A second house on a single North Belfast street has been refused planning permission to be converted into a HMO.
It is the second time in six months that a house on Ponsonby Avenue in North Belfast has been refused permission to become a HMO by councillors at city hall, despite recommendations from council officers to agree permission to become a HMO.
In all, four houses in north Belfast have been refused permission for conversion to HMO status this year at city hall, with Sinn Féin leading the way in blocking them.
Houses of Multiple Occupation, or HMOs, which landlords lease out to three or more tenants from different addresses, have become increasingly controversial, with some arguing they have negatively affected communities and led to anti-social behaviour, in places like the Holylands and Stranmillis in south Belfast where landlords pack houses with undergraduates.
Applications for new HMO licences have increased in other parts of the city in recent months, notably in north Belfast.
HMO licence renewal cannot be refused because of overprovision of such properties in an area but new licences can be refused on this basis.
While the council policy is that HMOs should not account for more than 20 percent in any area of housing management, many streets well exceed this with some in the Holylands reaching over 90 percent. Outside housing policy areas, as in Ponsonby Avenue, the threshold is 10 percent.
At the September meeting of the Belfast City Council Planning Committee, all elected members except one Alliance councillor voted to refuse a proposal for the conversion of an existing dwelling house to a five bed HMO dwelling house.
This was contrary to council officer recommendations. The planning report states: “The bin requirements for the proposed HMO would reduce the rear yard amenity area by 2.4 square metre over and above the existing use as a dwelling. This is not considered to be a significant difference.
“Regard is also had to the close proximity of the site to Alexandra Park to the north, which is less than a 10 minute walk and includes significant open space and a play park, which occupants of the proposed HMO can avail of.
“Taking into consideration these factors, it is considered that sufficient amenity space would be in place for occupants of the proposed HMO.”
The council received 18 objections to the application. Objectors raised issues of parking, traffic, road safety and enforcement, as well as waste and refuse collection.
Issues of anti-social behaviour/noise were raised, as well as the negative impact a HMO could have on the character of the area.
Objectors also raised the impact of a HMO on the provision of family homes in the area, as well as the threats posed by HMOs towards a “loss of a sense of community” with their “high turnover of tenants.”
In April an application for the change of use from a dwelling to six bed HMO at 27 Ponsonby Avenue was refused. At that meeting, another north Belfast application for conversion to a HMO at 272 Limestone Road was refused.
A month later, elected members at the Planning Committee meeting blocked another application for a new HMO at 24 Orient Gardens, off Cliftonville Road.
In each case, Sinn Féin proposed refusal for the HMO conversion. At the September Planning meeting at City Hall Sinn Féin again proposed refusal.
Conor Maskey, north Belfast Sinn Féin councillor for the Castle area, proposed the committee refuse the application at 44 Ponsonby Avenue.
He said: “I grew up seven doors down from this application, and went to Newington when I was aged eight years, and realised it was a very cohesive community.
“About ten years later, when the Housing Executive were giving out HMOs they gave a proliferation on the spine of Newington, at Atlantic Avenue, and the social fabric of the area declined.”
He added: “We rejected number 27 because of the amenity space, and the lack of. There is no space in these backyards. There is a parking issue that I believe the Department for Infrastructure did a bad exercise on, but that is less than the issue of amenity space, especially with waste disposal out the back.”