Warning Against Complacency After Council HMO Decision

Medway Village residents believe more needs to be done

Medway Village residents protest outside Ealing Town Hall

October 10, 2024

There has been a mixed response from local residents to Ealing Council’s change of policy on Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

The borough has said it will be taking more control of this type of property in response to residents concerns about the issue. Last month at a council planning committee, councillors agreed to enforce two directions under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning Order 2015. This will require landlords and property owners to apply for planning permission if they want to convert homes into small HMOs.

This move came after a campaign by the Medway Village Residents' Association (MVRA) and it means that residents can comment and object to applications to convert houses into HMOs. The rule change comes into immediate effect in the Perivale area where the problem has been the most acute and will apply in the rest of the borough next year. Medway Villages had been seeing a sharp rise in the conversion of homes to HMOs as landlords took advantage of the relatively low prices in the area relative to rents payable that were set on a London-wide basis to accept tenants. This, it is claimed, has led to a significant rise in anti-social behaviour and other crime in the area.

A spokesperson for the MVRA said that it was too early to judge the impact of the rule change and what evidence they had so far was anecdotal but there were encouraging signs and they quoted a local estate agent as saying, ‘HMO buyers in Perivale have stopped dead in the last month. Not only that but in relation to two sales [on Colwyn Avenue, Perivale, and Coniston Avenue, Perivale] in both cases the HMO buyer pulled out, which has never happened before."

However, it was stressed that it was not time for complacency and the MRVA is in the process of crowd funding a legal fund to investigate grounds for legal action that can be brought against the council for creating and failing to effectively tackle ongoing problems in Medway Village.. In particular: it is alleged that it failed to impose and enforce effective HMO licensing conditions and was in breach of environmental protection obligations.

Council figures show that there are 8 ,360 HMOs across Ealing.

An Ealing Council statement said, “Many HMOs offer good quality, low-cost housing, but the borough faces challenges with poorly managed HMOs. When not properly managed, HMOs can provide unsuitable accommodation and negatively affect the community around them. Although these changes will stop the unchecked rising number of HMOs, the council is committed to ensuring that good examples of this important, low-cost form of accommodation will remain available where needed.”

Councillor Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council, added, “This decision shows that we are listening to the needs and concerns of our communities. Over the past 3 years, we have seen a rise in the number of complaints from residents in relation to poorly managed HMOs, which matches the increase of the conversion of family homes into HMOs.

“As well as concerns about noise and waste, we know that in some cases residents have been made to feel less safe in their community. We have been working closely with the police to tackle anti-social behaviour in affected areas. This new directive is another tool to help us create safer neighbourhoods in all of our communities.”

Councillor Shital Manro, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for good growth and new housing, said, “The private rented sector is a vital part of the local housing market, and the vast majority of landlords are decent and law abiding. But with a small minority of less scrupulous landlords, and local demand for housing growing all the time, it’s more important than ever that we support landlords to deliver better quality homes for their tenants. Better control of the small HMO market will enable us to foster safer, more harmonious neighbourhoods, while preserving low-cost housing options.”