Shared housing rules to be investigated to improve communities

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is investigating imposing what is known as an Article 4 Direction right across the Borough to control the number of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs).

If implemented, anyone wanting to turn a residential property into shared housing, or HMOs, would need permission from the borough council.

Coun Vanessa Renshaw said:

As Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Protection, my priority is to make sure vulnerable local residents come first. That includes homeless veterans, women and children fleeing domestic violence, and others who need safe accommodation, proper safeguards and the right wraparound support to help them rebuild their lives.
 

Supported accommodation can play an important role when it is delivered properly and by responsible providers. But there must be stronger oversight of housing standards, safeguarding, support provision and the wider impact on local neighbourhoods.
 

Residents deserve confidence that this type of accommodation is being run safely, responsibly and with the right protections in place for both those living there and the communities around them.” 

Without an Article 4 Directive, houses can have up to six unrelated people living there without planning permission.

The Article 4 directive can be applied to control the concentration of such properties in a specific area, or as is being investigated now, be applied on a borough-wide basis.

Too many HMOs in an area can place pressures on on-street parking and traffic, waste facilities, potentially increase noise and mean a reduction in the numbers of families living there.

Any planning application for conversion of a property to an HMO would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Planning and Town Centres, said:

For too long, laws made in Westminster have allowed family homes to be turned into small HMOs without planning permission, without proper local scrutiny, and without residents having a meaningful say.
 

We know what can happen when badly managed HMOs are allowed to spread unchecked: anti-social behaviour, pressure on local services, and streets losing the family character that made people want to live there in the first place.
 

Whilst the government has slowly begun to empty some asylum hotels, the reality is that too often the problem is simply being moved into communities through social housing, HMOs and Home Office contractor accommodation, with little or no community consent or consultation. I will not allow Newcastle-under-Lyme to be treated as a dumping ground.
 

A borough wide Article 4 Direction is a legal power we can use to take back control. This is about protecting residents, preserving the character of our neighbourhoods, and ensuring communities across Newcastle-under-Lyme have a real voice in decisions that affect them.”