To accept a huge loss on my house

Unfortunately you no longer need planning permission. Just a licence (which Rachel Reeves didn’t get). To prove you have insurance, electrics certificate, carbon monoxide monitors and a few other bits. They have eased these rules in many councils to make it easier and there won’t be any opportunities to object as there is no planning requirement. All engineered to ease the burden for the councils as they have nowhere to house people. All engineered by the government.

If I were you I would get in touch with your local Council and ask many housing Associations in your area as possible and see if they would be interested in buying it. They get their new grants in April and tend to buy some private properties to add to their portfolio’s for people on the housing list. We once sold a beautiful self build to via the Council to a housing Associations and it was such an easy sale as we had no estate agency fees and minimal solicitors fees due to using who they recommended. 🤞 good luck.

There are companies that provide accommodation for immigrants (boat people), paid for by the government. Would the one that covers your area be interested in buying your house?

This is why I'd ban landlords.

Yeah definitely. Google local MP, they normally have regular surgeries where you can go along and speak with them or it will tell you how you can contact them

Can you contact your local member of parliament and ask for a meet up. They are usually quite happy to get involved especially in a case like this.

Did he get planning permission?. How come you didn't know.

More likely not professionals being housed there

This is going to happen all over the country as has been widely reported in the press. The guy has a licence so too late to fight this. I can not believe so many of you asking; what is wrong with that. Asylum hotels will close, HMO’s are the “solution” and it is huge business for the likes of Serco who offer a guaranteed above market rental yield to landlords for 5 years with all repairs paid for. Your only option is selling to one of these companies. I really feel for you.

Heres what AI says: There are laws and planning controls relevant to HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation), but the drop in neighbouring property value itself is not something you can claim compensation for. What can be done depends on whether the HMO is lawful and compliant.

1. Planning use class
2. A standard family home (Use Class C3) can be converted into a small HMO (Use Class C4) for up to 6 occupants sharing basic facilities without planning permission under permitted development rights.
3. A large HMO (7 or more occupants) always needs full planning permission.
4. Some councils have made an Article 4 Direction, removing permitted development rights. In those areas, even small HMOs require planning permission.
5. Licensing
6. Any HMO with 5 or more occupants forming more than one household must be licensed by the local council under the Housing Act 2004.
7. Councils can also run additional licensing schemes for smaller HMOs.
8. Environmental and nuisance laws
9. Noise, rubbish, parking congestion, or antisocial behaviour can be dealt with under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, or local environmental health powers.
10. What to do
11. Check if the property has HMO planning permission or a licence via the council’s planning portal or housing department.
12. If not, you can report it as a suspected unlicensed or unauthorised HMO.
13. If it is licensed, you can still submit evidence of nuisance or over-occupation breaches. Councils can revoke or refuse renewal of licences.
14. Property value
15. There is no statutory remedy for loss of value. However, if the HMO breaches planning rules or licence conditions, enforcement action (up to prosecution or closure) could restore lawful use, indirectly improving market value.

The problem is that regardless how good the residents of the HMO are, HMO has such a bad press as do HMO landlords. That is why it has devalued the OPs house. HMO tends to be associated with slum landlords, student accommodation, migrants, those on benefits - and generally get a bad press.

Really….? You need to ask….

Can you complain to council about this?

Irrelevant comment, though. The point at question is simply that some (quite a lot of) people DO THIS, so needing a mortgage is not an obstacle which would rule him/her out as a buyer.

I've not read the full thread so forgive if I'm going over old ground, I'm just worried for you that if you rattle too many cages, you might find it even more difficult to sell, ie disputes have to be declared when selling?

I sank about 40K+ into a previous property & it took me years to sell - no disputes, just no offers.. eventually someone offered me 10K more than I'd bought it for years before, I thought seriously about it & accepted, just to move to where I needed to be. Obviously I couldn't then buy the type of property I'd imagined, but did move & am happy & settled. Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

You have a cast iron case. Complain to your local councillor & also make an appointment with CAB.
Register a complaint with local council either by letter or email and keep a diary.
Also consider Environmental Health for any nuisance - noise rubbish etc

Did the council circulate the neighbours before granting permission for change of use? He may say he has a licence but has he? And was this granted without giving neighbours a chance to register their objections. Once one house is made an HMO in a small restricted location it has a massive effect both on the neighbours peaceful occupation of their properties and the value Many councils are very aware of the suitability or otherwise of a particular location University towns such as the one I live in have become very concerned about over supply of HMOs in some areas.

For me, I would need specific figures to have an accurate opinion. It’s not clear to me, what the £100k loss consists of and whether it’s less than what you bought it for or just less than what you anticipated your renovations to be valued at.

It could be the case that you made home improvements that aren’t necessarily popular for example.

Yeah, the HMO is a downside to the average person. However even the HMO suggests there’s demand where you live, even if it’s to landlords wanting to buy to let. So maybe you need to pivot and make it seem like a decent yield rental as opposed to a family home.

HMOs are only really good for landlords. I share with 5 others.
We get minimal heating. The promises of a weekly cleaner never happens. The same with general maintenance including the outside areas.
We now have an alcoholic living in the house who keeps smoking in his room and despite the constant complaints the landlord is refusing to do anything.
So I do understand why a family may be reluctant to live near one as the management can be shocking.
The house was a 3 bedroom home. But having squeezed 6 bedrooms in now the landlord is receiving approximately £3000 in rent a month so he isn't doing to bad from it.
I asked for a council house /flat but got told no.

Report back to the council that it doesn't have planning permission. Sounds like they've brokem their own rules by giving a permit without pp? (It's worth a shot!).
My house has a covenant in it; one house per plot, one family per house. Check the covenants on yours to see if you have similar.

Fair enough. I've lived in 3 HMOs and we were nothing but polite and relatively quiet! But we did have 3 cars!!

HMO's are the new lodging houses and are very lucrative money makers for landlords.Serco run them in the North for the government to house unemployed people and Asylum Seekers.

There has been an absolute outcry from neighbours complaining about rubbish dumped ,noise and inappropriate behaviour.

I think rented separate room facilities for flats and houses are fast becoming a thing from the past due to high rents and shortages.

And HMO's are championed by the government as a solution

I would have thought that if rooms are being split up. They could be over crowded.

I certainly would not want to live next door to one. But there again even home owners can get bad neighbours when someone new buys their house next door.

House buyers can come from all walks of life and are not allowed perfect people.

Didn't know this is a thing. Surely the majority of housing in Britain is shared houses?