A LEADING member of Oxford Civic Society has praised city council leaders for their ‘tough stance’ on the issue of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).

Peter Thompson, a former chairman of the society, said key council policies ‘offered hope’ for the avoidance of further decline in the character of the city's neighbourhoods.

Oxford has the 14th highest number of HMOs in England and Wales and 20 per cent of the city’s population is estimated to live in such accommodation.

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Now leading the society’s housing group, Mr Thompson has analysed the local authority’s attempts to limit the spread of HMOs and regulate living conditions.

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Mr Thompson added: “HMOs fulfil an important housing need, offering the only affordable solution for some in our city of astronomical rents and property prices.

“In some areas, however, high concentrations of HMOs are changing the character of neighbourhoods, contributing to traffic, parking and rubbish problems, and resulting in transient communities of short-term residents and erosion of community cohesion.”

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Mr Thompson said the council has taken vital action, including requiring planning consent for the creation of an HMO, and also making all HMOs subject to an additional licence.

Now, for an HMO to operate legally in Oxford, both planning consent and a valid licence are required.

The council stepped up its action after receiving more than 2,000 complaints about HMOs in 2010.

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Unlicensed HMOs run by rogue landlords could contain significant hazards which increase the risk of harm from falls, fire, scalds, electric shock and asbestos.

Mr Thompson, who is celebrating the society’s 50th anniversary, added that the current Local Plan stipulates a maximum density of HMOs in the street - 20 per cent of properties within 100 metres either side, a minimum set of space standards and acceptable facilities.

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A penalty for landlords failing to obtain a licence for an operational HMO can be a major fine.

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Mr Thompson said: “For some of Oxford’s communities the planning controls on HMOs may be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

"But together with the licensing regime the policies do offer hope for the avoidance of further decline in the character of our neighbourhoods, protection of erosion of less affected areas, and an end to the dangerous and insanitary conditions which have plagued the lives of low-income residents.”