HMO

[ThisOliveBiscuit]

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?

And she is perfectly entitled to feel sad/concerned about it. I HAVE lived next door to this and it was a nightmare. There is an issue with groups of men being housed together and the behaviours that ensue. I am sick and tired of being branded racist for stating a reality, a fact - and I can say this with experience.

I have a young family, with young daughters - I would want to know who's living in my street, especially next door. Wouldn't you?

You are either a saint or a liar if you state you would have no concern - it is very easy to be virtue signalling on an internet forum because that's considered the ethical thing to do. Instead of seeing the situation for what it is.

@Sparklybutold thank you 🙏 I’m not racist , just want to live a quiet normal life

😂😂 on the nose.

But you don’t know everything about your neighbours. If you’ve assumed that a group of men are an automatic risk because they’re brown skinned then yes, that does make racist. If what you’re saying is that any group of men living on your street make you anxious for your child then that’s not racist. A bit nuts, but not racist.

I have a semi detached house with an HMO next door. One of them came over and asked me to be a little quieter on the stairs! Actually they are normally a delight.

One good thing is the many regulations regarding HMOs mean their fire regs are very tight and unlikely to burn your house down.

Exactly.

You are absolutely right, all men can be a threat. However men from parts of the world that disregard the rights of women so badly and then do whatever they can to get here, bypassing all legal steps - yes, I don't want them living anywhere near me.

Now women and children from these same parts - by all means! Come and get all the support they can get.

However, there is a possibility it may be students/professionals etc (although students can bring there own issues) - I'm thinking of Clifton or the redlands in bristol where a lot of families are moving out because its become saturated with students.

@ThisOliveBiscuitdid you say the council has stopped article 4 so HMOs can be pushed through? So stopping opposition? If so - this lack of transparency would concern me.

Your concerns are valid op.
There is a HMO near my property, sadly not filled with professionals or students and we have had to have the police, councillors and the management company involved on many occasions.

If moving isn't possible, liaise with your other neighbours and ensure everything is reported to all 3 agencies every time.
Get CCTV so you have evidence.

If the management company are failing to act and control the property it is possible to get it shut down... But it is a long process and you need evidence proving their inability to respond to issues.
It's a long process, but it is possible. Document everything and work with your other neighbours.
Good luck

I understand why this topic stirs strong reactions, but I think it’s unfair and unhelpful to label someone as racist simply for expressing concern about safeguarding and cultural attitudes toward women.

My position—and I believe the OP’s too—isn’t about race or ethnicity. It’s about values and behaviours that can pose real risks to women and girls, especially when individuals come from environments where misogyny is deeply entrenched and even institutionalised. In some countries, women are denied education, healthcare, and basic autonomy. That’s not a stereotype—it’s a documented reality.

Wanting to ensure that people entering our communities share and respect the rights we’ve fought hard to protect isn’t racist. It’s responsible. It’s about safeguarding—not scapegoating.

We should be able to talk about these issues without being shut down by accusations. If we can’t raise concerns about integration, vetting, and the protection of vulnerable groups, then we’re failing the very people we claim to support.

@Sparklybutold but the OP has not articulated any of those postions. She is crying constantly and not functioning about tenants that haven't moved into the HMO and describes other apparent tenants as 'looking rough'. There is nothing like the intellectual framework that may underpin your posts. Its all nudge nudge, wink wink.

She just hasn't been transparent. It's all inference and hints.

I know a fair few property developers who own HMOs. By and large they prefer renting to young (well any age!) professionals who don’t earn enough to rent alone / want to save to buy, because they tend to be far less trouble than the alternative (look after the property so less money on repairs, likely to pay slightly more per room, take better care of the property).

I do get anxious around men sometimes—especially when they exhibit behaviours that feel threatening or inappropriate. I’ve experienced things like men loitering near schools and parks, or watching young girls from windows. One of those incidents happened to me, and it’s stayed with me.

So when I hear that thousands of men are arriving in the UK without proper vetting, I think it’s entirely reasonable to feel uneasy—especially when some are coming from regions where women are routinely denied basic rights, and where misogyny is deeply embedded in the culture. It’s not about assuming every individual holds those views, but it’s unrealistic to expect deeply ingrained attitudes to disappear the moment someone arrives here.

Let’s be honest—when a new neighbour moves in, most people take notice. If it’s a group of men, and you later learn they’re from countries with poor records on women’s rights, it’s natural to feel concerned. That doesn’t make someone racist—it makes them cautious, especially if they’ve had past experiences that heighten that anxiety.

What I find most frustrating is that councils—who we pay through our taxes—can remove our right to object or even raise concerns. That feels deeply unfair. We should be able to talk about safeguarding without being shut down or labelled.

Let’s be honest—when a new neighbour moves in, most people take notice. If it’s a group of men, and you later learn they’re from countries with poor records on women’s rights, it’s natural to feel concerned.

@Sparklybutold if they're moving to the UK, they're not moving to a country with a particularly stellar record on women's rights are they?

Whats wrong with calling a spade a spade - we have all called someone ‘looking rough’ or something similar, our brains are pretty lazy and need to make cognitive shortcuts to survive. So someone who looks rough (pretty sure she also stated drugs were an issue with police coming out) would make anyone feel uneasy - it literally serves as a red flag to signal something is wrong.

So we have another HMO coming to her street with her right to object taken away - yeah, I get why she's concerned.

As I've said previously, she has reasons why she's doing this. She already has a HMO with a crap reputation on her street, and now another. And she cant object to it.

I agree - the UK has a long way to go. But I'd much rather be a woman here, than in Afghanistan.

I'd also like to add, I get why she didn't want to articulate her actual concerns, because as soon as I laid it out - that was it. I'm a racist. OP is a racist. End of.

We have had a few HMO properties in the area over the last couple of years.
They have been a fucking nightmare.
alcoholics
Drug users
mental health problems.
it’s been truly shit.
i hope you have better look op

I suspect that if I hadn't mentioned whether the OP was talking about asylum seekers she'd have gone on skirting round the edges.

Definitely would cry if next door became a student HMO, my best friend has had ENDLESS issues with the HMO next door, rammed with students who have no clue how to behave, think late night parties, loud music, rolling in at 3am and making a racket outside in the process... then as exams roll round demanding TOTAL SILENCE from their neighbours.

Complaining to student services and student security achieves fuck all, a knock on the door to shut up which half the time they don't even hear they're being so loud. Police do nothing, its not their remit...

She's finally moved.

However an HMO full of quiet professionals is probably nicer and quieter than a family with small children.

An HMO full of rowdy drug users/drunken arseholes, the police will actually deal with (not super effectively, but more effectively than with students who know they will only be living there short term so do not care, and have faith that Mummy and Daddy will pay up to fix any issues, pay fines etc).

I am curious though OP, your reaction comes across as extreme ‘cant function, crying most of the time’ - now that we've made it clear about the type of people you are ‘scared/worried/anxious’ about - why the extremeness? Do you struggle with anxiety? Maybe even PTSD?

I've just had a look and in my average northern town, the cheapest HMO property is nearly £600 per room per month.
If those are the prices of HMOs, I doubt many addicts and recent convicts are going to be affording them. It's just housing, for regular people.

HMOs providing exempt (supported) accommodation are still HMOs and don’t need any planning permission for change of use. They have a deserved poor reputation because some developers have moved into providing exempt accommodation because of the higher level of housing benefit they can get for each tenant + much lower security of tenure for tenants, while not providing the level of support that the tenants need.

There are other HMOs which are just house shares.

I’ve lived next door to both sorts, including a student house share which has not been a problem and a HMO providing exempt accommodation which was a nightmare for both us and its tenants.

The poster doesn’t yet know which sort the house next door to her is going to be, so her worry is understandable.

I take it you went straight from your parents' house to marriage without living in student or other shared accommodation. An HMO is only what used to be called a 'shared house' or flatshare. Most of us have lived in them at some time another though you seem to have lead a very sheltered life and have missed out on this stage in life

And yes, you're a racist. Do the rest of your family know how you feel?