Managing HMO’s

Bath’s MP, Wera Hobhouse, has called for stronger measures to tackle the growing pressures caused by the increasing number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in our city.

Speaking in Parliament, Mrs Hobhouse highlighted that, as a university city, Bath has seen a significant rise in HMOs – mainly driven by the growth in student numbers.

She warned that this trend is putting strain on local communities, with residents reporting growing problems with parking, noise, and waste collection.

Meanwhile, many family homes are being bought up and converted by developers  “to squeeze more profit from single dwellings”, reducing the supply of affordable housing for local families.

Mrs Hobhouse welcomed B&NES Council’s work to manage the impact of HMOs, including the existing 10% cap on conversions in certain areas and measures to prevent families from being “sandwiched” between two HMOs.

However, she cautioned that Bath continues to lose too many family homes and that the shortage of affordable two and three-bedroom properties is particularly severe in the city centre.

The Bath MP urged local residents to take part in the Council’s ongoing consultation on a proposed new policy to prevent the conversion of three-bedroom family homes into HMOs, and praised the Council’s ambition to build 1,000 new social homes for rent to help ease the housing crisis.

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said:

“Students are a vital part of what makes Bath such a special and lively city, but we need to get the balance right. We must ensure that Bath remains a welcoming place for students while also protecting family homes and supporting the local residents who make up the heart of our communities.

“We need a planning system that helps reverse the loss of family homes from the market. HMOs are not the only cause of the housing crisis, but they are part of it, and the Government must give councils the tools they need to manage this.”

NB. I have added the consultation link!! https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/local-plan