You’re probably going to end up in an HMO

Hollie Wright wrote about the rise of ​“homes of multiple occupancy” in the New Statesman:

“In neighbourhood group chats across Britain, the HMO is the local villain of choice. For those living inside, a labelled shelf in the fridge and a strict bathroom rota are daily irritants. But for their neighbours, overflowing bins, strangers ringing doorbells in the early hours, crowded parking spaces, and a rotating cast of young professionals on rolling contracts are sources of endless discontent.

“Yet the number of them keeps relentlessly ticking up. If you want a vision of the future imagine countless British streets where every home has been sliced and diced by landlords into multiple poky flats. Licence applications across England rose 40 per cent between 2018 and 2024, from 41,162 to 57,725. West Lancashire alone saw a 900 per cent increase.”

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