Stoke-on-Trent proposes new rules to reduce HMOs

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is set to consider new measures aimed at controlling the number and improving the quality of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) within the city.

These proposals include the implementation of a city-wide Article 4 Direction, which will remove the current rights allowing family homes to be converted into HMOs without a planning application. Future conversions will require planning permission and will need to comply with the council's emerging Local Plan policy limiting HMO concentrations.

The Local Plan aims to prevent clustering by not allowing new HMOs to exceed 5% of all residential properties within a 50-metre radius. Additionally, there will be ward-specific caps on HMOs: 4% for wards with a very high number, 2.5% for wards with a high number, and 1.5% for all other wards.

An Additional Licensing Scheme is also proposed for smaller HMOs, bringing them into a formal regulatory framework to enforce standards, with strengthened existing licence conditions.

Councillor Duncan Walker emphasised the importance of HMOs meeting significant housing needs without disproportionate neighbourhood impacts.

"Houses of multiple occupation have a place in terms of meeting the significant housing needs within the city – they can be an important step on the ladder for people looking for a home, but they need to be of high quality and proportionate," Walker said.

The proposal responds to concerns about noise, waste, and parking demand, particularly in urban neighbourhoods with concentrated HMO numbers.

Measures are drafted to strike a balance between managing HMO growth and maintaining sustainable neighbourhoods.

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