Latest news with #HMO
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Durham County Council approves HMO rules
New planning rules which make it tougher for landlords to convert properties into shared housing have been Durham County Council has supported a proposal to introduce an Article 4 Direction, which requires owners to apply for planning permission when converting properties into Homes in Multiple Occupation (HMO).Currently, properties for between three and six occupants can be converted without planning permission. Campaigners said they were "absolutely thrilled" and added the changes would help to improve people's quality of life, following an increase in HMOs in certain areas. "This is going to be huge for the community, because people will now be able to know if the house next door is HMO, because they'll be notified," said Matthew Tough, the secretary of East Durham Communities Standing Together group, which has been calling for more regulations."They'll get a chance to object. If there's any parking concerns in the street, they'll be noted and recorded."Councillor Lyndsey Fox, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said there had been a "steady increase" in HMOs outside of Durham City over the past few years, with the number rising more significantly since 2021."Residents have expressed concerns that the increase in HMOs is negatively impacting residential amenity and local character," Fox said. "In these circumstances, it is considered an Article 4 is needed to enable the proper planning of the county to maintain mixed and balanced communities by requiring planning applications to be submitted for HMO use." 'A lot safer' Article 4 regulations are currently in place in areas around Durham City popular with students, the Local Democracy Reporting Service East Durham Communities Standing Together group had warned an expansion of the rules was needed, as some of the county's most deprived areas were being targeted by private Tough added the county council would now be able to scrutinise proposed designs and call applications to committee so it could be debated."They can ensure that it's going to be safe for all parties involved - the tenants, the community. It'll just be a lot safer for everybody involved," he Nicola Lyons, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and environment, added that HMOs could provide an affordable form of accommodation for a wide range of groups."However, an overconcentration of this type of housing can have a negative impact on day-to-day life for communities, often because of issues such as increased noise, the general appearance of properties, refuse management, and parking issues," she new measures were approved at a cabinet meeting on Monday. A public consultation will be held before a final decision is made later this year. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Boss of homeless hotels firm to advise council on tourist tax
Mr Ellis is also manager of the Cameron Guest House Group, which runs a string of hotels and B&Bs used by the council for temporary accommodation amid a housing emergency. The company, owned by the Akbar Mir family, has received council contracts worth over £8m since 2022 and reported profits totalling £19m since 2016. Last year, it was among several temporary accommodation providers revealed as operating unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). He insisted he is 'more than capable of contributing constructively and objectively, without favour or bias to the Forum' adding: 'Any inference otherwise says more about those that claim it.' However his appointment has sparked concerns over a potential conflict of interest. Susan Rae, a Scottish Greens councillor in [[Edinburgh]], told The Herald: 'There is a clear connection between Mr Ellis and an organisation that provides, at great expense to the council, homeless accommodation. That is an interesting connection for the transient visitor levy group and needs to be investigated.' She added: 'I think that the councillors will not be accepting of somebody with that link, they'll want further information on how that occurred. I think we have to understand why he was appointed.' Leith Links Community Council, which has previously expressed concern about the expansion and quality of homeless accommodation provided by the Cameron Guest House Group (CGHG) in the area, questioned whether the council had carried out adequate due diligence on all appointees. In a statement, they said: 'We were surprised to see Mr Neil Ellis on this advisory forum because this community council knows him best not as a tourism expert but as the agent of a leading provider of homeless accommodation across Edinburgh, and particularly in LLCC's area, notably including several properties which were operating without HMO licences until last December.' The community council said instead of 'improving communities' CGHG was 'profiting from poverty'. They said members of the Forum will have 'enormous access and influence over a multi-million pound scheme' and 'where the money goes'. The group also questioned the legitimacy of the Edinburgh Hotels Association 'that is neither a company or a charity, and there is no transparency as to the members of the group'. Read more: The Association's website describes it as the 'unified voice of the hotel industry within Edinburgh' representing the interests of over 50 'principle hotels' across the city 'which are independently or corporately owned and are managed locally or by national and international brands'. Mr Ellis represented CGHG at an emergency Edinburgh Council licensing committee meeting held late last year to address a scandal involving unlicensed HMOs. The Akbar Mir's company was among a group of temporary accommodation providers the council warned it would stop using unless their hotels, B&Bs, and guest houses had undergone the HMO regulatory process to ensure the safety, suitability, and proper management of shared housing. The meeting heard concerns about inadequate bedroom and kitchen space in two of their properties used as temporary accommodation, both of which were granted HMO licences to continue operating. Following this, the council recently extended Cameron Guest House Group's homeless accommodation contracts for another year. Edinburgh Council said as part of the recruitment process for the Visitor Levy Advisory Forum Mr Ellis submitted his CV 'which included details of his employment'. It said: 'Forum members have been asked to complete a Register of Interests form if they consider that they, a family member, or a personal contact, has a private, personal or financial interests or involvement in outside activities, which may relate to their work with the Forum and could result in a perceived or actual conflict of interest. Mr Ellis has completed this form and submitted it to the Council.' The council said the Forum has an advisory function, with final decision-making on the use of VL funds remains with councillors' and it was 'understood and accepted' that members 'are likely to have conflicts of interest relating to the levy, with a register of these enabling transparency'. It added: 'The Forum has met for an introductory session only. At each meeting, as a matter of course, Forum members are asked if they have any actual or perceived conflicts that have not already been declared with what is on the agenda. 'Mr Ellis has completed a register of interests form, which was sent to all members.' Mr Ellis told The Herald: 'I'm delighted to join the Edinburgh Visitor Levy Advisory Forum. 'Forum members are not appointed to represent the views of their employers or any group that they may be associated with, but as individuals with lived experience of Edinburgh. 'As Chair of the Edinburgh Hotels Association for six years and on the ETAG Full Group for several more, I feel I am more than capable of contributing constructively and objectively, without favour or bias to the Forum and as directed by our appointed Chair. Any inference otherwise says more about those that claim it. 'In terms of the Forum, there are more than adequate Terms of reference agreed, Officer support in place and discussions around any conflicts have been had. 'I'm sure the Levy funds paid by the visitors to our wonderful City will make a huge improvement to their experience and of those whom live, work and study here too.' In May councillors agreed to appoint Julie Ashworth as chair of the Forum. Ms Ashworth is a founder and CEO of BroadReach Leadership Consultancy, 'whose clients span retail, technology, travel, education and the arts,' the council said. She also serves as a Public Interest Board Trustee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, is chair of the board for the University of Aberdeen and has been a longstanding member of the Institute of Directors. An interview panel consisting of the council's chief executive Paul Lawrence, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz McAreavey, Caroline Warburton from VisitScotland, and Ken Robertson, Secretary, Edinburgh Association of Community Councils, agreed "unanimously" that Ms Ashworth's experience 'would be a great asset for the Forum and her calm and firm, yet approachable, style would enable the running of a well-balanced Forum with fair representation of all views'. It was then left up to Ms Ashworth and council officers to finalise the Forum's membership. Other appointees include Lori Anderson, Director of Festivals Edinburgh, Terry Levinthal, Director of the Cockburn Association heritage watchdog, Douglas Tharby, Deputy Chair of the Edinburgh Association of Community Councils, and Alex Williamson, Chief Executive of Scottish Rugby. The full list can be found here. The announcement has prompted wider questions about the purpose of the Forum and its appointments. Simon Holledge, of New Town and Broughton Community Council, said: 'The worry is that we will end up with cumbersome, bureaucratic and opaque processes that seem crafted for manipulation behind the scenes by unelected officers and political groups. 'The apparent weakness of the forum [...] adds to the feeling that this will be yet another seldom-meeting, rubber-stamping, nominal body. More from our Edinburgh correspondent: 'In contrast to a lot of council mini-dramas, the Visitor Levy is actually important. A lot of money is involved. Local government is seriously underfunded and the tourist tax could make a difference. 'Instead of a transparent, fair process that wins the confidence both of residents and accommodation providers, we fear we may end up with a scheme discredited on both sides, neither of whom start off with much confidence in the council in the first place.' Leith Links Community Council also complained the appointed membership was 'largely business-based'. It said: 'We understand the need for representation from the tourism and hospitality sector, but since the aims of the Visitor Levy include 'funding public services, infrastructure and resident-visitor experience' and 'managing the impacts of tourism', we would wish, from a local community perspective, to see much wider representation from the community, including local community councils and action groups, interest groups [...] and service providers in e.g. education, transport, waste management- in short, members with a strong track record in delivering improvements for communities across [[Edinburgh]]. We also think that expertise in participatory budgeting would be valuable.' Edinburgh Council said: 'Governance around the visitor levy, including any future decisions, remains subject to established Council procedures and elected member oversight.'
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Medicaid Enrollment Sees Sharp Decline; HMOs Report $1 Billion Revenue Drop
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 18, 2025-- The 'Minnesota Health Market Review 2025 (Part 1)' report has been added to offering. HMO profitability plunged in 2024, as HMOs and County-Based Purchasing plans reported lower revenues, higher medical expenses and large losses on operations. The number of enrollees in Medicaid managed care plans dropped by about 207,000 in 2023 and 2024, although it is still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyst reports on these and other findings in Part One of Minnesota Health Market Review 2025. This is the 36th edition of the report, which was first published in 1990. The reports in Minnesota and five other states examine key trends and competitive strategies for health plan companies and hospital systems in those markets. Later this year, the Part Two report for Minnesota will present an analysis of the state's hospital systems and how they compete, examining 2024 Medicare cost report data on their financial results and measures of inpatient utilization. The new report finds that: Key Topics Covered: For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. View source version on CONTACT: Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 KEYWORD: MINNESOTA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HOSPITALS HEALTH HEALTH INSURANCE SOURCE: Research and Markets Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 07/18/2025 12:41 PM/DISC: 07/18/2025 12:41 PM
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I gave up 100-hour work weeks to be an HMO landlord earning 17pc yields'
For most of her life, Kim Opszala's plan was to climb the corporate ladder. But when she got there, she rapidly discovered the view from the top is not quite as idyllic as she had imagined. So Opszala pivoted her plans. Fed up of working 100-hour weeks and never seeing her family, she decided to scale back her career as a lawyer. This would mean taking a hefty pay cut. To make up the difference, she has built up a sideline property portfolio, picking one of the most lucrative rental sectors. Shared houses – officially known as a house in multiple occupation (HMO), and defined as a property rented out to at least three individual tenants sharing amenities like kitchens and bathrooms – provide landlords with significantly richer pickings than regular privately rented homes. Recent research by Paragon Bank shows British landlords currently make an average rental yield of 7.1pc. In England, they range from a high of 7.9pc in Yorkshire and Humberside to a low of 5.8pc in Greater London. But HMOs can deliver far higher returns – sometimes three or four times as much, according to estate agent Hamptons. It found that the highest gross profits are in the North East and North West, with Stockton-on-Tees, Burnley and Rochdale landlords recording gross yields of 19.6pc, 19.1pc, and 18.6pc respectively. The East Midlands is also a good bet, with South Derbyshire, Ashfield and Mansfield all recording gross yields of 17pc to 18pc. Even in the South, where high buying prices cut into profits, HMO yields are comfortably twice the overall average. 'We wanted to replace my salary, so we picked HMOs' Opszala's first experience of HMOs was living in one as a student in Aberystwyth, Wales. 'It was awful, very tired, the furniture was all old and mismatched, and there were six of us and just one shower and one bath,' she recalls. 'It was great living with friends, but the accommodation was very substandard.' In 2018, Opszala, 40, and her husband Mike, 44, bought an HMO in Milton Keynes, where they were living at the time. The couple, who now live in a village in Staffordshire with their five-year-old, now own eight properties, mostly in Milton Keynes and Northampton. They collectively house more than 50 people, and run KoMo Properties. They are in the process of adding two more shared houses to their portfolio. 'Why did we concentrate on HMOs? It was for cash flow reasons,' says Opszala, who as a lawyer specialises in mergers and acquisitions. 'HMOs have a much better return. When we started, I was working at one of the largest law firms in the world, and Mike was working nights as a chef. We were like ships that passed in the night. It wasn't sustainable. We wanted to replace my salary so that I wouldn't have to work like that.' That first HMO currently earns the couple a yield of almost 17pc. KoMo's income has allowed Opszala to stop working full time. She takes law contracts for three to six months per year, and Mike quit cheffing in 2022 to work on the business full time. Like the couple, many landlords prefer to invest close to home for the sense of safety, plus the possibility of managing their rental property themselves. Although the highest yields are in the North, southerners can also find pockets of opportunity. The highest yields are to be found in King's Lynn, West Norfolk, Ipswich and Somerset, which are all around 16pc according to Hamptons. The average price of an HMO in these areas hovers around £200,000. In London, your best bet is to look in the suburbs. In Havering, an average HMO costs £414,400, and returns gross yields of 12.8pc. Other HMO hotspots in the capital are in Sutton and Barking and Dagenham. The university cities with the best gross yields are led by Derby (15.5pc; average price £182,000), followed by Leicester and Kingston upon Hull. The small print But before you rush to invest, bear in mind that there are downsides beyond HMOs' headline figures. Howard Levy, of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, warns landlords who want to follow in Opszala's footsteps to pay attention to the small print. Interest rates for HMOs tend to be slightly higher than on standard buy-to-lets. Like-for-like examples are tricky, but for five-year fixes, the cheapest standard landlord mortgage is on offer with Birmingham Midshires at 3.71pc, plus a 3pc fee. For an HMO mortgage, Vida Bank offers one at 4.2pc, with a 7pc fee. Insurance premiums are also likely to be higher. There are also legal hurdles to overcome before you can launch your HMO in the first place. Some of the Opszalas' houses were already designated as HMOs when they bought them. Others were not, and in many locations, including both Milton Keynes and Northampton, this means applying for planning permission. Last month, Opszala found herself addressing a council meeting which was deciding on her application to use a house as a new seven-bedroom HMO, in the face of almost 200 local objections. 'It was al,: 'They are going to house criminals, there will be no parking, there will be rubbish on the streets, the whole area will go down',' she says. 'I was able to explain why HMOs are needed, and how we run them, and it was approved. But it is a risk, quite stressful and time consuming.' When up and running, HMO landlords also need to meet higher safety standards. According to the British Landlords Association, this means fitting half-hour fire doors and, as with all private rentals, gas safety checks must be conducted annually. HMO electrics need to be checked every five years. Other private landlords need to commit only to making sure the electrical system and appliances are safe, with no regular inspection programme. All rental properties must be fitted with smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, but large HMOs also need fire alarms and extinguishers. HMOs also need to be licenced by the local council, and costs can be in excess of £2,000 per year depending on location. Most of the Opszalas' tenants are graduates and students fresh out of halls of residence. This means that a certain degree of hand-holding is required, she says. 'It is generally things like using the washing machine and the dryers, or a lightbulb will go and we will have to educate them on how to change it.' The compensation for the couple is freedom. They have been able to indulge their passion for travelling too, taking regular family campervan trips around Europe while running the company remotely. Swapping a pension for HMOs Neil France got into the HMO business because he is self-employed – the 68-year-old runs international leadership training programmes – and was concerned about what could happen to him should he ever become too unwell to work. He was also deeply disappointed in the performance of the pension he had dutifully been paying into for years. In 2009, he stopped those payments, and instead bought a house on the Wirral which had belonged to his wife's aunt, renting it out to a succession of families in the year that followed. He then bought three more properties there. But by 2013, he reviewed his portfolio and decided that 'normal' rental properties weren't making enough profit – their gross yield is 5pc or 6pc. So he bought three HMO properties close to his home in Chelmsford, Essex, which make 10pc to 12pc. France doesn't find his HMO tenants – who are mainly young professionals – any more or less likely to cause trouble than his private renters, and has found that a system of 'ruthless referencing' helps weed out bad apples. But HMOs do inevitably generate more work, what feels to France like an endless, wearying flow of weekend calls requesting assistance for everything from slow-running Wi-Fi to leaky showers to fights over bathroom cleanliness. Over the past 16 years, he has continued with his day job, resulting in a good amount of equity in his portfolio. In the same period, times have grown tougher for landlords – notably thanks to the successive increases in stamp duty in 2014 and 2016 and the end of tax relief on their mortgage interest payments from 2017. 'We have been made pariahs by successive governments,' says France. But with four grown-up children to consider, he is resisting the temptation to sell up. Instead, he is taking equity out of his houses and gifting it to his children, in the hope that he can lower their eventual inheritance tax bill. 'I'm not sure it is worth the hassle' Another HMO malcontent is Xavier Archibold, who began investing in rental properties when he received an inheritance in 2016. He now has 20 of them – 16 regular properties and four HMOs, each with four or five bedrooms. All are close to his home in Leeds, chosen partly because Archibold, 52, a consultant in the transport logistics industry, does a lot of the management himself. 'And the North is doing very well in terms of price growth,' he says. His advice to others is that, as with all rental properties, choosing the right HMO is essential. They need to have good public transport links and be close to amenities, and the bedrooms need to be spacious and, ideally, en suite. 'The number of people who turn their noses up at a shared bathroom is unbelievable,' he says. Xavier says his HMOs earn good money – each room is charged at between £450 and almost £800 per month, depending on location, size and amenities – bringing in a gross yield of around 10pc to 12pc, compared to 5pc to 6pc for his regular rentals. Despite this, he is considering selling off his HMOs after growing tired of refereeing arguments about washing up, doing constant maintenance and dealing with personal problems from job losses to mental health crises. 'It is constant little things,' he says. 'I'm not sure if it is worth the hassle. You have got five tenants for the price of one – and one of them is bound to be difficult. Even if they are fine, if one person moves out it takes time to replace them, and that is all your profit gone for that month.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Durham County Council set to vote on tougher HMO rules
Council leaders hope new measures to control the number of shared homes will help balance communities across a rules are set to be introduced by Durham County Council to combat the rapid increase in homes in multiple occupation (HMO).Councillors will vote on plans to force all HMOs, regardless of size, to go through the full planning process under Article 4 regulations on 21 properties for between three and six residents can be converted without receiving planning permission. Concerned residents previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the increase in HMOs had negatively impacted their Lyndsey Fox, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: "During the past few years, we have seen a steady increase in HMOs, with the number rising more significantly since 2021."An overconcentration of this type of household can have a negative impact on day-to-day life for communities, often because of issues such as increased noise, the general appearance of properties, refuse management and parking issues."She also highlighted the longer term impacts of the loss of family housing and the impact on community cohesion. Concerns from residents Article 4 regulations are currently in place in areas around Durham popular with students. Now, members of Durham County Council's cabinet will consider undertaking a consultation on the introduction of a countywide in Darlington recently approved a similar said the council already use a range of powers to crackdown on HMO-related issues, such as planning and licensing enforcement and environmental health notices. But the council was still hearing concerns from residents about the impact such properties were having in the region, she said."Implementing the Article 4 Direction across the county will avoid concentrations of HMOs in alternative locations to where we are seeing issues now," she said. Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.
