Free-for-all fears on city centre HMOs

Concerns that Inverness city centre could be over-run by new houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) have been raised in the wake of claims the Highlands has no need for a cap on such properties.

A review carried out by Highland Council officers to determine whether there is an over provision in the region suggests there is "no evidence" there are too many – and says it is likely that more will be needed in the future.

There are currently 269 licensed HMOs in the Highlands, with 168 of these in Inverness.

Councillors cannot currently refuse an HMO application on the basis of over provision in a particular area and, if the report is agreed at a meeting of the council’s licensing committee on Tuesday, that will remain the case for the next five years.

A trial cap was introduced for city centre HMOs earlier this year, allowing the refusal of licences for properties that would house six or more people in a flat or seven or more in a house.

However, the general bar on using over provision as a reason for refusal still applies there.

That has led to a call for a rethink that would allow applications to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Inverness Central councillor Bet McAllister said: "Each area and situation is different, so councillors should be able to decide for themselves.

"We have far too many HMOs in the centre of Inverness whereas there are plenty of empty houses in rural areas – but people don’t want to live there because they can’t get work.

"I don’t think it’s right for officers to make a decision like this. If there are too many, councillors should be able to put a stop to it."

HMO status applies to any accommodation housing three or more unrelated people on a permanent basis, so can include "ordinary" flats or houses as well as large homeless hostels.

Cllr McAllister conceded that most are run without trouble but said a few bad facilities can have a disproportionately damaging effect.

"Whenever there is an application for a new one in my ward I always get complaints because they can be very disruptive and often cause other issues like parking problems," she said.

There were claims online this week that an incident in Union Street in the city centre, where a bottle of Buckfast was dropped on a car from a property, was linked to an HMO.

Linda Kirkland of residents’ pressure group Inverness City Centre Improvement said the links between HMOs and antisocial behaviour were a big factor in putting people off visiting the area.

"It’s not the case of being against HMOs in principle I think, but the fact that in the city centre they are in such a concentrated area their impact is much greater," she said.

"On that basis you can say there are different ways of considering what ‘over provision’ actually means and councillors need to be able to decide for their own area on an individual basis against each application."

Mike Smith, manager of Inverness Business Improvement District (Bid), said he was surprised there had been no consultation over the issue ahead of next week’s meeting.

"Any surveys we have done in the city centre have always shown the issue of HMOs to be an area of concern," he said.

"We accept that HMOs are part of the housing mix for the Highlands, everybody has to accept that.

"The problem in Inverness city centre, though, is the concentration aspect, so that even a few more HMOs can really skew things."

The council report argues that HMOs are vital for affordable housing and will be needed more in the future.

"By providing lower cost housing, in some cases with the help of housing benefit, HMOs can help to meet housing need and reduce the need for subsidised affordable housing," it states.

"Given the high housing costs in many parts of the Highlands, alongside the predominance of low income industries and lack of affordable housing, shared housing plays an important role in providing housing which people can afford."

James Battye, private renting project manager at housing charity Shelter Scotland agreed.

"Introducing a cap during a severe shortage of housing may make it harder for people on low incomes to afford to live in areas of high demand," he said.

"In the longer term we need to see a step-change in the number of new social houses being built to meet local housing need."

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