Residents reveal plight of community being swamped with HMOs
“THEY would finish drinking a bottle and they would lob it over their shoulder, not knowing where it was going to land and just laugh when they heard the smash. That is just one example,” said Cathays resident, Judith Smith.
Judith, who has been living on Maindy Road for four years, is talking about the challenges that houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) bring to her street.
More are planned – one application to turn number 28 into a HMO has been approved and another for number 76 has been deferred.
Judith, who is a landlord herself, and other residents on Maindy Road, have expressed their anguish over what they see as the overdevelopment of Cathays with HMOs and the potential impact that having more on their own street could bring.
Other examples of alleged behavioural issues taking place on or near Maindy Road listed by Judith include lockdown parties and tenants filling other residents’ black wheelie bins with their rubbish.
Judith said: “The problem is that not all of the residents of each HMO cause problems all the time. It is like Russian roulette.
“When you have such an absorption and such a concentration of HMOs in one area, there has got to be one or the other that causes a problem at some time. We are deeply unhappy.”
Of the 21 buildings on the side of Cathays Terrace that backs on to the properties on Maindy Road, between the east end of Maindy Road and Minister Street, 18 are registered HMOs according to licensing data from 2019.
Cardiff Council’s supplementary planning guidance (SPG), states that if more than 20% of the dwellings within a 50m radius of a proposed HMO in Cathays or
Plasnewydd are already established HMOs, the development “would be considered unacceptable”.
In relation to the application for number 28, the council said this threshold was not exceeded.
Another resident of Maindy Road, Rachel Murray, said nearly all of the homes that back on to their properties “bar one” are HMOs.
She added it is something that has a “fairly sizable impact” on “our gardens and houses in terms of the noise”.
“At the minute we don’t feel that anyone’s voices are being heard,” said Rachel.
“There is anti-social behaviour during term time and then there are also empty properties which cause problems.”
There are also concerns among residents about the potential loss of a sense of community.
Christine Davies, 73, has been living on Maindy Road for more than 50 years.
She thinks the area, which used to have a “family-oriented” atmosphere, is “going down hill”, adding: “It is such a shame”.
Christine said: “I keep an eye on the older neighbours and help them if I can. It’s nice when you go out and you can say hello to them. If you move when you are older, it is awful hard to make friends.
“Here, I know everyone and we have a young couple and they always knock on my door to ask me if there is anything they can do for me.
“A lot of the people who live here are families and there are only three houses [this side of Maindy Road] that are student houses.”
Members of Cardiff Council’s planning committee recently decided to defer an application to turn 76 Maindy Road into an eight-bedroom HMO, despite officers recommending it for approval.
Speaking at the meeting on July 6, ward member for Catahys Cllr Norma Mackie said: “The residents of Maindy Road are largely elderly and they have a good community. They have a cohesive community.
“It is a very friendly street, they all know each other and they are already subjected at night time to noise, antisocial behaviour that can only get worse with putting another HMO in their street.”
Appealing to her colleagues, she added: “We would ask you to look at our objections and consider them. Look at the petition as well. A number of people are saying this is one too far. Please don’t accept it.”
The percentage of HMOs within the 50m radius around the proposed HMO already exceeds the 20% threshold.
There are 28 properties within a 50m radius of 76 Maindy Road. Of these, 19 are registered as HMOs which equates to 68%.
However, officers argued there is a risk of having to pay substantial costs if an appeal is made against the council and if the Planning Inspectorate – the Welsh Government – deems its decision to refuse the application for a HMO to be unreasonable.
A report on the application says: “The threshold for Cathays is 20% therefore the proposal is above the threshold contained within the SPG on HMOs.
“However, the council has also lost a significant amount of appeals against the conversion of properties into HMOs with costs being awarded on nine occasions on the basis that the council’s decision was unreasonable.”
The council said it is working to reduce the impact of HMOs on communities and is looking to establish a new policy framework to give them greater control over approving and dismissing HMO applications.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The council is fully aware of the issues relating to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in areas of the city and has actively taken measures to deal with these issues for the last 12 years.
“The council is now going further, working with the South Wales Police and the universities to reduce the impact of HMOs on residential areas to tackle issues such as waste presentation, litter, parking and anti-social behaviour in these areas.
“The additional licensing scheme that was consulted on in Cathays recently has been in place since 2010 and ensures that the council has upto-date records of the number of HMOs, and that standards of HMO rental accommodation in these areas are of a certain standard.
“This licensing scheme is not a statutory requirement but was brought in by the council to improve living standards in these properties and has recently been consulted on, with the cabinet due to make a decision on the extension of the scheme shortly.
“SPG for developers has also been in place since October 2016, which sets out how the council will assess applications for HMOs and seeks to restrict the amount of additional HMOs that can be consented in any given area of the city in order to protect the amenity or character of an area.
“In Cathays and Plasnewydd, for example, a threshold is applied which seeks to resist new changes of use that would result in more than 20% of dwellings within a 50m radius of the property being a HMO. In other areas of the city the figure is 10%.
“Despite this planning guidance, recent decisions by the Planning Inspectorate have overturned decisions of our planning committee and allowed HMOs in areas of Cathays where the concentration of HMOs is exceptionally high already.
“As part of the current review of Cardiff’s Local Development Plan (LDP) officers and members of the council are working with colleagues in Welsh Government to establish a strengthened policy framework to provide greater controls over these areas.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We have made legislative changes to allow local planning authorities to decide whether or not to adopt local policies in their development plan which can control the density and spread of HMOs.
“To give full effect to these changes, local planning authorities need to put in place robust evidence-based policies in their LDPs against which planning applications for HMOs can be assessed.
“Only the policies in the development plan have legal status in deciding planning applications and any related SPG should only contain guidance and advice in relation to the LDP policy. As such, this can only be taken into account as a material consideration.
“Planning Inspectors must take decisions based on the policies set out in the relevant adopted development plan and any material planning considerations.”