Your Chad speaks to residents of Princes Street after it was dubbed ‘HMO Street’ in national media
Princes Street has been dubbed ‘HMO Street’ in national media coverage, so Your Chad has been speaking to residents to hear their views about Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) and find out what life there is really like.
Residents said the street has its ‘positives’ and its ‘negatives’.
One resident said: “It is a good street with nice people.”
But one resident said: “You don’t recognise your neighbours as there are so many living in there.”
Blessing Clements said: “In terms of finances it is easier to save money because living in shared accommodation the rent is a bit cheaper than when you rent a flat or a building to yourself.
“Currently we pay around £500 to £520 monthly and I have friends who live in a flat and they spend around £800 to £900 monthly, indepently by themselves so there’s a £300 difference.
“Princes Street is really peaceful, I’ve been here two years now.
Princes Street homeowners Tina and Chris Strouther said: “It’s shocking at the moment. The mess they leave and there’s too many.
“There’s not enough parking spaces.
“It makes you feel unsafe as you don’t know whose coming and going.
“We take pride of where we live, we’ve got a nice house but it’s a sign of the times.”
A Mansfield landlord believes the council needs stricter controls on the number of new HMOs in the town.
He said: “More HMOs means more people on the street and more vehicles on the street.
“For people who can’t affored to rent a full house on their own it’s affordability.
“I’m a landlord myself and I’ve chosen not to HMO my property but the next neighbour has gone HMO and its put a few of my tenants off.
“I decided to rent it out normally as I know there are a lot on the street so for now I’m going to keep it as it is.
“I know Mansfield has been flooded with HMOs but everything has its pros and cons.
“If I became homeless I would want a roof over my head.”