HMO Next Door - Advice Please

[Helga55]

Just that really, have found out that the builder who bought next door (semi-detached) and has spent 12 months ‘renovating’ it to be a family home, well that’s what he told us… is going to be a HMO.

I’m dreading it tbh, he spun us a tale about it being a family home with creating en-suites for each bedroom, creating more space with a loft conversion, and all along his plan was to fill it with as many people as possible. He’s certainly not going to care about who they are, their lifestyles. I’m worried as we have young children here, there’s vulnerable elderly neighbours close by who will worried about numerous comings and goings, we’re On a main road and it just adds to traffic issues we already have. Our walls are paper thin as it is, we can hear conversations and general noise anyway and with more people next door, it’s going to be even worse especially with bedrooms on three floors

What im absolutely pissed off about more than anything was his blatant lies to our faces about it being sold as a family home so we wouldn’t oppose his loft conversersion, which btw he managed to knock through into our loft as well as removing our roof tiles for longer than we had allowed him permission for. If we’d had known this was his plan, we would have opposed it immediately, and now can’t do anything about it. This loft conversion overlooks our garden, and I hate to think that our privacy is potentially at risk depending on who ends up there

We’ve been understanding with the noise, mess, etc, thinking it will eventually be a lovely home for a family, it was a house that just needed some love putting back into it. It’s just not big enough to be an HMO, the only communal area is a small kitchen, there’s no sofa at all in the house! No front room, the bedrooms can only just fit a double bed and a small wardrobe in them, how do I know you ask.. the twat has posted it on the local FB page with pictures, so I assume he’s doing this off his own back and not using an EA to deal with it

I will be contacting the council Monday morning as there is no licence granted so far that I can see for the property, but apart from this, is there anything else I can do to oppose it?

You can ask other neighbours to join in making objections and try to get the HMO licence blocked. Good luck.

Understanding Grounds for Objecting to an HMO: A Comprehensive Guide - Approved Planning

You can also check whether planning permission is needed to convert it to a hmo. Some places require planning permission as well as a licence x

Your children will probably live in an HMO when they fly the nest... who do you think these people are?

Rally the neighbours asap... and read up on correct process for objections
I'd consider contacting your local MP etc

I would throw a lot of energy into making life as hard for that man as possible.

I would HATE to be living next to a HMO.

Good luck.

The house next door to us was rented out bedroom by bedroom (4 bedrooms). It was actually fine in terms of noise and considerate neighbours.

Edited to add that the fact that the landlord lied to you is bad.

Plenty of normal single professionals live in HMOs OP. He’s not turned it into a halfway house.

Well yes, make sure it's legal & conforms to planning rules etc but we have 3 in my road and the tenants are all very quiet and respectful with the front gardens tidy.

its not such a big deal. We have HMOS all around us and it’s absolutely fine. It’s just people living in a house.

Does he actually have a license for HMO and going to be the landlord or is he just hoing to sell it to a landlord?
Our current home is also built with en-suites everywhere and the builder was hoping to sell at higher price point to a landlord but got no takers.

You can object to the hmo. But it may be fine, a house next to us is actually registered as one as the family who own it use it for their adult child to live with 2 friends as lodgers. In practice it’s no different to any other neighbours.

We once purchased a house that had previously been an HMO and viewed it whilst it still was. Several of the residents were obviously young professionals and their rooms were kept immaculately, but two (who we later found out from the neighbours were unemployed/on benefits and frequently smoked weed/held noisy late night gatherings in the garden) were living in absolute squalor. The landlord didn't clean the place before completion and we - plus our young DS - moved into a house that was beyond filthy on the ground floor. The neighbours were delighted a family had finally moved in after decades of transient residents.

Where we live now many of the properties are airbnbs as it's a seaside location and lots of the largest houses are HMOs. One couple opposite us discovered they could make more money letting their detached grade 2 listed, conservation area cottage to the council to house troubled kids and their army of carers. Just one kid at a time (current one is male, approximately 12 years old), but blimey, can they wreak havoc in the road!

Before we bought our house in 2024 we've heard there was one particular kid who went on the rampage, randomly smashing windows of cars/cottages before being caught. This summer DH witnessed a different (female, 16?) resident push past her 'minders', run out into the street and key one of their cars with a fork. Another, previously, could be heard banging walls and screaming throughout the night. I later saw the owner removing broken mirrors and furniture. No planning permission was sought - or required, it seems - for change of use.

I understand your concerns @Helga55 and agree the landlord was a sod to lie about his intentions for the property, but think I'd prefer an HMO to what we have, tbh!

There’s one two doors down from me and it’s fine. They turned the living room
and dining room into bedrooms, plus there’s also one in loft conversion. It now has, I think, seven bedrooms, each with an en-suite. A large living/kitchen. It has council permission. Occupied by young professionals, who are fine. Obviously, the developers shouldn’t have lied to you and you must see if they have permission and a licence, but in itself an HMO is fine. Most houses near me are house shares anyway and an HMO isn’t much different. If anything, it’s likely to be quieter as the occupants won’t know each other.

HMOs don’t have to have living rooms. A large kitchen/diner will do
Or
If a local area is short on housing councils will allow just a kitchen to share

HMOs are just houses with more occupants than usual not always dens of iniquity and people need a home

When it was obvious that a house opposite was submitting planning permission for conversion to an HMO I recruited 4 other sets of neighbours to object. We had several sessions where we generated ideas to object and put in the same set of arguments - each in our own words.Permission was refused and the owner tried again a year later but we again objected. It was subsequently sold as a family house.

In my experience living next to a student HMO it was awful and we moved. This was due to the landlord really as he didn't care about the noise or disruption that happened all night, every night.

In part it was because the small house was divided up too much and built cheaply.

I tried a petition and involving my MP and nothing worked.

There’s a big difference between a normal home being rented to 3 or 4 professionals and an HMO in
my opinion. I understand your concern OP but am not sure what you can do now, first port of call will be the council. The problem is I think the government and council want/need HMOs as there isn’t enough housing.

I think it’s very sad that it’s come to this, living with people you don’t know with a small kitchen/ living area 🙁

People have been living with strangers for decades
As a student and graduate I rented a room in houses with strangers for about ten years
I met most of my best friends that way
Its how house rentals work

Thank you all for your replies, I always get nervous posting on here in case I get my arse handed to me 😂 I’m not an arsehole (honest) and we’ve, imo, been quite generous with regards to the noise, mess etc as we honestly thought it was going to be turned into a lovely family home. These properties were built in the 50’s, and have had nothing done to them since, we’ve carried out extensive works, rewriting, plumbing etc etc so we knew what next door needed and therefore took him at his word that he was effectively re-building it from the inside out so a family of 4/5 people could move in, have space, a nice front & rear space, but of course that was all bollocks

i have absolutely no issue with HMO’s in principle, but having seen some of the building works he’s carried out, the finish, etc, I’m quite sure he’s not going to give two shiny shites who moves in as long as he gets paid, and this is what worries me. Plus I have an elderly gent the other side of us, and two elderly ladies the other, and they will all be worried about the comings and goings of numerous people. I understand that professionals and people who do care about their surroundings will respect the space, but if course there’s no guarantee is there. Its not as if where we live has no housing, there’s several sites earmarked for properties, with over 600 having been built in the last 12 months.. which has been sad to see all the Greenland go… but that’s another topic

i will be contacting the council Monday, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it, the website seems a a little vague about needing a licence for how many people will be able to live there

We did similar OP! DH owns a semi which was rented to a long term family, but did a bunk. We DID plan to move there ourselves. New kitchen, new carpet, updated the bathroom etc. The few nights we stayed there whilst renovating were awful. The neighbour had a baby and 2 older boys that would run through their house, her husband was an alcoholic and clanged beer bottles late each night and the noise was horrid. We soon realised we couldn't live there. I'm not say your neighbour didn't lie though, just saying that sometimes circumstances change. Its been rented to students since. Not technically an HMO as no locks on bedrooms and there is a small lounge.

The fact there is no lounge/communal area is surely a good thing? Less likely to be parties and noise. They will likely be people that don't know each other so could be far quieter than a family living there!

You can’t determine who your neighbours are. If it had been a large family home you could have had issues with multiple vehicles, noise and rubbish everywhere.

I have 2 on my row of houses. They are all really quiet professional types.
The only issue is the strain on the parking

Single people need homes as well as families and while I don't really agree with the HMO model it's often all there is at the moment. (I wonder how many of the new homes in your area would be appropriate or affordable for single people.) I'm not sure people living in HMOs are necessarily any worse neighbours than families. Of course you could get some awful people but probably more likely it'll be hardworking individuals who are out most of the time. Families aren't always delightful neighbours, you could have been putting up with screaming kids (which can happen even with well-meaning parents), teenagers having house parties or what-have-you.

We have two at the end of our road and you wouldn’t actually know it is, nice enough people, see the odd one stood at the front having a fag on occasions but all very polite, clean etc

It depends entirely on your neighborhood, I'd say. Are you near a university (students)? In Central London (young professionals)? A less salubrious area (who knows)?

Ds 22 has just moved into a HMO and the EA was very strict about asking for references, proof of employment etc. He's been there a couple of weeks and hasn't really met the others (6 including him). There isn't really a lounge area which is a bit sad but it was the cheapest option. I think they're all pretty quiet.