London borough granted new powers to block HMOs in bid to crack down on rogue landlords

Greenwich councillors have been given more powers to refuse applications to convert homes into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) following calls for a tougher stance.Greenwich Council’s cabinet member for planning introduced new planning measures to “crack down on rogue HMO landlords”.Some residents think these measures don’t go far enough to protect family homes and have requested to meet with the council to discuss what more can be done.The Local Planning Committee on October 27 has three HMO conversions to consider, all of which have been recommended for refusal by Greenwich planners because of two new planning rules.The first is that homes with a gross internal area of less than 130sqm will not be permitted to be converted into HMOs. The second is that planning permission for a new HMO will not be granted if there are three existing or permitted HMOs within the nearest ten properties of the application property.All three of the HMO conversion applications—82 Bramblebury Road and 70 St Margarets Terrace in Plumstead and 12 Halons Road in Eltham—have been recommended for approval because the properties fall short of the 130sqm threshold.Tom CreswellGreenwich CouncilCllr Tom Creswell, Cabinet Member for Planning and Development, said: “These new measures show that we’re serious about cracking down on rogue HMO landlords.“There is a housing crisis, and we need a balanced mix of flexible, good quality housing without compromising on the standards that tenants and neighbourhoods expect. That means protecting family-sized homes whilst also providing affordable rental properties for residents such as house shares.“The council has introduced new guidance on its HMO policy as part of the emerging Local Plan. The policy aims to prevent too many HMOs in one area while protecting tenants from exploitation by landlords and ultimately ensuring tenants have safe, secure living conditions.“Where people refuse to play by the rules, we’ve strengthened our approach even further with new enforcement powers which could see landlords without an HMO license hit with a £40,000 fine.”Local Voices on HMOs is a 150-strong residents’ group in Plumstead that has been campaigning to stop inappropriate HMO conversions in their area of South East London.Read MoreThe group said it was pleased with the introduction of the new planning rules, but it still felt more needed to be done and wanted to meet with Cllr Creswell to discuss this.A Local Voices on HMOs spokesperson said: “We welcome Cllr Creswell’s move to restrict HMOs in properties under 130sqm, but more needs to be done to address over-concentration and protect family homes.“We have requested a meeting with the councillor but are still waiting for the opportunity to discuss our concerns. The council also needs to demonstrate better coordination between planning, licensing and enforcement to ensure policies are effective and properly implemented.“We are not anti-HMO; we are residents who care about our community and are seeing first-hand how it is changing. We want a balanced approach that protects family housing and ensures residents’ voices are heard.”Greenwich Council gave no update as to when or if Cllr Creswell planned to meet with representatives of Local Voices on HMOs.