Overwhelming public support has been received by the Council in response to its first formal consultation on measures to better control the growth of Houses in Multiple Occupation in Bath.
Over 200 letters of support from local residents, mainly in the wards of Westmoreland, Oldfield Park and Widcombe have been received by the Council urging them to proceed with work to bring in additional controls over HMOs in the City by implementing the Article 4 Direction next year and to bring in new licencing requirements for small HMO properties.
Key concerns raised by local residents about the multiple occupancies included:
- Impact of large numbers of HMOs on mixed communities;
- Litter and waste management;
- Noise and anti-social behaviour;
- Unkempt gardens and properties in poor upkeep;
- On street parking pressures;
- Families being priced out by “buy to let” market.
Councillor Tim Ball (Lib-Dem, Twerton), Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, said, “The level of concern about the growth in HMO properties is very clear to see from the results of this consultation. Other University cities across the country, such as Exeter and Oxford, that face similar issues to Bath and they haveall agreed additional planning controls over HMO’s to ensure a fair mix of larger family homes and HMO’s. This initial consultation suggests local people want to see similar action here.”
“I would like to thank residents for responding and it is encouraging that residents have so far backed our proposals. There will be further opportunities to engage in the next steps in the process of Article 4 and HMO Licensing consultations.“
The Council intends to introduce planning restrictions which will see planning permission required for future changes of use from family houses into small HMOs across the City from 1st July 2013. It is also proposing that HMO landlords in areas with a large number of HMOs should be required to apply for a licence to help curb management and housing quality issues.
Public consultation on the detail of the additional HMO licencing scheme is due to be released in September 2012 for public consultation.
The detail of the planning controls is due to be considered by Cabinet in October and launched for public consultation in October.
A series of briefings and drop-in events open to the public on these HMO controls are planned for October 2012.
