Understanding the Need for HMOs in Portsmouth: A Crucial Housing Solution

Portsmouth has long faced challenges in balancing housing affordability, community cohesion, and regulatory oversight. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)—where multiple, unrelated individuals share living spaces—have emerged as a significant part of the city's housing landscape. While their presence has sparked debate among councillors, planning officials, and residents, their value as an accessible housing solution remains undeniable.

The Role of HMOs in Addressing Housing Needs

HMOs provide an essential housing option for students, professionals, and vulnerable individuals. They offer affordable living arrangements amid rising rental costs, catering to individuals who may struggle to secure self-contained properties. In Portsmouth, HMOs play a pivotal role in preventing homelessness and reducing associated costs for the council. In 2024/25 alone, 250 people at risk of homelessness were housed in HMOs by PCC staff, significantly alleviating financial pressures on the city's support services.  

Regulation and Policy Framework

The regulatory framework governing HMOs has evolved over the years. Planning law changed in 2010 splitting out shared houses with up to 6 occupants from C3 use class into a new C4 'HMO' class (leaving C3 as single-family dwellings only). Recognizing the need for stricter oversight, Portsmouth City Council implemented an Article 4 Direction in 2011, mandating that a change from C3 to the new C4 use required planning approval. At the same time, the Local Plan was updated to prevent any further concentrations of HMOs with a threshold set at 10% of dwellings within a 50m radius. This threshold remains a key element of the local policy on HMOs.

The Ongoing Debate Over HMO Limits

Despite the established 10% threshold, some councillors advocate reducing it to 5%, citing concerns about overcrowding, parking, and community impact. However, leading legal expert Robert Walton KC has cautioned that such a move could weaken the council's position in the Local Plan examination, noting that robust, locally specific evidence would be necessary to justify a stricter limitation (and we all know that the evidence justifying 10% was only acceptable because no one challenged it – something we rue to this day, as it was flimsy at best).

Councillor Russell Simpson has called for an updated citywide register of HMOs, ensuring greater transparency in housing data. Whilst we agree that PCC's register is wildly inaccurate and should not be, our view is that the register has as many non-HMO properties in it as it misses actual HMOs. It too us years to convince the team at PCC that several hundred 1-bed flats at Gunwharf really ought not be on the register.

Cllr. Simpson is not alone in calling for an accurate register. Portsmouth North MP, Amanda Martin wrote to council leader, Cllr. Steve Pitt on the same subject – see picture below, though she appears to suggest there is no register which of course is not accurate.

Additionally, Cllr. Simpson has challenged the affordability of HMOs, arguing that they may be less cost-effective than single flats in Portsmouth. In response, chief planner Ian Maguire reaffirmed that HMOs remain the lowest-cost housing option available in the city.It is rare we agree with Mr. Maguire but in this case he is correct – the average rent for a 1-bed flat, according to the Office For National Statistics May 2025 data is £873 whereas an HMO room can be had for £550, or according to PCC's website an HMO room can be had for £556 whereas a 1-bed flat will be £730. Wild differences in data as usual – but both showing that the chief planner is perfectly correct. 

Appeals and the Challenge of Planning Decisions

Portsmouth's Planning Committee faces difficulties in successfully defending decisions regarding HMOs. Since April 2023, only two appeals against the committee's refusal of HMO applications have been upheld—one on a technical administrative ground, rather than on the substantive reason of the committee. In contrast, 11 appeals against refusals have been lost.

Overall, the committee's substantive reasoning has only been upheld in just 13% of cases over the past two years, compared to 70-80% of appeals upheld nationally by the Planning Inspectorate. Notably, when considering officer-led decisions in Portsmouth, the city has seen 83% of appeals upheld, highlighting the disparity in outcomes between Planning Committee decisions and those made at an officer level.

These figures indicate that the Planning Committee faces considerable challenges in defending its decisions, confirming the need for stronger evidence and legal grounding in refusals to avoid costly and unsuccessful appeal processes.  It does not help that the Portsmouth Independent Party councillors routinely refuse to vote for any HMO regardless of legality while some other councillors constantly seek an excuse to reject an application.

The Future of HMOs in Portsmouth

With new licensing regulations introduced in September 2023, all HMOs must meet even stricter compliance and safety standards. This has been justified on the basis of ensuring quality living conditions for tenants while addressing concerns about substandard housing. There is an argument that driving out the cheaper accommodation is removing the only housing stock the least able have available and another that standards were OK already and this is just a job creation scheme which helps councillors argue they have done something which improves something – but we know those arguments fall on deaf ears.

Portsmouth's approach to HMOs must strike a careful balance between community interests and the urgent need for affordable housing. While objections to new applications remain prominent, data reveals that appeal decisions frequently overturn Planning Committee refusals, highlighting perhaps the legal complexities involved, or maybe the unjustified bias against perfectly legitimate housing.

Ultimately, HMOs fill a crucial gap in Portsmouth's housing sector, offering a lifeline to individuals who might otherwise face uncertainty. As the city refines its policies, evidence-based decision-making must start to guide the path forward—ensuring that housing remains both accessible and sustainable.