More councils ready to control HMO houses for students

Student landlords serving two more leading universities are about to come under special planning restrictions. Councillors in Reading and Bath are both readying to restrict the numbers of new shared houses with article 4 directions requiring property investors to apply for planning permission before they rent out a new house in multiple occupation (HMO). The rules apply to small HMOs - typically let to between three and five students. Nearly 50 councils in England and Wales are controlling HMOs with article 4 directions or are planning to bring them in. Reading Council, Berkshire, is introducing the direction to three neighbourhoods - Katesgrove, Park and Redlands. More than one in four (26%) of Reading’s housing are buy to lets, while an estimated 3,500 properties providing bedsit or shared homes for about 18,000 tenants across the town. Councillors will meet later this month to vote on the proposal - if the move wins support planning rules for new shared homes will start from May 16, 2013. Reading Council’s Lead Councillor for Regeneration and Planning, Tony Page, said: “This measure is long overdue in Reading and the Council has always been committed to ensuring that HMOs do not negatively impact local communities and that the properties are of a high standard.” In Bath, councillors want article 4 planning controls limiting shared homes to areas where less than 1 in 4 homes are already houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) More details about the scheme will be released at a public meeting of Bath & North East Somerset Council's Cabinet on October 10. The council has hinted that strong public support in neighbourhoods with high numbers of HMO spurred the decision. The council wants to make landlords apply for planning permission before opening new HMOs with between three and five tenants if the home is in a neighbourhood where 25% or more of the housing stock are already HMOs. If the new shared house is in an area with a less than 25% density of HMOs, permission will be granted subject to other planning considerations. The council intends to map HMO locations from licensing records - and to update the map every six months. The proposals cover Oldfield Park, Westmoreland and Widcombe Wards districts and smaller areas in Lower Weston and London Road. Councillor Tim Ball (Lib-Dem, Twerton), Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, said, "The issue of HMOs is clearly one that local people feel strongly about judging by the results of the recent consultation.” If the cabinet approves the HMO proposals, the new approach will be launched for public consultation on October 18, with a planned introduction from July 1, 2013.

Landlord blog

Sam Dickinson

Further reading

Student visa applications plummeted by 14% in 2024

Oxford University reaches highest ranking in World Reputation since 2015

Unite Students sees robust rent growth and high occupancy levels