The rapid spread of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) is an issue that has become deeply personal for people across Mansfield and frustration is growing as local communities feel powerless to manage the impact.
Let me be clear – HMOs do have a place. They can provide flexible and affordable housing for students, young workers, and those just getting started in life. For example, a constituent recently wrote telling me that after moving out of her parents’ family home, she found an affordable room in a well-kept, clean and safe HMO, enabling her to save a deposit to buy her own property. Therefore, it is important to recognise the benefits that HMOs can provide.
But in Mansfield, we’ve seen what happens when the balance tips too far. When too many family homes are converted, too quickly, without proper local control or consideration. My constituents know the streets I’m talking about. In Mansfield Woodhouse, Forest Town, Warsop and parts of the town centre, once-stable family homes are being turned into short-term lets or high-density HMOs almost overnight. What does this lead to? More noise. More parking pressure. More rubbish. A higher turnover of residents. Less community cohesion. And a growing feeling among residents that they’ve lost their say in what happens to their own street.
I’ve spoken to lifelong residents – like me they have raised their children and grandchildren in Mansfield. They remember when every house on their street knew every other family by name. In some areas, they now see bins overflowing, cars blocking pavements and transient visitors, not invested in the area. Mansfield is a place built on community, where people look out for one another. But when planning policy makes it easier to convert family homes than to build them, that fabric of community life starts to tear. Good landlords, and there are many, should be recognised and supported. But those who repeatedly ignore the rules should face real consequences.
I support the use of Selective Licensing powers by Mansfield District Council to help to address antisocial behaviour and poor housing within the private rented sector in designated areas. They have also looked at using an Article 4 Direction to bring HMO conversions back under local planning control – I would also support this. But the process is complex, costly, and frankly, stacked against local authorities.
Mansfield Council must first gather extensive evidence to prove that uncontrolled HMO growth is harming the local area. That process alone involves months of costly data collection and consultation, putting more pressure on Councils while they are recovering from years of austerity under the previous Conservative Government. So even with clear evidence, councils must jump through endless hoops just to justify what should be a straightforward decision: giving local people a voice in what happens on their own streets.
In my debate in Westminster Hall, I asked the government to consider three things. Firstly, to simplify and strengthen the process for councils to use Article 4 Directions where there’s clear local need. Councils should be trusted more and given the ability to protect their neighbourhoods, and we should reinstate the principle that local authorities know their communities best. Second, to introduce a national framework that prevents over-concentration of HMOs in small areas. This could include the creation of a national HMO register so local teams can easily identify these areas and locate unregistered properties. And third, to properly resource local authorities so they can enforce the existing rules, because powers on paper mean nothing if councils don’t have the people or funding to use them. This could include, for example, ringfenced funding or allowing councils to use planning fees or licensing income to support enforcement.
All we’re asking for are the tools to protect our towns. To make sure that every street remains a place where people can live, grow, and thrive together. Because once that sense of community is gone, it’s hard to get back. When a family moves out, it’s not just a house that’s lost – it’s a piece of the heartbeat of the town. So, let’s act now. Let’s trust councils, let’s trust residents and let’s make sure planning policy works for people, not against them.
Time to trust councils to protect their neighbourhoods from the over-concentration of HMOs
