Portsmouth councillors and planning officials have revisited the city’s approach to regulating Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), as concerns persist over their impact on neighbourhoods.
At a recent Planning Policy Cabinet meeting, members reviewed a detailed report outlining current HMO regulations and how decisions are made regarding their approval.
HMOs remain a divisive issue, with councillors echoing residents’ concerns about the growing number of applications and their effects on residential neighbourhoods – particularly overcrowding, parking, and related pressures.
Under the existing policy, no more than 10 per cent of homes within a 50-metre radius can be designated as HMOs. This threshold, in place since 2012, is also embedded in the council’s emerging Local Plan, which is currently under review by central government.
However, some councillors have advocated for tightening the restriction further by lowering the threshold to 5 per cent. The meeting was accompanied by a legal opinion from Robert Walton KC of Landmark Chambers, which assessed the legal implications of such a move.
Mr Walton warned that introducing a 5 per cent threshold could significantly weaken the council’s position during the Local Plan examination process.
He added that: “The council would need to produce detailed, locally specific evidence,” he said, adding: “I have not seen any evidence that would justify the use of the 5 per cent rule.”
Hilsea ward councillor Russell Simpson raised several concerns, including the lack of an up-to-date citywide register of HMOs, the definition of planning use class C3b, and the affordability of HMOs—suggesting they are less affordable than single flats in Portsmouth.
In response, the council’s chief planner Ian Maguire confirmed the private sector housing team is updating the HMO database. Regarding C3b—which covers up to six people living together as a single household with care support—he clarified that it is not an HMO, stating: “We have no control over that as a council,” unlike HMOs which require both planning permission and a licence.
Mr Maguire also defended the affordability of HMOs, calling them the “lowest cost housing option” in Portsmouth “and indeed anywhere”. He noted that in 2024/25, the council housed 250 people at risk of homelessness using HMOs.
He added: “If we were unable to place people into HMOs to that extent, I won’t say it would have caused the council to become bankrupt, but I’m not sure I would be exaggerating if I did.”
Remains of Norman tower that defended Chichester’s castle found during archaeological excavation
Portsmouth MP steps up campaign to ban conversion therapy practices
1,300 new homes approved for Tangmere
Underwater robots deployed in Bognor sewers as part of £4 Million clean-up project
Worthing community groups invited to apply for funding
Dog attack in Polegate
VIDEO: Bracklesham Bay mother raising £100K for her cancer treatment
Two teenagers charged in connection with death of Littlehampton man
ID appeal after multiple attempted vehicle break-ins
Woman stabbed in Portslade
On Air