South Norfolk Council will investigate how it can tighten controls on landlords seeking to convert family homes into HMOs, following concerns over growing concentrations in areas around Norwich. 

Working in partnership with Broadland District Council, the authority has launched a 12-month study into the potential use of Article 4 directions - planning powers that would require landlords to obtain permission before converting properties. 

Bowthorpe (pictured here in 2001) has welcomed large numbers of HMOs in recent years (Image: Archant)

At present, national planning rules allow conversions without council approval.

Daniel Elmer, leader of South Norfolk Council, said the authority was considering limits on the number of HMOs in specific areas.

He said: “It is also absolutely true to say that too many HMOs concentrated in one area does have impacts for the other residents that live there.

“HMOs, by their definition, tend to be filled with people who are transient and do not necessarily lay down the same community roots.

South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer (Image: Simon Finlay)

“I think it is appropriate for us to consider limits on the amount of HMO concentration that can occur in any individual area."

Parts of south Norfolk, including Bowthorpe and Costessey, already contain what councillors described as “clusters” of HMOs, partly down to the large student populations.

At a recent, councillors warned the properties had harmed community spirit, caused disruption to bin collections and, in some cases, driven neighbours to move away.

Jenny McCloskey, a Labour member, said: "Near the university there are entire streets made up of nothing but HMOs. 

“It’s destroying the sense of community in those areas. The number of HMOs really needs to be managed.

“It is therefore urgent that we take action now.”

Her warnings come after Norwich City Council announced last year that future student housing applications in the city would be blocked to avoid the market becoming "oversaturated".

Lib Dem councillor Terry Laidlaw, who seconded the motion, said the situation in Costessey had already reached “crisis point”, with some long-term locals choosing to leave altogether. 

Terry Laidlaw, Lib Dem councillor (Image: COSTESSEY TOWN COUNCIL)

“Nothing against an individual HMO,” he said, “but in some places clustering is definitely a problem.”

The investigation will map the full scale of HMO concentration across the district, assess the impact on housing, parking and community life, and examine how other councils have tackled similar problems.

© Eastern Daily Press