Gloucester City Council moves to control HMOs

The council is considering options to control the number of HMOs, and tackle those that are poorly managed, including considering restrictions that will mean landlords need to apply for planning permission and a license to convert houses into HMOs irrespective of size. 

A HMO is a home where three or more people live from separate households and they share a kitchen or bathroom.

The council recognises HMOs play a role in providing affordable accommodation particularly for working professionals, students, low-income residents, and those in need of temporary housing.
But in some areas of the city the density of HMOs can lead to problems with anti-social behaviour and noise nuisances, increased litter and parking difficulties.

They also reduce the number of affordable houses available to families and contribute to the loss of a community as often people who live in them tend not to stay.  

Councillor Luke Shervey, Cabinet member for housing of Gloucester City council, said: “We know that HMOs serve a purpose and provide housing for many people who need that type of accommodation but it’s important to get the right balance. Too many in one area, especially when poorly managed or maintained, causes local residents lots of issues such as noise and litter. We know that introducing controls on HMOs can have a positive influence on restoring communities and our commitment to review these controls will start to highlight and address the wider impacts in our neighbourhoods.”

Councillor Sarah Sawyer, Cabinet member for Planning, said "Currently we have 400 licensed HMOs in Gloucester, but we estimate there are around 900 in total.  We can only control large HMOs under the current planning and licensing system, this project will involve collecting the evidence to hopefully enable us to install stricter controls on the number and quality of all HMOs in the City"