Labour MP makes astonishing attack on HMO tenants and their landlords – LandlordZONE

A Labour MP has told how some of her constituents live in fear of HMO residents – the consequence of a housing crisis squeezing too many tenants together.

Emma Lewell-Buck, the MP for South Shields, says with the cost-of-living crisis biting hard and with rents rising, residents who are perhaps vulnerable, in need of supported living or crammed into housing which is just far too small to accommodate them are causing knock-on problems for other residents in areas where numbers of HMOs are growing fast.

Writing in The Shields Gazette, she says: “Myself and my team have heard multiple cases where residents are scared, unable to sleep at night, worried about their safety and even concerned about whether they will be able to sell their properties on in the future due to the behaviour of some of the tenants in these properties.”#

Urination

This rise in anti-social behaviour has included drug dealing, aggressive behaviour, excessive noise, and public urination, explains Lewell-Buck.

“Not only is this bad for residents and the wider community, but having people unwilling to adhere to the terms of their tenancy or support package offered will have a detrimental impact on others who live in the same HMO.”

She adds: “Where this is happening these properties require careful enforcement by the council who must engage with residents and ensure local voices are heard when granting and enforcing these licenses.

“The wider issue clearly is that a lack of housing stock is causing demand for HMOs to skyrocket, and exploitative rental practices are damaging tenants and neighbours alike.”

As LandlordZONE has highlighted on many occasions, some attitudes to HMOs, their tenants and the way they are run can be unfair and a form of nymbism.