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?

I live in an HMO. It’s lovely and very quiet - and I absolutely hate noise (neurodivergent- very sensitive hearing).

We have a mixture or retired people and young professionals. Ordinary decent people.

We have several nurses, a paramedic, a police officer, a vet, a banker, somebody who works for a TV company, a receptionist, an electrician and a teacher.

@Ell099 yes my ds moved into one last month as he has started a new job far from home. The EA wanted references, proof of employment etc. I was a bit worried as ds is ND but he seems happy there. The landlord pays for a weekly cleaner for shared areas. There are a number of HMOs near us but they definitely cater for very different clientele judging by the smell.of weed and the number of empty lager cans strewn around. Assuming the OP lives in a nice area she should probably be okay - our local council likes to buy up ex council houses for the purpose!

Not your typical HMO then….

How do you know?

Just seems a collection of very professional people, who typically you wouldn’t find all of those in the same HMO. Agree, I’ve only known of a few HMOs, where the majority have been people with issues, and mainly a diverse collection of single men, but I’m guessing the situation you describe is the exception rather than the norm.

Yes, exactly. Any city, or town with a decent sized hospital, will have any number of HMOs that are occupied by professionals in the early stages of their careers.

I actually think my situation is the norm. After all, private landlords usually only accept people with relatively high incomes and good references. I would imagine this is even more likely to be the case now because the government is outlawing no-fault evictions.

I don’t agree. Some Landlords renting out privately will want professionals, others won’t care who they get as long as they get paid. Ie HMOs are the council’s go to for housing people who have issues, and they will subsidise their rent. I’m assuming if you’ve got so many highly professional people which you state includes teachers, police, vets, TV personnel in your HMO that you live in a very nice area?

Some of the confusion is that since 2018 all properties rented to 3 or more unrelated people are classed as HMOs. Even if the property is rented by a group of friends. (Student HMOs are excluded.)

Prior to 2018 most of the properties classed as HMOs were then used by councils or charities - and sadly if you're eligible for that sort of help you're probably not a quiet professional. Hence all the horror stories.

Have you looked for a rental property in the last 2 or 3 years? I was looking for a studio flat or one bedroom. I wasn’t even allowed to view most of the ones I was interested in because my income was too low and the landlords would generally only let people view who had an income that was over about £32K. At the time I was working part time in a low paid easy job due to ill heath but I had enough money in the bank to pay several years rent.

i am on the outskirts of London. Middling type of area.

Most private landlords won’t take people living only on benefits. Some will.

There are lofs of HMOs around hospitals for nurses. If the OP lives near a hospital, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is aimed at doctors and nurses. When I was on my house hunt, I looked at a couple of places where all the occupants were healthcare professionals.

Also, since the OP’s neighbour is putting en-suite bathrooms in all the rooms, I assume they are aiming at professionals and not people on a super low budget.

I absolutely understand how difficult it is in private rentals. Ive only recently got on the property ladder. It's awful and I can fully empathise. Obviously my experience of HMOs is different to yours, but youre in one so your experience is entirely valid. But i would still be worried if there was a proposed HMO next to me.

That’s not correct. HMOs are for all shared properties with three or more unrelated people. My next-door neighbours are a doctor, a management consultant and the other one does something financial.

i think you need permission for HMOs if its over three letting rooms, you need top of the range fire alarms, if hes gone in to the loft, then a three bedroom semi will more than likely be four letting rooms with en-suite facilities, a communal kitchen, and a shared toilet.

Thats how the one we lived in before we bought our first house was. It was very nice, with nice “neighbours”, we are still friends with one of the couples 40years on.

Yes ds22 lives in a HMO near a large hospital (where his bil works). He says it is quiet and clean. He doesn't know the area well - he started his job last month - and wants to get a feel of the area before he either rents/buys. The EA were a bit reluctant as he is young but when they saw his salary was £40k+ they approved him.

To give you a little peace of mind, this happened to me as well about three years ago. He is end terrace, we are mid. In three years we have never had a problem with any of the tenants bar one incident, which I text the landlord about and it was sorted. People come and go but honestly, it has not been anywhere near as much as of a trauma as I thought it would be. I would just ensure you stay on speaking terms with the landlord and get their number in case of emergencies or if you have something you need to sort out.

Often times there is a council poster attached to a near by lamppost or similar with a QR code link to the website where you can object. Look out for that. Ask your neighbours to do the same.
local councillors will often times visit the outside of the property and research the area to look out for local conservation areas close to the proposed hmo. Make sure your local councillors are aware and invite them to check it out and pitentionalky object. Good luck

I live in a terrace of four town houses. I’m the only non HMO. I can honestly say I haven’t had a minute’s issues with any of the tenants and my next door neighbours even have access through my garden. Next door is rented by a businessman for his employees in a nursing home, then there’s professionals, then asylum seekers. I love the fact that there’s little building work going on, no noise etc.

This 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 is just a ridiculous argument.
So, people can’t live in a house share - all they can afford - because it might worry elderly neighbours 😂