The Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee of County Durham Council met on Tuesday 25 November 2025 to discuss Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP). The meeting's agenda included reports and presentations on both topics, outlining the council's current powers, challenges, and proposed strategies.

Houses in Multiple Occupation

The committee was scheduled to review the council's powers and approach to regulating Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). An HMO is defined as a building or flat occupied by three or more people from more than one household, sharing basic amenities like bathrooms or cooking facilities. The report pack indicated that while HMOs can provide affordable accommodation for various groups, including students, low-income workers, and vulnerable individuals, an overconcentration can negatively impact community cohesion, family housing availability, and local infrastructure such as parking and services.

A key discussion point was the council's use of Article 4 Directions, which remove permitted development rights, meaning planning permission is required for changes of use from dwelling houses to small HMOs. The council had approved, in principle, a non-immediate Article 4 Direction for the entire county, excluding areas already covered by existing directions. This direction, set to come into effect on 17 August 2026, aims to give the local planning authority more opportunity to consider HMO proposals in detail against relevant planning policies. The report detailed that a significant number of consultation responses from residents expressed strong opposition to the proliferation of HMOs, citing concerns about community safety, loss of family housing, and strain on local services.

The council's powers regarding HMOs also include HMO licensing, where landlords managing properties for five or more occupiers must obtain a licence. Once licensed, the council inspects properties to ensure they meet safety and amenity standards. Additionally, Selective Licensing allows the council to regulate private rented sector properties in areas with low demand or high levels of anti-social behaviour, requiring HMOs with fewer than five tenants in these areas to obtain a licence. The report noted that a new HMO policy would be required for the new County Durham Plan (CDP) to effectively assess applications following the Article 4 Direction, with an interim policy to be developed in the meantime.

Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP)

The committee was also scheduled to receive an update on the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP), which aims to increase oversight and improve standards within the non-commissioned supported housing sector in County Durham. This sector provides accommodation with support for vulnerable individuals, including those at risk of homelessness, recovering from addiction, with mental ill health, or experiencing domestic abuse.

The SHIP was established with funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to address concerns about poor-quality non-commissioned supported housing. The programme has established a multi-disciplinary team to improve property and management standards, introduce a gateway approach to manage the supply of supported accommodation, and ensure quality support tailored to individual needs. A significant focus of the SHIP has been to reduce housing benefit subsidy loss for the council, which was £2.2 million in 2024/25 for supported accommodation alone. The programme is encouraging providers to become registered with the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) or partner with existing Registered Providers (RPs), a move expected to save the council approximately £926,736 per year in subsidy loss from two major providers.

The report highlighted the development of a gateway approach to scrutinise prospective and expanding non-commissioned supported housing providers, which has already deterred 28 providers from progressing with their plans, potentially saving around £154,336 annually in housing benefit subsidy loss. The SHIP team has also conducted property inspections, with 275 out of 356 properties failing their initial inspection, and has worked with providers to improve standards. Furthermore, the programme has facilitated tenant move on from supported accommodation into independent living, reducing bed blocking and improving pathways for homeless individuals. The report also detailed efforts to address anti-social behaviour, with a reported 51% reduction in complaints in a recent six-month period, and highlighted the co-production of a Non-Commissioned Supported Housing Charter to ensure minimum standards. The future of the SHIP is dependent on continued funding beyond March 2026, with a proposal to seek approximately £267,000 to fund the team for another year.