Oxford City Council operates a register of HMOs (houses in multiple occupancy) in the city. An HMO is defined as “a building or part of a building that is occupied by three or more people from two or more households (unrelated families) who share facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom, pay rent and it is their main place of residence.”1 The latest copy of the register (an Excel spreadsheet), dated 21 July 2017 is published on the Council’s website.
I have extracted the HMOs in the OX3 postcode area – there are 729 of them – and put them on a Google map.2 Explore at your leisure!
The Council is currently consulting on the Preferred Options stage of the new Local Plan covering the period up to 2036. They are proposing a change in their planning policy on HMOs, arguing that purpose-built HMOs in the right locations could help the provision of affordable homes. If you are interested in this issue and the associated question of purpose-built student accommodation I strongly recommend you read the relevant sections of the Preferred Options document, i.e. paragraphs 3.52 and Option 19 on HMOs, and 3.53 – 3.67 and Option 20 on student accommodation, and send in your comments before the deadline of 25 August.
2. A few premises with more than one HMO (e.g. a house with 2 flats) might only show as one marker on the map.