Salford outlines HMO control measures
The number of houses in multiple occupation in any given part of the city will be limited under proposals approved last week.
Salford City Council has drafted a supplementary planning document aimed at managing the proportion of HMOs in a given area in a bid to address some of the issues an overconcentration of HMOs can present.
According to a report to Salford City Council’s planning and sustainable development committee, these issues include:
- Anti-social behaviour, noise and nuisance
- Imbalanced and unsustainable communities, with higher levels of transience and less sustainable local services
- Pressures upon parking provision
- Increased levels of crime in the local area
- Growth in the private rented sector at the expense of owner-occupation.
The SPD provides a threshold to guide the location of HMOs and states that no more than 10% of the residential properties in any 100-metre radius should be HMOs.
An HMO is a property occupied by unrelated individuals who share amenities such as kitchens and bathrooms.
Planning permission is required for HMOs for seven or more people. Smaller HMOs can be created through the conversion of houses under permitted development rights.
These rights can be removed if a council issues an Article 4 Direction – a legal tool that gives councils the ability to remove particular development rights.
In the case of HMOs, this means property owners must apply for planning permission for smaller HMOs as well as larger ones.
In Salford, there are Article 4 Direction in operation in the majority of wards.
And about time too. I think the seven or more people is too high. have any numbers been published as to the total number of HMO’s in Salford – i.e. two people/families and above,
By Bob Robinson
The reason we have HMOs is because we don’t have enough homes for people who want to live in the city. The reason we don’t have enough homes is because the council has prioritised low density suburban sprawl over high density development. The council’s solution to this is to limit HMOs. Can’t wait for the spiralling rents emanating from this policy
By Anonymous
Good news as HMOs have negative impact and take up much needed family housing
By GetItBuilt!
Well done Salford in tackling this blight and trying hard to create more pleasant sustainable communities
By Tim
Great news. Thank you to to the Salford Mayor and Councillors for leading the way in this much needed legislation. I hope the HMO team will be given the much needed resources to carry out the work to back this up.
By Carolyn Bilsborough
Will the university halls be exempt?
By Gum
Seems to be a general lack of understanding from the comments here. Demand for HMOs in places like Salford is driven very much by the current government’s deliberately vindictive benefits rules. A single person aged under 35 will likely only be entitled to the “shared accommodation rate” of Local Housing Allowance which which is supposed to pay for one room with shared facilities – max £75.50 per week instead of £138.08 for a 1 bed – so they will probably have no choice than to look for an HMO if they can’t arrange their own houseshare.
Salford and other councils have a difficult task dealing with genuine housing need and preventing homelessness somewhere rents are rising generally, while managing the issues HMOs can generate for the neighbours
By Angel Doleite
Thanks for Angel’s comment, genuinely insightful
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