Residents in Rickmansworth will now be told about new licence applications for shared houses on their street after Three Rivers District Council approved a policy designed to give communities a direct say. The change, passed by the Policy and Resources Committee on 29 June, means immediate neighbours of any property seeking an HMO licence will receive a notification and can submit comments for officers to consider when assessing whether any additional conditions should be placed on a licence.
Ward, county and parish councillors along with the council’s anti-social behaviour team will also be alerted. The addresses of every property with a pending application will be published online so that residents can track what is happening in their own area. Cllr Steve Drury, Lead Member for Community Engagement, Public Safety and Housing, said he gave a public undertaking last year to improve transparency around HMOs and has now delivered on that commitment.
The new consultation arrangements sit alongside wider work to tighten the rules on converting family homes into shared housing. The council is preparing an Article 4 Direction that removes the automatic right to turn a property into an HMO for up to six occupants, meaning planning permission will be needed. Residents who want to have their say on that proposal can send representations to the council by 16 August 2026, with the change expected to come into force by July 2027.
Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst OBE, Leader of the council, said in June that a rise in potential new HMOs over the last five months provided enough evidence to justify the Direction. Under current rules any shared house for six or fewer people is granted automatic planning permission, but the new controls will give planning officers the chance to consider the cumulative impact on a street before a conversion goes ahead.
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