Plans aim to limit future HMOs

Councillor David Welsh said the plans would limit future HMO development in 11 wards of the city

Plans have been drawn up to try and limit the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) conversions in Coventry in the future.

Eleven of the 18 wards in the city already have high concentrations of HMOs, the city council said.

Their proposals would force landlords and developers to seek full planning permission for future conversions.

"We believe this will help improve neighbourhoods," councillor David Welsh said.

HMOs are occupied by people who do not form a single household and can include bedsits, hostels, shared houses and houses converted into self-contained flats.

Opponents claim they damage communities, but others say they serve an urgent housing need.

The number of HMOs has not been revealed by the city council but it said it wanted to control the number of homes converted into them in the 11 wards.

They include the city centre, Earlsdon, Cheylesmore, Foleshill and Radford.

HMOs can be integral to communities, councillor Gavin Lloyd admitted, in providing housing for students and young professionals.

But he said controlling the number would be about "accommodating the housing needs of the many, not the few".

An Article 4 direction is being sought by the council for the 11 wards which would require homeowners and developers in the future to apply for planning permission to convert a house into an HMO.

A report will be examined by the council's cabinet on 30 August with the authority seeking a public consultation in September.