Poor housing complaints trigger HMO restrictions
LDRSComplaints around poor housing have prompted a rule change over houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
Leaders on Stockton Council agreed to remove "permitted development" rights, which allow homes in the borough to be converted into small HMOs for up to six people. It means all requests for new HMOs will have to go through the council, regardless of size.
The Labour-led authority said residents and councillors had complained poor housing was attracting crime and anti-social behaviour.
Richard Eglington, the council's cabinet member for housing, told a meeting the change was "not a silver bullet" and would not affect existing HMOs or those planned in the next year.
"It should not be looked at as a panacea for the ills of HMOs," he said.
Eglington added they were often seen as a housing solution "that should have been left in the Victorian era along with workhouses and child labour".
"It is true that a bad HMO can be a disaster for the tenants and for the area, but a well-managed and appropriate HMO is a much-needed part of the housing mix in any area."
He said students and temporary workers often relied on them due to their size and cost, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Norma Stephenson, cabinet member for communities and community safety, said the change in HMO regulation was desperately needed.
"At the minute we have no control basically over HMOs and where they go. They all tend to go in one area, so it's good having some control over that."