City's bid to curb HMO shared housing numbers

Gloucester City Council said it is looking to curb the number of shared houses in the city.

The authority believed there were just under 500 Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) in the city, concentrated in small areas such as Barton and Tredworth and Kingsholm and Wotton.

The authority claimed high numbers of HMOs caused issues with rubbish collection, parking and weaken the sense of community in an area.

It was looking to apply to the government for additional powers to have greater control over the number of new shared homes appearing in the city.

Jeremy Hilton, the Liberal Democrat leader of Gloucester City Council, said problems were being created by the number of landlords buying properties.

“We’ve got family homes that have been bought up by absentee buy-to-let landlords who really don’t care much about what impact they have on the community, all they’re interested in is maximising their money,” he added.

“It’s getting to the point where certain streets are overcrowded, there’s issues with too many cars and it just changes the nature of the whole area.”

HMOs are defined as houses where three or more people from different families lived together.

Currently landlords only need licences for HMOs with more than five people, and planning permission for those with more than seven.

The authority is planning on applying to central government for an Article 4 Directive, which will require landlords in defined areas of the city to apply for licences and planning permission for homes with three or more tenants.

The change would also enable the council to restrict the number of HMOs to fewer than 10% per 100 metres (328ft).

Cheltenham Borough Council rolled out an Article 4 Directive in the St Paul’s area of the town in 2020.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services, Flo Clucas, said the measures made a real difference.

“Waste collection is a big issue for most families, and that happens much better now,” she added.

“You don’t have people now, students in particular, parking one after the other outside houses leaving no space for anyone else.

“And because of that the community is building, it’s coming together, it’s doing things, which is really great.”

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.