Tameside councillors have rejected a proposal from the Reform party to publish a public list of all houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in the borough. HMOs are houses shared by individuals not previously known to each other and are usually occupied by young professionals or students.
A rise in HMOs in the borough has led to community concerns over noise and disturbance. At the latest town hall meeting, Coun Jake Frater, of Reform, called for the council to create a publicly available list of known HMOs.
Proposal details
His request said the list should include the address, licensing status and the name of the manager or operator of each HMO. Coun Frater asked for the list to include every verified HMO known to the local authority across the borough, regardless of whether or not it has a licence.
His Reform colleague, Coun Gary Roylance, added: “People in Tameside are increasingly concerned about the rise of HMOs in the community. This would allow people to monitor the HMOs in their community.”
Concerns raised
Andrew McLaren described the action as ‘shameful’ and felt it stigmatised all people living in HMOs. The deputy council leader added: “I wouldn’t want a councillor sticking his chest out and naming and shaming HMOs they don’t like.”
Coun Kaleel Khan questioned how this scheme would stop vulnerable residents being put at risk. He added that many HMOs are used for specific purposes, for young people leaving home or a refuge for women fleeing violence.
Council leader's response
Council leader Eleanor Wills told the chamber she once used a shared house when fleeing domestic violence, which she saw as a safe haven. Coun Wills said this motion would reveal the location of others in the same position as she was, to which Coun Frater disagreed.
Coun Stephen Homer added: “We can’t carry on with this narrative that all HMOs are evil.”
Existing action
The council leadership told the meeting they had already taken action to crack down on troublesome HMOs last year by introducing an Article 4 direction. The exercising of this power means that now planning permission is required for all HMOs in the borough.
Previously, only HMOs housing seven or more people needed planning permission from the council. The idea behind this move was to give the local authority greater control over where shared homes are developed and give residents and stakeholders a voice through the planning process.
The motion tabled by Coun Frater was only supported by his Reform colleagues in the room and was voted down by the other councillors in the room.
