Tougher rules are being considered to curb the number of new HMOs in a town amid fears some are becoming “absolute magnets” for crime and anti-social behaviour.
New figures published by Dartford council show a near-doubling of such properties in the borough in the past few years.
A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a property rented out to two or more unrelated people who share facilities and/or common space.
Formerly the preserve of students, the house-sharing arrangement has grown increasingly normal across Kent – especially for young professionals unable to get on the property ladder or afford costly private rents.
But a recent surge in Dartford has prompted the borough’s council leader Jeremy Kite (Con) to say they “don’t have a place in a modern civilised housing economy”, amid concerns some larger ones are linked to higher levels of anti-social behaviour and measures to crack down on them are few and far between.
In May 2021, there were only 40 such properties in the town, but by June this year there were 75.
Newtown ward has the most registered HMOs in the borough, with 16, followed by Princes ward with nine.
Cllr Kelly Grehan (Lab), a member of the committee where the figures were scrutinised, said: “There’s a few reasons for the increase – one is just the demand for housing.
“There have always been a lot of HMOs in places like student towns but that’s quite different in character from what we have in Dartford.”
The report, presented to the council’s scrutiny committee on Tuesday (July 15), states: “There is anecdotally an increase in HMOs occupied by professionals and the Darent Valley Hospital has advised that many of its doctors and nurses live in shared houses within walking distance or on a bus route to the hospital.
“However, these may be small HMOs which do not require planning permission or a licence.”
As such the council’s data likely does not capture the whole picture.
Their figures include only licensed HMOs, and licensing is only required for HMOs with five or more people – so the true number of HMOs in the borough may have increased even more.
Cllr Grehan added: “A real worry I have is that the social cohesion when you’ve got neighbours who are suspicious of each other and don’t trust each other – it’s quite worrying where that leads to.”
The deputy leader of the Labour Group says the general increase in shared renting of HMOs is due to the fact “people in every walk of life can’t really afford what maybe a generation ago they were able to” in terms of housing.
She says she would support measures to limit HMOs.
Dartford was also noted in the authority’s 2024 local plan as the fastest growing town in Kent and one of the fastest in the UK – with a 20% population increase from 2011 to 2022.
Generally, in many areas, converting a single-family home into a small HMO – up to six occupants – does not require planning permission.
However, some local authorities have implemented so-called Article 4 directions that require planning permission for these conversions.
At the meeting last week, Dartford councillors debated the possibility of an Article Four direction to withdraw such permissions, known as permitted development rights.
However, DBC leader Cllr Kite does not think the measure would work on its own.
“We are seriously looking at Article 4 directions but the truth is I don’t think that’s going to provide the volume of answers that we need,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“They have to be so specific, tightly controlled and targeted that it’s not really part of the solution.”
However, he is critical of HMOs, adding: “I don’t think HMOs have a place at all in a modern civilised housing economy.
“I’m not having a pop at the whole HMO industry – there are some very good ones.
“What we’re hearing is that some of these places are becoming absolute magnets for crime and anti-social behaviour.”
Dartford isn’t the only area in Kent to be beset by perceived problems.
In Maidstone 90% of people in a poll there backed calls to curb the numbers in the town.
It’s typically the larger ones that stir the most controversy but in Sittingbourne a six-bed HMO approved without consultation caused uproar.
But some say such shared housing arrangements can be a lifeline for those unable to afford costly alternatives.
In nearby Northfleet, one worker priced out of the rental market set up home in a converted garage room rented out as part of a HMO only for the council to order her out over safety fears.
KentOnline has also previously spoken to two entrepreneurs in Medway who hit back at accusations HMOs were just “slum housing” and said they are offering something a world away from these pre-conceived ideas.
Dartford council has agreed to write to the housing minister to seek more information about HMO regulation.
It did not feature in the upcoming Renters Rights Bill which is currently making its way through parliament.
