HMO PROPERTY NEXT DOOR (BEDSITTS)

tellingtruthalways1244

sourpuss2021 said:

Slightly related:

https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/residential-letting-questions/1224771-ealing-selective-licensing

Thanks for that

MalMonroe

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

Sunsaru said:

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

I have just found that on the estate there is already a few hmo's earliest ones since 2019 - 2021 and atleast 10 more 3 bedroom houses being transformed in to 6 unit hmo's, I have found atleast 16 and all being owned by two men from same nationality and very similar postcodes.. so seems they definitely know each other, how is this even being allowed??? Alot of properties will lose in value, how is it possible a one way in estate is allowed so many HMO? Is there anything we can do as a estate/ village if more people start complaining????

Would it make a difference if they were natives?

Where im going with this is that, why is this allowed, i believe most properties dont go on the market but are sold on the side , some people dont care about neighbours/ residents aslong as they make 6k per month for a 6unit hmo

Many properties are sold at auctions (not on a 'side'), particularly those that are considered to be ripe for turning into HMOs. But I don't understand what that's got to do with anything, just as I don't see the relevance of the owner/s being friends, co-workers, the same nationality (I really don't get that), relatives or all four.

If they have the money, who is going to stop them buying the properties? Very often such properties are becoming derelict and neglected before they are bought and developed. Isn't it better for them to be renovated and rooms offered to people who need somewhere to live?

As others have said, if you are unhappy then your local council is the first place to go. You can ask them how and why it is being allowed. And if you remain unhappy then you may have to move. Because it seems as if those developers are onto a very good thing and they are not going to stop buying properties as long as there are properties to buy. They are not doing anything wrong.  You could also, en masse, start complaining if you wish but will it do any good? 

tellingtruthalways1244

MalMonroe said:

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

Sunsaru said:

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

I have just found that on the estate there is already a few hmo's earliest ones since 2019 - 2021 and atleast 10 more 3 bedroom houses being transformed in to 6 unit hmo's, I have found atleast 16 and all being owned by two men from same nationality and very similar postcodes.. so seems they definitely know each other, how is this even being allowed??? Alot of properties will lose in value, how is it possible a one way in estate is allowed so many HMO? Is there anything we can do as a estate/ village if more people start complaining????

Would it make a difference if they were natives?

Where im going with this is that, why is this allowed, i believe most properties dont go on the market but are sold on the side , some people dont care about neighbours/ residents aslong as they make 6k per month for a 6unit hmo

Many properties are sold at auctions (not on a 'side'), particularly those that are considered to be ripe for turning into HMOs. But I don't understand what that's got to do with anything, just as I don't see the relevance of the owner/s being friends, co-workers, the same nationality (I really don't get that), relatives or all four.

If they have the money, who is going to stop them buying the properties? Very often such properties are becoming derelict and neglected before they are bought and developed. Isn't it better for them to be renovated and rooms offered to people who need somewhere to live?

As others have said, if you are unhappy then your local council is the first place to go. You can ask them how and why it is being allowed. And if you remain unhappy then you may have to move. Because it seems as if those developers are onto a very good thing and they are not going to stop buying properties as long as there are properties to buy. They are not doing anything wrong.  You could also, en masse, start complaining if you wish but will it do any good? 

I have been reading various information about HMO properties,  and they dont have good opinions at all! Im not saying all are bad but most! Most properties i see in a bad state are hmos,cheaply renovated to the lowest standard and rented out instantly to the council. Do you think the council care what happens next? From my own research..and views of others , NO they dont, and landlords who live far from London or in areas where such conversions and not allowed are living a happy life , recieving 6k per month per property from the council, and how does the council pay for this?????? I think we all know??? 

elsien

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

I have just found that on the estate there is already a few hmo's earliest ones since 2019 - 2021 and atleast 10 more 3 bedroom houses being transformed in to 6 unit hmo's, I have found atleast 16 and all being owned by two men from same nationality and very similar postcodes.. so seems they definitely know each other, how is this even being allowed??? Alot of properties will lose in value, how is it possible a one way in estate is allowed so many HMO? Is there anything we can do as a estate/ village if more people start complaining????

Many houses in my street are being brought up and turned into HMOs because of the size and style of them. I and others have taken it up with local councillors, and the short answer is no the council are not willing to do anything to restrict the numbers in a specific area. 

To be clear I’m not objecting to the HMOs that are already there, but I do feel that the number of house has been turned into HMOs are disproportionate to the area and the amount of parking available.

There’s nothing in the local plan with regards to HMOs, which basically means no argument with regard to restricting them.
The plan does say The Borough Council seeks to achieve a mix of housing types in terms of size, scale, density, tenure and cost which reflects the Borough’s housing needs. 

 You might want to check your own local plan to see what that says but don’t hold your breath.

Gycraig

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

I have just found that on the estate there is already a few hmo's earliest ones since 2019 - 2021 and atleast 10 more 3 bedroom houses being transformed in to 6 unit hmo's, I have found atleast 16 and all being owned by two men from same nationality and very similar postcodes.. so seems they definitely know each other, how is this even being allowed??? Alot of properties will lose in value, how is it possible a one way in estate is allowed so many HMO? Is there anything we can do as an estate/ village if more people start complaining????

You are aware there is a housing shortage ?.  Ahhh they are foreign and ruining my house prices. 

How does it affect house prices btw ? Never even thought to check if any houses I have bought have been near a hmo and it’s pretty much impossible to tell from outside. Lived in a few and not really ran into any unsavoury characters. 

YoungBlueEyes

Not impossible to tell from outside I don't think. Eg one big house with 6 doorbells, one big house with 6 bins out the front.....

Not an infallible system, but bladdy big clues.

GiantTCR

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

anselld said:

Cedartree123 said:

Planning and licensing are two different things. If the HMO is for 6 or more unrelated people it requires planning permission to be converted from a house to a HMO. If it is for 5 or less, it will only need planning permission in areas covered by Article 4 Directions blocking that exact thing.

check on your councils planning pages. If no planning permission has been granted to convert it into a 6 person plus HMO, then it is worth giving your Council’s planning enforcement team a call to ask them to investigate. 

If you are referring to the change of use from c4 to Sui Generis that is for more than six persons.  A six person HMO does not require planning permission unless Article 4 declaration applies.
Selective licensing is also irrelevant since a six bed HMO would already require a mandatory license.
So the situation for the OP is that planning permission is not required but a license application would be required prior to occupation.  The only grounds for objection would be some failure to meet the licensing requirements which is probably unlikely if the developer knows what they are doing.

Well I guess we cant do anything since the same owners have bought approximately 6 house on the estate with 1 being complete 1 year ago and holding 6 tenants already, I really hope we dont end up moving out because of nuisance from neighbours, god knows who will live in such small bedrooms...

I mean, you can guess the type of tenants that will move in next to your property.

If I was in your position I'd make 2 phone calls: the first one to the council for them to investigate the matter; the second one to an estate agent to start the proceedings for selling your property and move out of the area.

GiantTCR

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

Sunsaru said:

tellingtruthalways1244 said:

I have just found that on the estate there is already a few hmo's earliest ones since 2019 - 2021 and atleast 10 more 3 bedroom houses being transformed in to 6 unit hmo's, I have found atleast 16 and all being owned by two men from same nationality and very similar postcodes.. so seems they definitely know each other, how is this even being allowed??? Alot of properties will lose in value, how is it possible a one way in estate is allowed so many HMO? Is there anything we can do as a estate/ village if more people start complaining????

Would it make a difference if they were natives?

Where im going with this is that, why is this allowed, i believe most properties dont go on the market but are sold on the side , some people dont care about neighbours/ residents aslong as they make 6k per month for a 6unit hmo

If you were in the position of making 6k a month, I believe you would do the same as they're doing, regardless of nationality.

donutandbeer

It’s sad that this is happening so much and even though it does provide accommodation for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it, I doubt that the landlords are charitable enough to charge them a reasonable rent (actually reasonable considering people’s wages - obviously never gonna happen). At the end of the day it’s a system that only benefits those who are rich enough to be HMO landlords already… 

anselld

donutandbeer said:

It’s sad that this is happening so much and even though it does provide accommodation for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it, I doubt that the landlords are charitable enough to charge them a reasonable rent (actually reasonable considering people’s wages - obviously never gonna happen). At the end of the day it’s a system that only benefits those who are rich enough to be HMO landlords already… 

Of course Landlords are not charitable, why would they be?  However the market will dictate that HMO rooms must be more affordable than one-bed or studio flats.  They are probably the starting point for single people looking to rent privately.