Councils Reject Multiple HMO Conversions Across UK amid Community Concerns

Local councils across England are increasingly scrutinizing applications to convert properties into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs), reflecting community concerns over their impact. In Baxenden, a controversial proposal to convert a home into a small HMO is recommended for approval despite 49 objections citing traffic, noise, and neighborhood character issues. Dudley planners rejected an 18-bedroom HMO near Brierley Hill town centre due to unsympathetic design and concerns about crime concentration, with a councillor highlighting the negative effects of HMO over-concentration. Peterborough City Council refused a plan to convert a Victorian home into an HMO for six people, citing inadequate parking and potential noise increase. In Wakefield, a proposal to convert a former city centre pub into an HMO was denied after objections about insufficient shared and bathroom facilities and worries over community decline. Similarly, Middlesbrough Council blocked a four-bedroom HMO conversion due to substandard accommodation and local opposition, emphasizing new planning rules that require permissions for HMO conversions to protect housing quality.