Cambridge Labour backs stronger checks for HMOs while protecting renters and neighbourhoods

Cambridge’s Labour administration has agreed to prepare and consult on an Article 4 Direction that would bring smaller HMOs into the planning system. It is a practical step towards better standards and stronger neighbourhood protections, while recognising the important role shared homes play for renters, including many young people in Cambridge.

For many young people and other renters in Cambridge, a house in multiple occupation (HMO) can be a comparatively affordable way to live in our city. The aim is to make sure new shared homes provide a good standard of accommodation and that their impact on local communities is properly considered.

On 21 October, Cambridge City Council’s Cabinet unanimously agreed to prepare a non-immediate Article 4 Direction for the urban area of Cambridge. If confirmed after public consultation, it would remove permitted development rights for changing an ordinary home into a smaller HMO of up to six unrelated people. Planning permission would then be needed, giving the council the opportunity to assess each proposal’s quality and effects on local amenity. These new rules would ensure that new conversions are considered individually and do not harm local housing conditions or neighbourhood amenity.

Following this decision, residents will now be consulted, and Cabinet will make a further decision after considering the responses. If confirmed, it will take effect one year later.

Labour’s work to provide better housing in Cambridge

Cambridge Labour is committed not just to building a new generation of council homes in our city, but also championing renters’ rights, tackling rogue landlords with additional specialist council officers, and ensuring landlords and HMOs are properly registered. We are also working on a Local Plan that supports high-quality homes and communities shaped by residents’ priorities.

Our Labour-led council already takes action when landlords put tenants at risk. In 2025, it prosecuted a landlord operating a hazardous, unlicensed HMO in King’s Hedges. After the landlord failed to complete required safety works, the council arranged them to protect tenants; the landlord was ordered to pay £15,081.69, including costs (read more about the case). Our priority remains to protect renters and local communities.

The Renters’ Rights Act

The Labour Government’s Renters’ Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026. In the private rented sector, it ended Section 21 “no-fault” evictions and moved most existing assured shorthold tenancies to rolling periodic tenancies. Landlords must have a legal ground to end a tenancy. The Act also stops rental bidding wars and limits rent increases to once a year, with a route for tenants to challenge increases above market rent. See the government’s guide to renters’ rights.