HMOs important to meeting housing needs in West Suffolk

14 Jul 2026

The importance of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in West Suffolk has been highlighted in report which looked at whether they should be under greater control.

HMOs are properties rented out by at least three people who are unrelated and generally include shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. Those that accommodate five or more people have to be licensed and checked by West Suffolk Council to ensure that they are properly managed and meet safety standards.

Planning permission isn’t required to convert a house into an HMO unless it is going to accommodate seven or more people.

In some towns and cities where there are a high concentration of HMOs and where there is clear evidence of it impacting on a neighbourhood councils have brought in a planning regulation called an Article 4 Direction, requiring any new HMO, regardless of size, to require planning permission.

Back in October, a motion to West Suffolk Council requested the council to look into the positive and negative impacts of HMOs and whether there is justification for introducing Article 4 directions in West Suffolk.

That report, which will be discussed by Cabinet members next Tuesday, also looked at the number of HMOs in West Suffolk and the people that are living in them.

It found that with the relatively high cost of private rent, HMOs provided an important role in meeting the housing needs of residents in West Suffolk. The report found that 82 per cent of HMO tenants were workers and that HMO accommodation supports a range of sectors including the NHS and the horseracing industry.

HMOs are also used by the council as temporary accommodation to support residents of West Suffolk who have become homeless, as well as people from outside of our area such as veterans, care leavers and people fleeing domestic abuse.

There are 116 licensed HMOs in West Suffolk and another 96 known smaller HMOs housing three to four people. The council works with other agencies to identify “hidden” HMOs.

To introduce Article 4 Directions, the council would need to show that there is a high concentration and harm caused with at least 10 per cent of properties in an area being used for HMOs. The report concluded that the evidence does not support the introduction of Article 4 directions based on over concentration of HMOs or harm to the local area.

In West Suffolk, most of the HMOs are in Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Newmarket, and the highest concentration of HMOs is five per cent. Overall HMOs account for less than one per cent of housing across the district.

Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, Cabinet Member for Housing at West Suffolk Council, said: “This further demonstrates that HMOs continue to play an important role in our housing mix, providing somewhere affordable to live for lots of people in our communities. They are crucial to key workers and to people in lower paid and entry level jobs and I look forward to discussing the report findings in greater detail when Cabinet meets next week.”

Cllr Frank Stennett, Cabinet Member for Planning at West Suffolk Council, said: “This report comes at the same time that we are consulting residents on the first stage of the West Suffolk Local Plan to the year 2045. One of the things that we are asking for is people’s views on the type of housing mix that we need. Clearly social and affordable housing for single people, couples and families is a big part of that, and HMOs will continue to be part of the way that we meet local housing needs.”  

 

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