“Massive concentrations” of HMOs are creating problems in Salford’s neighbourhoods, the council has warned.
Houses of multiple occupancy can include shared houses or flats which are lived in by more than one household, often with some shared facilities.
A Salford council report found that larger, family-type homes being turned into HMOs are ‘impacting social cohesion’ and adding ‘pressure to local services.’
A plan to limit new HMOs in some areas was adopted by the town hall today to try and tackle the issue.
Salford saw a total of 1,254 new HMOs set up between 2017 and 2023, according to council data.
Ordsall was the area most impacted by the spike – from three known HMOs in 2017 to 437 by 2023.
Salford Mayor Paul Dennett blamed the increase on the “chronic under supply of council housing”, as well as the homelessness crisis impacting the city.
The council’s new HMO planning document states that permission to expand or set up new HMOs ‘will not normally be granted’ in cases where the number of HMOs exceeds or will exceed 10 percent of all residential properties within a 100-metre radius of the planning application.
Councillor Philip Cusack, chair of Salford’s planning committee, said:
“It’s desperately needed, we have seen massive concentrations of HMOs in some areas of the city which have caused some changes to the characteristics of these areas.”
Councillor Gina Reynolds added that some new HMOs have been set up and gone “under the radar” for years unknown to the town hall, meaning the number of multiple-household properties in the city could be higher than reported.
A council report stated that high concentrations of HMOs can have a ‘detrimental impact’ on residential areas.
It added:
“They can involve a more intense use of dwellings that may increase noise pollution or car parking demands, they can increase pressures on local services, and they can impact on social cohesion given that they often have a higher turnover of residents and thereby may contribute to a more transient neighbourhood population.”
But councillors highlighted that HMOs can be beneficial for people looking for cheaper accommodation, or single households looking to share a home with others.
The new policy will be used to help councillors decide planning applications submitted to the local authority.
In April, a retrospective planning application to convert a house on Stapleton Street into a four-bedroom HMO was refused by Salford council, after residents raised concerns about the loss of family homes and the impact it could have on the community.
