A bid to turn a house into HMO-rented accommodation was yesterday refused by Oxford City Council because of the “number of HMOs” in the area.

Property owner Sadegh Parvizi applied to get permission to rent the Headington Road property to up to five people. But council officers refused after it was discovered 33 per cent of homes in the area were HMOs and it would “lead to an unbalanced community.”

About 16,000 homes in Oxford are rented, making up 28 per cent of the market.