Applegarth Avenue could have 31 HMOs on the same street. Photo Emily Dalton

By Emily Dalton

local democracy reporter

A street in Guildford faces a transformation as family homes give way to Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs), sparking concerns about community erosion. 

Family homes on  Applegarth Avenue have been turned into HMOs. Another four HMOs were approved on Applegarth Avenue at a Guildford Borough Council Planning Committee meeting on July 17.

Houses being converted to HMOs in Applegarth Avenue. Photo Emily Dalton

The properties, sometimes called ‘house shares’, are made up of multiple students and young professionals who rent their bedroom and share living facilities. Not from the same household, some argue HMOs or house shares can lack the social unity as traditional neighbours. Applegarth Avenue, a residential area north of the Royal Surrey County Hospital, currently has 25 registered HMOs and two more pending.

The four separate applications include five-bedroom properties which are being converted to seven-bedroom units for rent. Only properties rented by five or more people require a HMO licence, so the number of HMOs in the street could be greater.

HMO plan showing five bedrooms on one floor a converted house. GBC planning documents.

“It’s lost the heart of the street,” said Will, who has lived on the street for 20 years with his four children. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) before the meeting, Will said: “It used to be full of families, but now it’s just people who leave to go to work and come back again. Only one person says ‘Hi’.”

Map showing location of Applegarth Avenue. Apple Maps (click on map to enlarge)

Another couple on the avenue said the community has changed, and the neighbourhood watch part of looking out for people had gone. The pair said they have encouraged people living in HMOs to join in with neighbourhood parties to help them integrate, but they did not try to engage.

Often students and young professionals choose to live in HMOs because they cannot afford to buy a property, or they enjoy the flexibility.

Cllr Howard Smith

Cllr Howard Smith (Lab, Westborough) spoke against the separate applications in his ward at the meeting, claiming the HMOs are taking over the area and it is the number one issue he gets. He added: “People are getting really tired of three-bedroom family homes being put up for sale and turned into HMOs.”

Highlighting residents’ concerns, Cllr Smith said the HMOs would change the character of the area and “lose the community” by making a street predominantly of groups of individual renters.

The committee were not convinced that Cllr Smith could prove a need of three-bedroom or family houses as the need for individual unit renters was seen as greater.

Cllr Maddy Redpath

Expressing reluctance at supporting the applications, councillors said they were struggling to find a policy against it. “In my gut, I’d say it’s too many,” Cllr Maddy Redpath (Residents for Guildford and Villages, Castle), but added there was not enough information.

Guidance for HMOs per road vary for each local authority. Officers advised that Southampton and Portsmouth, Oxford, and Brighton have a trigger policy of no more than 70 per cent of a street can be HMOs. If the pending applications were approved, it would result in 31 HMOs which equates to 16 per cent of the dwellings within Applegarth Avenue.

Car parking was flagged as a concern as application documents showed between three and four spaces would be available for a seven-bedroom property. Surrey Highways raised no objections but added conditions for at least three car parking spaces on each property.

Speaking after the meeting, a disappointed Cllr Smith said the Liberal Democrat councillors on the panel and his ward are “out of touch” with residents as they do not care about residents’ concerns with HMOs.

Cllr Julia McShane

Responding to criticism, the Leader of the Lib Dem-run council, Julia McShane, who is also a borough councillor for Westborough, said: “As long-standing residents of Westborough, Cllr Lowry (Lib Dem, Westborough) and I are aware of and deeply understand the concerns of residents about HMOs across our ward.”

“Many of the perceived concerns of HMOs such as parking or antisocial behaviour are an issue in all areas, and which can be associated with all property tenures and households,” Cllr McShane added. Issues can be addressed by reporting them to the council.

The Lib Dem administration is bringing a report to review the licensing of HMOs to a council committee on July 22. The Full Council meeting on July 23 is also looking at delivering new homes at the Guildford Park Road site.

The council leader also said: “I think it is therefore clear that not only as residents and local councillors for Westborough, but as part of the wider Lib Dem administration commissioning these reports, we are driving forward a commitment to not just listen to our residents but to act. We are taking action to improve housing for all residents, not just within our community but for the whole of Guildford.”

See GBC report here.