Homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) is the term used for when a number of unrelated people live in a house and share the bathroom and kitchen, but have their own bedroom. There have been very many conversions to this type of living in Oldfield Park and elsewhere in the City in recent years. Typically this accommodation is used by students, young professionals and migrant workers.
For a few months, we have been running a mini survey on our website. A large number of people have said yes. Have you had your say yet?
Complete the survey on the right hand side of this page.
I can’t see the poll without voting again – but judging by the poll at the time I voted the significant majority said no. Also, by stating that “A large number of people have said yes” you are attempting to lead responses, that is not the way any poll, let alone one conducted by councillors, should be conducted. I would appreciate it if you amended the post accordingly.
Kind regards,
Phil Irvine.
I cannot imagine who has been answering this poll. Clearly landlords and students. Obviously I only know families that live in my area (seeing as the people in HMOs generally move on every year and we never get to build a relationship with them) and I can categorically say that every single one of them would believe there should be a limit.
I am at my wits end with the anti-social behaviour we have to put up with on our street, rubbish bins left to rot, loud music to name just two, and above all the ridiculous parking situation. In the 5 years that i have lived here I have seen 5 houses, yes 5 houses, sold from private families to HMOs – that’s potentially 25 more cars on this street. I have an HMO either side of me now and opposite. The one to my right has only just passed from a couple to a landlord. They are currently stretching and extending the house in every which way possible to cram as many people in. As i type there are 6, yes 6, tradesmen’s vehicles parked on this street so yet again I have been forced to park miles away from my house and struggle in the dark with a 3 year old (with special needs) and a baby who cannot walk plus bags.
When i spoke to an estate agent about the value of our house I was told that a family would not pay above the stamp duty but ‘i know a landlord who will pay you £xx next week for it’ – and the price he quoted was way higher than my expectations.
It is absolutely ridiculous that there is no cap on HMOs in this area. We should be encouraging families into the city and not pricing them out. Plus the reputation of OP as being studenty is also putting families off. I love the diveristy of this community and am not for one minute suggesting no HMOs but there does need to be a cap.
It seems to me that the students in Bath want everything their own way. Oldfielf park is a family area of Bath, in fact most of Bath is full of families! Bath University have spent millions building accommodation for their students up at the campus, make them use them! Maybe then we will not be woken up at 3 or 4 or 5 in the morning by shrieking and shouting drunken students, smashing bottles, kicking rubbish bags around and braking parts off residents vehicles!
Keep the students up at the campus is what I say. Maybe they will actually do some learning and get their degrees?
To those of you who think students cause all of your problems in the area, I’d like to address some of your points.
The number of cars increasing and lack of parking is nothing to do with students. Almost no students have cars, what the real problem is the fact that most houses in Bath were designed with one car for one family. Now families are starting to have more than one car per house, the parking just isn’t there.
We have built a relationship with all our neighbours, but I can see why students wouldn’t want to when having only moved into our house for 2 days this year, and with no one having been in the house, we recieved news that a complaint had been made to the university about someone in our house playing music in the early evening. I repeat, no one had even been living in the house at the time.
Thirdly, there is no space on campus for students. There is barely enough accomodation on campus for all first year students, so to suggest that all other students in 2nd, 3rd and 4th years as well as post graduates, is slightly foolhardy.
Funnily enough, Students don’t like anti-social behaviour either, I don’t like being woken up at 4 in the morning, but i’m sure it wasn’t students that stole my motorbike.
The fact that this poll ran with the words: “A large number of people have said yes” is ridiculous and bad politics.