Cynthia Leveridge, a 75-year-old matriarch who has lived on Mansfield’s Princes Street for 47 years, barely pauses as she lists the behaviour she says is linked to her new neighbours: “Drinking, swearing, shouting, druggin’.”
“It used to be lovely here. Everyone knew everyone. It used to be quiet. Children could play in the park. That’s all changed now,” she says.
Like many residents, Cynthia has watched in disbelief as the once-peaceful suburban street has absorbed a growing influx of newcomers.
In recent years, numerous three-bedroom terraced houses on Princes Street, once home mainly to local families, have been converted into houses in multiple occupation, or HMOs. Landlords have sought to maximise profits by accommodating more tenants in increasingly compact properties.
Residents including Cynthia accuse the council of turning a blind eye. They say the spread of HMOs has weakened the community, doubled the number of cars, contributed to a rise in anti-social behaviour and left street bins overflowing.
Tensions peaked on September 15, when the owners of number 13 Princes Street applied for planning permission to increase occupancy from six to ten people. The property is already a licensed HMO for six tenants.
The three-storey house originally contained three bedrooms but was renovated to provide six, with two on each floor. Under the latest plans, four bedrooms would be “retrofitted” to accommodate couples, while five would be fitted with hob cookers.
The garden would also make way for nine wheelie bins. In their planning application, the owners described the property as “underutilised” to support the proposed increase from six to ten occupants. Despite residents’ dismay, the plans have since been approved with conditions.
Residents on Princes Street in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, say their neighbourhood is being overwhelmed by the growing number of HMOs
Locals in the area have complained that the neighbourhood has lost much of its long-standing community spirit
Tensions peaked on September 15, when the owners of number 13 Princes Street, already a licensed HMO for six tenants, applied for permission to house ten people in the modest property
As one exasperated resident put it: “That sounds like a hotel, not a home.”
So how did Princes Street become a symbol of the HMO crisis spreading across residential areas of Britain?
Government guidance defines an HMO as a property shared by at least three people from more than one household.
That means people from different families living together while sharing facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom. Student accommodation is the most familiar example.
But as single renters and even couples find it increasingly difficult to afford a home of their own, demand for shared accommodation has grown. It rose by 2.3 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
Landlords have responded by adapting their properties, taking advantage of the opportunity to charge rent for each room rather than for the house as a whole.
According to figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request, there were 41,162 applications to convert homes into HMOs in 2018.
That number climbed to 57,725 in 2024. By 2025, the UK was estimated to have 472,823 HMOs.
The growth has also been linked to the Government’s efforts to move asylum seekers out of hotels and into communities as it seeks to reduce the cost of the asylum system.
Matthew Pennycook, the Minister for Housing and Planning, admitted in the Commons earlier this year: ‘Dispersed accommodation, including HMOs, is an important tool that local authorities can use to accommodate those seeking refuge as their claims are assessed.’
Despite more recent pledges – such as from Immigration Minister Anna Turley last month – to use ‘larger basic accommodation like former military sites’, there are currently more than 72,000 asylum seekers living in non-hotel accommodation, including flats and HMOs.
In 2023, 28,000 asylum seekers had been placed in 6,000 HMOs, a number that is thought to have risen in the past three years.
The total cost of supporting asylum seekers is more than £4billion a year, an increasing share of which goes to the private landlords of HMO properties.
Last month, Breckland District Council in Norfolk took steps to make it harder for homes to be repurposed into HMOs after government officials indicated a desire to move 240 asylum seekers into such properties in the area.
So just how many HMOs are there on Princes Street?
If official Mansfield Council records are to be believed, the answer is a mere three. But this is entirely misleading.
Mansfield Council insists on an HMO licence only for so-called ‘large HMOs’: those housing five or more tenants.
This is, of course, more than the official figure of three tenants that actually makes a property an HMO in law.
The council does not collect or release information on properties beneath the five-person threshold, meaning the true number of HMOs on Princes Street is unknown.
‘There are definitely more than they’re saying,’ says 36-year-old Arthur, who rents a property on the street. ‘Whether it’s because they don’t need a licence or just haven’t bothered and the council won’t do anything, I don’t know.
‘But house prices are pricing ordinary families out and the landlords are charging people like students huge amounts, sometimes £800 a room each month when it should be half of that for a box room in a shared house.’
Residents say Princes Street, in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, is crowded and full of strangers
Indeed, according to Rightmove, the hammer price for properties on Princes Street has risen 36 per cent on last year.
The average price is now about £143,000 while semi-detached properties – often more suitable for conversion into HMOs due to space – are valued at an average of £181,000.
‘It’s close to the train station, which suits students at Nottingham University,’ Arthur explained. ‘And it’s five minutes from the hospital and I know we’ve got lots of NHS workers living here too.’
When Our News Outlet approached the three licensed HMOs on Princes Street this week, those at two of the properties refused to speak or reveal exactly who was staying there.
In a third property, this paper was told – as Arthur alluded to – that healthcare workers were in residence.
While we cannot account for the numerous unlicensed HMOs on the street, there is no evidence that asylum seekers are being housed here, although – as we will discover – many residents have complained of new arrivals having little understanding of English, struggling to follow basic council rules or assimilate into this dislocated community.
But regardless of who exactly is moving into these renovated properties, local people are furious. ‘I’m absolutely fed up with the expansion of HMOs on our street,’ declared 57-year-old mother Lucy Bell.
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‘There’s no infrastructure for this. We’ve got pavement parking, noise and mess. Bin day is horrendous.’
Indeed, overflowing bins is a concern that came up repeatedly on the doorsteps of Princes Street, and so it might with rubbish and debris – including numerous hideous instances of pet mess – lining the pavements.
‘There’s a man across the road who has lived here for 80 years,’ Lucy continued.
‘He remembers when there was a little butcher’s and a chip shop. It was a tight-knit community, great for families.
‘Now you’ve got ten-bedroom flats. We used to help each other and look after each other’s kids, but now there’s no community. It’s transient. They’re here for a short period.’
Michael, 60, agrees: ‘I’ve lived here for 52 years and there are too many of them,’ he says of the HMOs.
‘The whole country has gone to the dogs, we’re overcrowded. There are no morals with some of these people. They’re ruthless when it comes to parking. The council can’t even get up to the bins. The community is 100 per cent gone.
‘We only found out about these HMOs because of the builders; it wasn’t even on the council website. We found out by accident. I’ve had enough.’
Unfortunately, things are set to get worse before they get better. As previously explained, one of the three licensed HMOs on Princes Street has applied to expand from six tenants to ten.
Meanwhile, three further properties have applied for ‘large HMO’ status, taking the total number to six. A further half-dozen homes have already been split into flats.
Tom Miles, 38, has concerns about exactly who will be moving in, having lived here for 11 years and seen the street change.
‘We’ve had druggies on the street and in the flats in the past. It’s just frustrating to see what’s happening to the area,’ he told us this week.
‘I’ve seen houses turned into flats, and they’re filling up the glass recycling bins with rubbish. It feels like [the council] is turning a blind eye. They get more money from the HMO licence fees, so they want them filled.’
Florence, 71, agrees. ‘I’ve lived here all my life, I was born in the house next to mine. I don’t agree with what’s happening,’ she said, looking each way down the street in the mid-morning sun.
‘There are foreigners and Eastern Europeans, and the fly-tipping is terrible. There are cars everywhere because of the HMOs, and the bin men can’t make it in.
‘Every house that becomes available, landlords come looking for a quick buck. These are two-up, two-down houses for families, not for HMOs.
‘Some of the people living in them can’t speak English, which means they don’t know what rubbish to put where. It’s just getting worse.’
According to Rightmove, the hammer price for properties on Princes Street has risen 36 per cent on last year. The average price is now about £143,000 while semi-detached properties are valued at an average of £181,000
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Mansfield Council could clamp down on HMOs by introducing a so-called ‘Article 4 Direction’ to restrict permitted development rights.
In other words, to make all HMOs require a licence, not just ‘large’ ones. This would in turn give Mansfield Council the authority to block all HMOs within its jurisdiction.
Local Labour MP Steve Yemm supports the idea, telling Our News Outlet: ‘I believe the council should seriously consider introducing an Article 4 Direction, alongside reviewing current licensing arrangements, to give local communities a greater say over the spread of HMOs and ensure development is properly managed.’
‘I’ve spoken to many residents who feel their concerns about HMOs have been ignored for too long,’ Yemm continued.
‘Issues such as parking pressures, overflowing bins and the erosion of community cohesion are having a real impact on neighbourhoods across Mansfield.
‘HMOs have a legitimate role to play in meeting housing need, but in some areas the concentration has gone too far.
‘When too many are clustered together, the impact on local communities and services can be significant.
‘I’ve repeatedly raised these concerns and will continue pressing the council to take stronger action.
‘Residents are right to question whether enough is being done, and the council must urgently review its approach.’
Of course, this isn’t just a Princes Street problem.
In fact, council documents studied by Our News Outlet found a total of 173 licensed HMOs in Mansfield, that’s before taking into account the likely hundreds, if not thousands more, HMOs that currently don’t need a licence.
‘We understand residents’ concerns,’ a spokesman for Mansfield Council said.
‘The council is currently reviewing HMO numbers, distribution and trends across Mansfield as part of our ongoing assessment of housing needs and local communities.
‘As part of this work, we are considering the range of planning powers available to local authorities, including whether an Article 4 direction may be appropriate.
‘Any decision would need to be based on robust evidence and a thorough assessment of local circumstances.
‘We will continue to work with local partners, residents and elected representatives to ensure any future action is proportionate, evidence-based and in the best interests of Mansfield communities.’
For the residents of Princes Street any action may be too little, too late.
‘Seventeen years ago, it was completely different,’ sighed father of two Justin, remembering the day he first moved to Princes Street. ‘Now half of the street seems to be HMOs.
‘There’s always work being done. Skips are left out for weeks on end. Landlords are just trying to make extra money, and it’s a shame.’
With the increase in HMO applications across the country, there will no doubt soon be similar stories to that of Princes Street – of communities hollowed out and neighbours turning into strangers.
Only then, when it is far too late, might landlords and councils wake up to the true cost to society of making all this extra money.
- Additional reporting: Seb Topan
