Gloucester Council is to apply for an Article 4 Direction in a bid to curb the number of shared houses in the city.

Council leader Jeremy Hilton believes problems are being created by the number of landlords buying properties, he tells The BBC. “We’ve got family homes that have been bought up by absentee buy-to-let landlords who really don’t care much about what impact they have on the community, all they’re interested in is maximising their money,” says Hilton.

“It’s getting to the point where certain streets are overcrowded, there’s issues with too many cars and it just changes the nature of the whole area.”

Concentrated

The authority reports that there are just under 500 HMOs in the city, concentrated in small areas such as Barton and Tredworth and Kingsholm and Wotton which are causing issues with rubbish collection and parking and weaken the sense of community.

The directive would require landlords in defined areas of the city to apply for licences and planning permission for homes with three or more tenants. It would also enable the council to restrict the number of HMOs to fewer than 10% per 100 metres.

Difference

Nearby Cheltenham Council introduced an Article 4 Directive in the St Paul’s area of the town in 2020 which cabinet member for housing and customer services, Flo Clucas, reckons has made a real difference.

“Waste collection is a big issue for most families, and that happens much better now,” she says. “You don’t have people now, students in particular, parking one after the other outside houses leaving no space for anyone else. And because of that the community is building, it’s coming together, it’s doing things, which is really great.”

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