North East Lincolnshire Council has admitted it cannot tackle concerns about the impact of HMOs on local communities unless it has better data, with Liberal Democrat group leader Nicola Aisthorpe (main image) telling a cross-party working group: “We can’t fix what we can’t measure.”

The council admits it holds “very limited data” on smaller HMOs, making it impossible to confirm whether the current stock negatively impacts communities or estimate how many family homes have been converted.

In Grimsby, the council knows about just 178 licensed HMOs, with five or more occupants, with Park Ward home to 53 properties and Sidney Sussex containing 52. However, smaller three and four-bedroom HMOs – which require neither planning permission nor licensing – are a critical blind spot.

We all want to focus on this issue because we recognise it’s a significant issue not only in North East Lincolnshire but also other parts of the country as well.”

Council leader Philip Jackson (main picture) emphasised the scale of the challenge, who, according to Grimsby Live, told the council’s working group: “We all want to focus on this issue because we recognise it’s a significant issue not only in North East Lincolnshire but also other parts of the country as well.”

And, although Cllr. Les Bonner acknowledged that the rapid HMO growth was the result of a severe shortage of accommodation for single people, he added: “To hear about developers talking about maximising their return on investment by converting into HMOs is quite sickening, really.”

sub-standard living conditions

He highlighted the problems they caused, such as overcrowding, parking and sub-standard living conditions. Bonner also shared the case of one resident who “had to get up at three o’clock in the morning to make sure she could get to work at six” due to cramped bathroom facilities.

The working group agreed to recommend further analysis of census data and housing needs assessments. Officers will also improve data gathering across council tax and regulatory services.

The report outlined two possible measures – requiring three and four-bedroom HMOs to obtain licences and introducing an Article 4 Direction requiring planning permission regardless of size in specific areas.