things out, others just bring trouble.
Javeed Iqbal, a resident and home owner in Markby Road, Winson Green, proud of his community but worried about changes(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
“There are a lot of problems further down, fighting and drugs, the police come out all the time, there are a lot of people with no jobs and nothing to do.
“It’s hard to believe now but it was a posh area at one time, families would fight to live here, but now it’s all Hmos.
“There have been a lot of changes. We did not have problems for a long time, we got on with the neighbours and looked out for each other.
“Some of the neighbours in HMOs are good, they behave, they are good people, and we can contact the landlords direct. The council hold a meeting every month and we can raise concerns and the landlords will try to help and sort out but it’s not easy, it’s a very different street now.”
But he said he still saw the good in the area. He has helped his son purchase another house on the street and they are currently doing it up.
He showed us inside, where builders and his son are currently adding an extension, with a garden makeover to come. “We can’t just abandon the area. This is an area for families, we need to keep it like that.”
Pregnant mum of two Kala was visiting her mother, who has lived in the street since 2022.
She said she felt it was unsafe due to the amount of drug dealing going on in the area, with little sign of police prevention activity.
Kala, a pregnant mum of two, spoke of the changing face of Markby Road in Winson Green(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
“There are dealers up and down the road, there are lots of people passing by, we worry for our children, we couldn’t let them out in the area alone.
“It is much better out in the countryside than in the city.
“I think the police and government care but they just don’t seem to have the resources. If there is fighting in the street, or some disorder, then the police will come and take them away.
“But 24 hours later the people are back again and so it continues. We need to be stricter with these people. If they misbehave or don’t have a job to do, then they should work for the community. We could do with the help tidying it up and making it better,” she said.
“My immediate neighbours are very good, they look out for each other and for my mum. But it’s not a safe place overall.
“One year ago there was a horrible murder, blood and fighting, it was very scary,” she said, referring to the tragic death of Irene Mbugua, 46, a single mother of four and a carer, who was found dead by police officers in the early hours of June 23 last year after a shocking incident at a Markby Road address. A murder trial opens later this month.
A young father of three, holding the hand of his smiling four year old, also lives on Markby Road. His wife is too scared to venture out of the house at night, and the prospect of letting his older kids play out in the street or go to the local shop on their own is ‘impossible to imagine’.
“It is not safe. There are drug deals happening openly, cars speeding up and down, and we don’t know who anyone is anymore.”
He’s keen to move, but says wherever he looks that he can afford to rent – he currently pays £950 a month – has the exact same problems.
Crime statistics for the area highlight the impact. While it is impossible to quantify how many are linked to exempt properties, West Midlands police have previously described strong connections between rising anti social behaviour, drug dealing and violence and the sector.
In Markby Road alone, there were 61 recorded crimes in 2025, at least one a week, including one murder. Over half were for violent or sexual offences, and most did not result in prosecution.
In neighbouring Preston and Willes roads, there were another 84 recorded crimes last year. Most were unsolved or did not result in prosecution.
Across Soho and Jewellery Quarter, the ward including Winson Green, there were more than 5,300 recorded crimes.
Carl Chinn, the city’s best known social historian, said the impact of the sudden explosion in supported exempt properties on traditional working class communities across the city had been profound. What was happening in Winson Green was being mirrored across the city, he said.
“The council and government allow landlords to dump on places like Winson Green for years before acting, in contrast to how they react to issues in better off areas. This would not have been allowed to go on so long in other areas. That’s in part because politicians know that working class people are less likely to vote and have less political, social and economic powers.”
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