Planned HMO limits too late for ‘decimated’ areas
Plans to curb the number of family homes being turned into shared houses are too late for some “decimated” wards, a Bath councillor has said.
In Triangle North, a row of terraces in Westmoreland once popular with first-time buyers, 24 of the 28 homes have been turned into houses in multiple occupation, or HMOS.
Ward councillor June Player estimates that in term time students in the street outnumber permanent residents by 20 to one, and said the last families to leave told her they “can’t stand it any more”.
Triangle North resident Bob Eames said: “It used to be first-time buyers here. It changed because the uni became so good and was attracting people from all over the world. Numbers have grown and grown.”
He praised the University of Bath for stepping in when parties get out of hand, but said students are all right if you get to know them and set out ground rules early.
“In general it’s not too bad at all,” he said. “We’ve been here 25 years and had four really bad years. There’s a lack of continuity. Some families couldn’t cope.”
Pauline Woods from neighbouring Triangle East had a different view on the student population.
“They don’t care about anything,” she said. “During lockdown they were in and out of each other’s houses and thought we didn’t see.
“It’s an absolute nightmare. In Triangle East we need residents’ parking for Triangle East residents.”
There are around 2,300 HMOS across Bath. Southdown’s Cllr Paul Crossley has previously said the city’s “Hmo-ification” attracts “more anger and frustration than any other” issue. The properties are also prevalent in Oldfield and Widcombe.
While HMOS are also a mainstay of young professionals, contract workers, immigrants and those on housing benefit, Cllr Player said in Westmoreland the vast majority are occupied by students.
“It’s not that people are anti-student – it’s any huge concentration. They’re driving around trying to find any parking space they can, the same as non-students.
“Come the holidays people say ‘Yippee, we have our parking spaces back,’ but the streets have a deserted feel to them.
“We’re over-packed in term time and empty in the holidays. It gives an air of neglect.”
The burgeoning reputation of Bath’s two universities has transformed the area, with huge benefits for some.
The bustling Moorland Road has adapted to cater for students, with a growing number of eateries, like Magu, a burger joint recently named among the top 30 in the UK.
A browse in the window of an estate agent shows four-bed HMOS regularly get rented out for upwards of £2,000 a month.
“It’s one of the most lucrative businesses going,” said Cllr Player.
Bath and North East Somerset
Council has previously withdrawn the permitted development right to convert Bath houses into small HMOS, with further controls saying no more than one in four houses in a 100-metre radius can be turned into an HMO.
New proposals going out to consultation would see that ratio increased to one in 10.
With HMOS in Westmoreland at saturation point, landlords, who Mr Eames said often have more than a dozen properties, are looking to expand the ones they have.
But despite the cap on the number of HMOS, Cllr Player said family homes are still being lost as they are turned into flats or rented out on platforms like Airbnb.
“We’re desperate for family homes,” she said. The current Mayor of Bath described the new 10 per cent rule as “excellent”, but added: “For a ward like Westmoreland we’ve been decimated by all of this.
“Nothing is retrospective. It’s too late for a ward like ours.”
Cllr Player was already active in the community when she first stood for election as an independent 10 years ago because there was no one else she wanted to vote for. She has formally adopted Oldfield Park’s railway station and has transformed its appearance.
“What really lets our area down is the state of the gardens and all the rubbish. Students are a transient population. They haven’t got a vested interest in the area.
“A lot more responsibility for the state of the properties should be on the landlords.”
The council is also cracking down to make sure the homes are safe to live in after a 2018 inspection uncovered “significant” health and safety risks in 31 per cent of HMOS – more than 900 properties.
The new proposals would require landlords to provide a good standard of accommodation, for measures like room size and noise reduction, as well as achieving an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C or above.
Cllr Tim Ball, the cabinet member for planning and licensing, said: “The private rental housing market in Bath is complex, and there is a diverse demand for flexible housing.
“HMOS are occupied by a wide range of groups, including young professionals, students, immigrants, asylum seekers, those on housing benefit and contract workers. They therefore have an important role to play in Bath’s economy.
“HMOS have traditionally been more concentrated in certain areas of the city, particularly in the wards of Oldfield, Westmoreland and Widcombe.
“By changing how we assess planning applications for HMOS we aim to encourage a sustainable community in Bath and the wider district, supporting a wide variety of households in all areas.”
Proposals in the supplementary planning document will go out for public consultation from August 27 to October 8. The council has said it will make a particular effort to engage with HMO occupiers and landlords/owners.
❝ What really lets our area down is the state of the gardens and all the rubbish. Students are a transient population. They haven’t got a vested interest in the area
Councillor June Player