Sefton Opposition Leader Praised Sefton Cabinet for Clamping Down on HMOs

Shock!  Horror!  Sefton Opposition Leader , Liberal Democrat, John Pugh has praised Sefton Cabinet for doing the right thing by clamping down on the conversion of big old houses into multi- occupancy dwellings-  HMOs (houses in multiple occupation). 

From henceforward these conversions big or small will all require planning permission and neighbourhood consultation. House in multiple occupation are often crude conversions with shared bathrooms and  facilities. Much of Southport town centre is given over to HMOs - many in poor physical condition.

“There are so many houses in my ward,” says Cllr .Pugh , “ where landlords do the minimum for the maximum return.  Although there is a licensing scheme for HMOs in the town centre, there are many breaches of the regulations and some properties do not meet the standard legally required of rented property. Sadly many tenants fear that complaining will lead to eviction. 

Many of the worse properties in Southport are let to EU nationals or people on work visas who lack information on their rights. I have tried using leaflets in many languages as well as English to encourage people to report sub-standard or unsafe properties, but if the alternative is homelessness, people will put up with a lot. Sadly the Council has only sticks and no carrots to encourage landlords to invest and improve. There really are no grants available."

Cllr. Pugh believes that this underlines the importance of town centre of schemes like “homes above shops” and converting retail space to residential use.

“The best antidote to poor housing is creating good quality, affordable housing. Unless we provide something better and meet demand, some landlords will continue to sweat their asset- take the rent and let the property decay. Sefton , I don’t mind saying, is doing the right thing in trying to stop HMOs spreading, but we have to move faster to progress alternatives.”