Committee passes motion on extra regulatory powers over HMOs

A council committee has passed a motion calling for consultation on extra regulatory powers over HMOs.

Members of Causeway Coast and Glens Environmental Services Committee have also agreed to seek a compliance check of properties across the borough currently listed as HMO.

The motion also calls on Stormont to develop “a robust policy for the management of HMOs while ensuring adequate accommodation provision to support the university population”.

It was tabled by TUV councillor Allister Kyle, prompted by what he described as an “upsurge” in HMO applications.

An HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) is a single property in which three or more households share amenities. They are often associated with students but, in recent months, they have been the focus of anti-immigration activists who claim they are used to house asylum seekers and other migrants.

Causeway Coast and Glens hosts the third highest number of HMOs in Northern Ireland.

Belfast is the local government district with by far the most licensed properties.

The city contains 2996 HMOs occupied by almost 13,000 individuals.

Derry City and Strabane comes next with 250 properties and 1202 occupants followed by Causeway Coast and Glens with corresponding figures of 214 and 927.

On Tuesday, Cllr Kyle said his motion was not an attack on students or responsible landlords and, given the presence of a university campus, there would always be need for suitable student accommodation.

But, he added: “Supporting the principle of HMOs does not mean ignoring growing concerns being expressed across the borough.

“Increasingly, constituents are approaching elected representatives with concerns about the concentration of HMOs in certain neighbourhoods

“They raise issues around parking pressures, refuse management, noise, anti-social behaviour and the gradual erosion of the character of established residential communities.

“For too long residents feel that decisions affecting their communities are being made without their voices being heard. And that can not be right.

Cllr Kyle said his motion sought approach balancing the rights of communities with housing needs.

Local councils, he said, understood local pressures and were therefore best placed to engage with Stormont’s Communities Minster over further powers to regulate HMOs.

He further sought support for compliance checks to investigate properties that fell outside the regulatory framework

He concluded: “We as elected representative must put the needs and priorities of those who live in these areas first.

“Local people deserve a voice, they deserve protection and where rules exist, they should be enforced.”

While Cllr Kyle’s motion was supported by DUP and UUP members Sinn Fein and Alliance abstained.

Alliance Councillor Lee Kane said the upsurge reported by Allister Kyle was not born out in the figures.

“Of the 57,500 home we have here across Causeway Coast and Glens, just over 200 of them are HMO licenced properties. That’s 0.4 per cent

“In around 200 homes we might expect to find one that is a HMO.”