The council have recently reviewed the HMO polices brought in by the Liberal Democrat’s 4 years ago.
If you have concerns about an HMO in your street and are not sure if it has permission to be there then you can contact development Management via email development_management@bathnes.gov.uk
All HMO’s in Twerton need planning permission.
Below is Councils press coveridge
The recommendations mean that new applications to convert properties into HMOs will be refused if more than 10% of properties in the local area are already Houses of Multiple Occupation. In addition, the will also adopt a new policy that will prevent a residential non HMO property from being ‘sandwiched’ between two HMOs.
The move follows six weeks of public consultation which began on September 4 and which was in response to increasing concerns among residents about the continuing concentration and growth of HMOs in some neighbourhoods of the city.
The new policy approach is responding to the real concerns residents in Bath have about the proliferation and concentration of HMOs in parts of our city. By putting policies in place to better control the growth and distribution of HMOs, our aim is to ensure we have a balance of types of housing within our local communities.
The new policy approach is responding to the real concerns residents in Bath have about the proliferation and concentration of HMOs in parts of our city. By putting policies in place to better control the growth and distribution of HMOs, our aim is to ensure we have a balance of types of housing within our local communities.
The council recognise that HMOs have a role to play in our city’s housing stock by providing accommodation not just for students, but also professionals. However, they should not be allowed to dominate local areas at the expense of other types of housing. This new policy means that in the future the Council will be able to prevent HMOs from taking up more than 10 per cent of an area’s housing stock.
Furthermore, this new policy gives the Council powers to refuse planning permission for a new HMO if it would result in a property being sandwiched between two houses of multiple occupation.”
Alongside the new policy on HMOs, the Council is also currently undertaking a piece of work looking at the issue of Dedicated Student Accommodation in the city, including an assessment of the need and supply of student accommodation in the area.
