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ThisOliveBiscuit · 2025-08-23T17:30:41+00:00

We’ve bought a house and moved in 5 months ago , few months before we moved in a house next door went on the market and was sold to a property developer. Turns out that the area we moved to is being saturated with HMO housing which we didn’t know about before. So now house next door is being extended and turned into one of those . I feel literally sick to my stomach , can’t function, crying most of the time and don’t know what to do , we are unable to oppose this as this council has not implemented an article 4 which gives you a right to do so. Talking about it makes me feel sick as I’ve imagined this as our home at least for the next 10 years or more , was any of you in similar situation?

Skybluepinky · 23/08/2025 19:07

Have fun curtain twitching, stressing about nothing.

Hibernatingtilspring · 23/08/2025 19:07

@ThisOliveBiscuit I know, I was trying to understand why they OP was expecting it to be filled with vulnerable people with support needs rather than 'regular' renters.

Simonjt · 23/08/2025 19:05

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 19:02

@Hibernatingtilspring we don’t know , property developers are sneaky and not being honest , few doors down there’s an hmo they drink and smoke drugs outside , lots of cars parked up , bins overflowing, the men look rough …

If you don’t like HMOs, why did you choose to buy a property with one a few doors down?

ShesTheAlbatross · 23/08/2025 19:04

Crazycatladywithnocats · 23/08/2025 18:57

I would hate it too and would find it unsettling. My dream house would be in a street with established occupiers who get to know their neighbours. The tenants of an HMO I expect would come and go and not give a fig about the neighbourhood. Sorry if that’s a generalisation.

I’ve lived in two HMOs.

One had 9 people, at one point I was the only woman. A couple of the men (who were a couple) had lived in the house for a few years. We were very quiet. You’re right, we didn’t get to know the neighbours. But we really didn’t disturb them either.

The second one I was in was 4 women while I was there. We had more parties because we socialised as a group (which didn’t happen at all in the larger house) but we were very reasonable and we didn’t disturb the neighbours there either.

If someone moved out, we were always just as keen for the new person to be quiet and reasonable as any neighbour would be.

Everyone in both these houses were young professionals saving up to buy, or waiting to earn enough to rent somewhere of their own. We weren’t actively “neighbourly”, but we weren’t bad neighbours either.

Bambamhoohoo · 23/08/2025 19:02

Hibernatingtilspring · 23/08/2025 19:01

@Bambamhoohoo I might not be using the right terms, I used to work in Birmingham near a mental health hospital and it was notorious for small private companies setting themselves up as supported housing providers and renting rooms out for the enhanced rate, and paying a support worker for a couple of hours a week. They weren't really supported housing in any real sense of the term, more a way of exploiting a loophole.

That’s not a HMO. Supported housing can still qualify as supported even when it offers low levels of support.

Original poster

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 19:02

@Hibernatingtilspring we don’t know , property developers are sneaky and not being honest , few doors down there’s an hmo they drink and smoke drugs outside , lots of cars parked up , bins overflowing, the men look rough …

OP posts:

Hibernatingtilspring · 23/08/2025 19:01

@Bambamhoohoo I might not be using the right terms, I used to work in Birmingham near a mental health hospital and it was notorious for small private companies setting themselves up as supported housing providers and renting rooms out for the enhanced rate, and paying a support worker for a couple of hours a week. They weren't really supported housing in any real sense of the term, more a way of exploiting a loophole.

myrtleWilson · 23/08/2025 19:01

Facebook pages are never the bastion of truth, so if this is genuine, I'd ease off on the facebooking

FrippEnos · 23/08/2025 19:01

I have lived in several HMOs and next to/near several.
Only two were ever an issue, One was all male, the other all female and it was students. (friends made in the first year of studying and living together)
However, the estate agents and the university took reports of poor behaviour very seriously.

xSideshowAuntSallyXx · 23/08/2025 19:01

Shitpeas · 23/08/2025 18:59

Honestly stay off facebook local groups, they're toxic places full of moaners, gossipers, curtain twitchers and racists. Or is that judt mine?!

No mine is the same. Although they helped me find my cat and helped with my heating issue so sometimes it's okay.

IThinkPink · 23/08/2025 19:00

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 18:46

@Shitpeas worried about the type of people who would be living there which could be anyone : from ex convicts etc

I’d rather have ‘ex convicts’ than students tbh!

judgey! They are just people

Shitpeas · 23/08/2025 18:59

Honestly stay off facebook local groups, they're toxic places full of moaners, gossipers, curtain twitchers and racists. Or is that judt mine?!

Bambamhoohoo · 23/08/2025 18:59

Crazycatladywithnocats · 23/08/2025 18:57

I would hate it too and would find it unsettling. My dream house would be in a street with established occupiers who get to know their neighbours. The tenants of an HMO I expect would come and go and not give a fig about the neighbourhood. Sorry if that’s a generalisation.

Probably the same can be said for many renters?

Bambamhoohoo · 23/08/2025 18:59

Hibernatingtilspring · 23/08/2025 18:57

Is it a HMO or is it HMO supported housing?
The former are where most single people live now. Entirely normal.
Supported housing can be dodgy if the LLs are entitled to claim extra housing benefit by virtue of providing very minimal support to vulnerable people. They are less common now though as I think rules have been changed due to how exploitative they were.

I’m on the board of a supported housing provider and I’m not sure how the 2 can be described in the same sentence. Supported housing is a type of housing tenure, not related to a HMO.

pinksheetss · 23/08/2025 18:58

You’re over reacting and being judgemental before even knowing the whole situation.
there’s not a whole lot you can do, so it’s best not to get so worked up until the full situation happens

Crazycatladywithnocats · 23/08/2025 18:57

I would hate it too and would find it unsettling. My dream house would be in a street with established occupiers who get to know their neighbours. The tenants of an HMO I expect would come and go and not give a fig about the neighbourhood. Sorry if that’s a generalisation.

Bambamhoohoo · 23/08/2025 18:57

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 18:46

@Shitpeas worried about the type of people who would be living there which could be anyone : from ex convicts etc

Why would they be?
and why would they be men?

theyre just renters OP! Renters who can’t afford a full property of their own

Hibernatingtilspring · 23/08/2025 18:57

Is it a HMO or is it HMO supported housing?
The former are where most single people live now. Entirely normal.
Supported housing can be dodgy if the LLs are entitled to claim extra housing benefit by virtue of providing very minimal support to vulnerable people. They are less common now though as I think rules have been changed due to how exploitative they were.

Bambamhoohoo · 23/08/2025 18:56

People are up in arms in my local Facebook groups too about this but I don’t get it. Houses rented out to multiple people aren’t new, they’re just better legislated now so have to be registered.

what are you worried about?

dintyn · 23/08/2025 18:56

We lived next to a hmo, all male, it was fine. They had the occasional toke or drink outside but didn't affect us at all.

Original poster

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 18:55

@tripleginandtonic we moved in 5 months ago , kids are in schools etc , we are considering moving but that would involve new schools and jobs

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Original poster

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 18:54

@Shitpeas i understand that , generally a quite area , families . When you have 6 or 7 men living under one roof is more possibilities for that to happen , I’ve read too many stories on our local group that why we are worried

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tripleginandtonic · 23/08/2025 18:49

It's not normal to be crying over it. Worse case scenario is you sell yours to become an HMO and move elsewhere.

Shitpeas · 23/08/2025 18:49

But that could be true of any of your neighbours: HMO, regular rental or even owned!

Original poster

ThisOliveBiscuit · 23/08/2025 18:49

@Silverbirchleaf dont mind if it’s students , young professionals but the stories I read on our local group are not fun and it looks like a lot of hoses in this town are being purposely sold and converted into hmo

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