HMO numbers deemed too low to justify tougher rules, according to Welsh council

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

The number of HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) across a Welsh local authority is too low to justify a crackdown on new applications, councillors have heard.

HMOs are typically properties for single, unrelated adults who have their own private bedrooms but share other communal areas.

Caephilly Cllr Janine Reed said HMO applications “frequently attract significant public objection and concern” but are “rarely if ever refused”, to the dismay of those who complained.

The Ynysddu ward independent councillor said HMOs provide “more transient” accommodation with higher tenant turnover, which could lead to “challenges for long-term community integration” and cohesion.

“The issue is not whether HMOs should exist, but whether communities, councillors and local authorities have the tools, information and powers necessary to manage their cumulative impact fairly, transparently and in a manner that commands public confidence,” she told the council’s housing committee.

Cllr Reed’s call for change was supported by six other independents and ten Plaid Cymru councillors.

But senior planning officer Carwyn Powell told a committee meeting, on Tuesday October 27, that the council already has the powers to impose tougher rules on HMOs – as long as it could provide a “reasoned planning justification”.

Amid questions over the number of such properties in the county borough, he said Welsh rules requiring separate planning permission for smaller HMOs – for between three and six residents – had only been introduced in 2016.

Larger HMOs for seven or more residents had always required different planning permission from a regular household, he added.

Mr Powell said officers had analysed planning, housing and council tax records to gain an accurate understanding, and found there were “approximately” 145 HMOs overall in the county borough.

The Welsh Government’s own forecast is 160 HMOs, but the officer said that even with the higher figure that would fall far short of a ‘reasoned planning justification’ for tightening the rules.

“That is a figure of 1.7 HMOs per 1,000 properties, or 0.2%” he said. “That is an incredibly low figure.”

Mr Powell said Welsh rules on HMO overconcentration stated 10% is the threshold at which issues “may” arise.

“If we are nowhere near 10% it’s difficult for us as a planning authority to argue there is an issue,” he told the committee.

On concerns about community integration, housing manager Rhian Lloyd-Evans said the council can carry out the same inspections at HMOs as at any other private rental properties, to make sure landlords are meeting national standards.

She said there was “very little” in the way of “actual complaints about individual HMOs”.

Mr Powell agreed, telling the committee “we receive very few – I would suggest no – complaints in respect of HMOs” after planning permission is granted.

Cllr Carl Cuss, who recently backed a survey of HMOs in part of his ward covering Rhymney, said he supported a review of the rules and also suggested increasing licence fees for HMO landlords.

“They are already targeting deprived communities, like in my ward, [and] purchase cheaper properties to get the maximum benefit,” he claimed.

“I think it would help everyone if they were open and transparent about what they want to do in these HMOs, and who is going to be there.

“We have all sorts of claims online – prison leavers, asylum seekers – and most of the time it’s not true, but it would help us as councillors and officers to know what we are voting on.”

Others urged caution, including Cllr Shane Williams, who warned against “hysteria” around HMOs and said applications could generate “a lot of misinformation”.

Cllr Dawn Ingram-Jones said she works regularly with people at risk of homelessness, and HMOs could help single adults find a home.

“I do feel they are needed within the borough,” she said. “There’s not enough for single people.”

But Cllr Bob Owen told the meeting HMOs were “not the answer” to local housing problems.

Following a majority vote, the committee agreed to escalate Cllr Reed’s notice of motion to the full council meeting scheduled for mid-November.