Councillors in Rhondda Cynon Taf are demanding higher standards for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and landlords who 'give a damn' about communities, following a sharp rise in applications. The call came during a meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny committee, which discussed a report highlighting key issues from HMO planning applications across the county borough.
Surge in HMO Applications
The report revealed that HMO applications remained relatively consistent until the last two to three years, when numbers increased noticeably. This trend is mirrored in neighbouring councils. Over the two-year period from June 6, 2024, to May 31, 2026, the council received 22 valid applications, including one retrospective application for retention. Decisions were made on 28 applications, with permission granted in nine cases and refused in 19. Of the 19 refusals, 10 appeals were lodged with Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), with nine decisions issued and one ongoing.
Common Objections to HMOs
Third-party objections frequently cited substandard living conditions, waste and refuse issues, noise and disturbance, strain on public services, loss of family housing, and fear of crime. Parking concerns, waste management, and sustainability of location were also raised. In most refusal cases, the planning committee overruled officer recommendations to approve, citing poor accommodation quality detrimental to future residents.
Call for Stronger Policies
Committee member and vice-chair of the planning committee, Councillor Jayne Smith, stressed the need for a robust policy: 'We don’t want to just accept the standard that we’ve been seeing coming through to us just to create affordable housing at any cost. We want all our residents to actually be living in accommodation that is suitable for needs and not just bare minimum.'
Councillor Loretta Tomkinson, also on the planning committee, acknowledged the importance of HMOs as affordable housing but welcomed strengthened planning frameworks to protect balanced communities.
Concerns Over Unscrupulous Landlords
Councillor Craig Middle expressed serious concern about HMOs due to unscrupulous landlords: 'They don’t give a damn about the local community and they don’t give a damn about who is going in there and the impact that could have on the living standards of other people in the community.'
Councillor Rhys Lewis summed up the committee's message: 'We really do want the highest standards when it comes to HMOs. If they have to exist, if they are a necessary element of the housing stock in RCT, then we want the best standards for our communities but also for the individuals who live in them.'
Existing Guidance and Future Steps
The council's HMO supplementary planning guidance (SPG), adopted in May 2018, supplements the Local Development Plan. It acknowledges negative impacts of HMO overconcentration, such as in Treforest, and sets measures to identify harmful concentration levels and guide HMO standards. The committee's discussions signal a push to strengthen this framework further.
