Reporter and MP visit Mansfield’s worst street for HMOs

But a closer inspection of the long row of historic houses reveals workmen marching in and out of a number of open front doors, carrying poles and planks of wood.

That’s because Princes Street is a hotspot for HMOs – houseshares where none of the residents knows each other.

They’re lucrative for landlords because they collect rent from each tenant individually, rather than for the whole property.

Many of the townhouses on Princes Street used to be family homes.

But many have either been stripped down to their bare bones and converted, or they’re in the process of it, with workmen marching in and out of their open doors.

It’s not all of them, though – and as I’m sitting parked up in my car on the side of the road, I see an elderly man walk out of his property.

I jump out and pace over, to stop him and ask whether it’s true that HMOs are taking over the street.

He replied: “It’s becoming a real thing.

“The one next door to me was sold because one of the owners died.

"They sold it as a family home and we were under the impression it would be kept that way.

"It had a brand new kitchen, bathroom and basement, and a new sauna outside.

“And then it was bought and they took the whole thing back to brick, smashed it all up and ripped everything out.

“It was sad to see, it’s just unfortunate.”

He points to other houses near his, adding: “That one, that one, that one and that one, they’re all HMOs.

Marius Oprea, 47, a lorry driver who lives on the other side of the road, said: “It can change fast, the people who live in the HMOs come for a month, two months, leave, and someone else comes.

"They change many times, they change a lot, it’s many cars.”

He says he doesn’t hear any disturbance from the busy homes – but adds that more and more HMOs ‘will be a problem’.

He continued: “My concern is that they don’t all become HMOs.

"People come here, buy houses and instead of families, they make them into flats.

"This is, in my opinion, going to be a problem.

"The street becomes more congested and I’m not sure we have the infrastructure for that.”

Countywide, car parking issues are a big concern for those opposed to HMOs.

While family homes might need one or two parking spaces, HMOs with five to 10 residents living there could mean five to 10 extra cars on a street.

Marius continued: “Sometimes someone moving in will park in front of my house.

"I write a letter ‘be a good neighbour’ and put it on their windscreen.”

Next to Marius’s house, the garden wall has been knocked down – presumably by a vehicle reversing on the tight street.

Other residents report people parking in front of their driveways too with one saying it’s ‘becoming a bit congested’.

Neighbour Faith Olaoti says the rise in HMOs on the street ‘explains the busyness’.

“He said: It’s a lot busier, you can tell by the condition of the road.

"We recently had the council re-tar over it but it’s already looking very deteriorated and used.

"It seems almost up and down the street at all hours, even at times of the night.

“I didn’t realise there was so many HMOs.

"I guess it’s now starting to look as if it’s a significant issue.”

Faith does, however, assert that the neighbours opposite him – in two HMOs – are no problem.

He said: “We haven’t had any issues ever with any of them other than parking occasionally but that’s easily resolved.”

Accompanying me on my visit is Mansfield MP Steve Yemm (Lab), who has been campaigning for tougher HMO laws for more than a year.

Last year he organised a debate on the issue in Parliament, where he spoke about his belief that there should be more control over HMOs.

At the moment in Mansfield, landlords and developers only have to apply for permission from the council to convert a property into an HMO if there are going to be more than five bedrooms inside.

It means that the number of HMOs with five or fewer bedrooms is not tracked, nor are the properties regulated by rules and regulations like larger ones are.

Councils can, however, change this by implementing an ‘Article 4 direction’, a piece of legislation which means that a new HMO of any size needs permission from the authority.

Mr Yemm recently reiterated calls for Mansfield Council to implement an Article 4 direction across the district.

He said: “There’s quite a lot of lower-cost housing in Mansfield.

"For someone to come in and buy up multiple properties and convert them to HMOs is a rather profitable thing.

“I’ve said to Government there should be a national set limit on HMO developments, to make it easy for councils to say ‘we’ve got a certain proportion of HMOs in this area, we’ve hit the ceiling, there can’t be any more.’

“People have a feeling that the character of residential streets like this are changing and that they have very little control over it.

"They’re rightly concerned, Princes Street already has a lot of HMOs and I think there’s a limit to the number of HMOs you can put on a residential street like this.”

But to implement Article 4 is not a simple process.

Councils currently have to gather evidence, argue a case and engage in a long period of consultation before any changes can be made – and Mr Yemm has also called on the Government to make it easier for councils to put the legislation in place.

He continued: “I get it but it takes quite a bit of work to get there.

"I’ve made the case to Government that we should make it easier for councils, because getting this legislation in is sometimes urgent.

“But I really think the council should be listening to residents on streets like this which now have lots of HMOs on them.

"I’ve met with the council to tell them they should make use of Article 4.

“There are a lot of things that the Government can do, but the first step – the council implementing it – is really the important one.

"From what people tell me living in Mansfield, they’re overwhelmingly in support of doing this.”

It certainly seems that way.

We head to another location – Charles Street – which Mr Yemm is also very familiar with due to its HMO prevalence.

Some residents here know him from previous visits and tell of their concerns.

Pamela Gibson, who’s lived on the road for seven years, said: “It seems like every other house, when it goes up for sale, it’s like ‘let’s make it an HMO’.

“Later in the day you can’t get up here for cars.

"We don’t park out here because we’ve had our cars scratched and bashed.

"Adding six and eight-bedroom homes all over the place, when people come home, it becomes a bit of a nightmare.”

Another resident, said: “It needs regulating, they need to know how many are on a street and how many are permitted.

“It’s the amount of them.

"And once they’re HMOs, they’re never going to be family homes ever again.”

That’s a point that others I’ve spoken to have raised too.

Once the interior layout of the house is so drastically changed, it’s unlikely it would be worth it financially for a developer to put it back to how it once was.

A resident who also asked not to be named, said: “This street used to be immaculate, it used to be lovely.

"Now, people leave stuff on the lane.

"Once one person drops something, another does.

"I’m always on to the council.

“If it wasn’t for me and my neighbour there’d be rubbish everywhere, we come out and clean it.”

It doesn’t help when the number of cars on the road means that binmen can’t get up the street.

“In a morning the lorry can’t come down because people are coming and going to school.

“It’s shocking and the bins don’t get emptied.

"There’s no way at the weekend emergency services could get up here either, it’s a threat to life.

“All the empty buildings in town could be made into HMOs.

"We want to keep these as residential streets.”

Mr Yemm hopes his publicity about the issue will push the council into finally making changes.

He said: “There becomes really important quality of life issues.

"Can you get your bin emptied and can you park your car?

"These become quite emotional for people.

"You’re creating the conditions to be inconsiderate if there’s lots of HMOs on the street.

“Residents who are living on streets affected by this problem right across Mansfield think it’s time for the council to act.

"Article 4 would allow local people to have a say, through the planning process, about the shape of their street.

“I really hope the council will hear this, listen and take action.”

A spokesperson for Mansfield Council said: “We understand residents’ concerns.

"The council is currently reviewing HMO numbers, distribution and trends across Mansfield as part of our ongoing assessment of housing needs and local communities.

“As part of this work, we are considering the range of planning powers available to local authorities, including whether an Article 4 direction may be appropriate.Any decision would need to be based on robust evidence and a thorough assessment of local circumstances.

“We will continue to work with local partners, residents and elected representatives to ensure any future action is proportionate, evidence-based and in the best interests of Mansfield communities.”