Promoted by Nicola Dinan at Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, on behalf of Reform UK at the same address. Reform UK Hertsmere is an approved local branch of Reform UK.
Our Plan for Tougher HMO Licensing and Enforcement | Reform UK Hertsmere
Reform UK HertsmereStatement30 June 2026•1 min read
Our Plan for Tougher HMO Licensing and Enforcement
Reform UK Hertsmere will make irresponsible HMO operation harder, pursue unlicensed landlords and protect established communities with stronger licensing, inspections and enforcement.
Article Summary
At a Glance
The key points you need to know.
What This Means For Residents
Reform UK Hertsmere will pursue additional licensing for smaller HMOs, audit existing licences, investigate unlicensed properties, enforce planning and housing standards and publish the results. Our focus will be the conduct of landlords and operators, the protection of tenants and the cumulative effect on established communities.
Key Facts
✓We will seek additional licensing for smaller HMOs where the statutory evidence supports it.
✓Existing licences will be audited and challenged where there is evidence of breaches.
✓Unlicensed HMOs and planning breaches will be proactively investigated.
✓Planning decisions must consider cumulative concentration rather than each property in isolation.
✓Enforcement will target irresponsible landlords and managers, not stigmatise tenants.
✓HMO numbers, inspections, complaints and enforcement outcomes should be published regularly.
What Happens Next
Reform UK Hertsmere will develop this proposal into a detailed May 2027 campaign commitment, including measurable targets for inspections, enforcement response times, public reporting and borough-wide HMO monitoring.
We will continue listening to affected residents and examining the legal and financial requirements for an additional licensing scheme.
The Full Story
Reform UK Hertsmere does not accept that uncontrolled Houses in Multiple Occupation are an inevitable price residents must pay for failures in national and local housing policy.
Shared accommodation has a legitimate role, and tenants deserve safe and decent homes. But family neighbourhoods must not be overwhelmed by high-density conversions, and landlords must not be permitted to maximise rental income while transferring the consequences to neighbours and public services.
Our approach will be firm, fair and evidence-led.
1. License smaller HMOs
Hertsmere currently operates only the national mandatory scheme, covering HMOs with five or more occupants.
The council has the power to introduce additional licensing for smaller HMOs where the legal evidence test is met. It has chosen not to do so.
Reform UK Hertsmere will pursue an evidence-based additional licensing scheme so that smaller HMOs cannot remain outside effective oversight simply because they contain three or four occupants.
The scheme would be subject to the statutory evidence, consultation and approval processes required by law.
2. Audit existing licensed HMOs
Every licensed HMO should comply with its occupancy, safety, management and amenity requirements.
We will call for a risk-based audit of existing licences, prioritising properties associated with repeated complaints, suspected overcrowding, poor waste management, inadequate fire safety or unauthorised alterations.
Where statutory grounds exist, the council should impose or strengthen licence conditions, issue penalties, pursue Rent Repayment Orders, refuse renewal or revoke the licence.
HMOs can provide lower-cost accommodation, but poorly managed properties and excessive concentrations can place unacceptable pressure on family neighbourhoods. Reform UK Hertsmere believes residents, tenants and responsible landlords deserve firm regulation and effective enforcement.
A licence must never be treated as a permanent entitlement regardless of conduct.
3. Identify unlicensed and hidden HMOs
Properties should not be allowed to operate outside the rules because the council lacks reliable information.
We will push for intelligence to be joined across planning, housing licensing, council tax, environmental health, waste, building control and other lawful sources.
Residents need one straightforward reporting route for suspected unlicensed HMOs, overcrowding, waste, planning breaches and persistent disturbance, with a reference number and published response standards.
4. Enforce against landlords—not blame tenants
HMO residents may themselves be living in unsafe, overcrowded or poorly managed accommodation.
Enforcement must focus on the landlords, agents and operators who control the property and profit from it.
Reform UK Hertsmere will not make unsupported allegations about occupants based on nationality, background or housing status. Where crime or antisocial behaviour occurs, it should be recorded and addressed on the evidence, exactly as it would be anywhere else.
This approach is both fairer and harder for irresponsible operators to evade.
5. Protect family neighbourhoods through planning
Once Article 4 takes effect in Potters Bar, planning applications must be assessed against a robust policy.
We will seek clear rules addressing:
✓The concentration of HMOs within individual streets and neighbourhoods
✓The loss of family housing
✓Parking and highway safety
✓Bin storage and waste collection
✓Noise and residential amenity
✓External alterations and garden structures
✓Adequate indoor and outdoor communal space
✓Management arrangements
✓Effects on immediate neighbours
✓Relevant, evidenced patterns of complaints or antisocial behaviour
Our objective is to prevent over-concentration—not allow applications to be assessed in isolation while their combined effect is ignored.
6. Extend protection where the evidence supports it
Potters Bar is currently the most visible example, but HMO growth is not necessarily confined to one town.
We will require borough-wide data and early-warning monitoring. If concentrations emerge elsewhere, Reform UK Hertsmere will seek additional licensing and Article 4 protection across the affected areas.
We will not wait for another community to reach crisis point before acting.
7. Publish enforcement results
Residents have a right to know whether regulations are being enforced.
We will seek regular publication of:
✓Known and licensed HMO numbers by area
✓New, renewed, refused and revoked licences
✓Inspections completed
✓Suspected unlicensed HMOs investigated
✓Planning and housing enforcement notices
✓Civil penalties and prosecutions
✓Outstanding cases and average response times
✓Complaints by category, without identifying occupants
Transparency will allow residents to judge whether the council is protecting their community or merely producing policies.
A major campaign commitment for May 2027
The new unitary arrangements will change how local services are governed, but protecting neighbourhoods must remain a priority throughout that transition.
Reform UK Hertsmere will make stricter HMO control, stronger licensing and visible enforcement a central campaign commitment for the May 2027 elections.
We will defend family communities, demand decent standards for tenants and ensure irresponsible landlords face meaningful consequences.
Residents should not have to fight street by street for the council to enforce the rules.
Potters Bar’s Article 4 Direction will require planning permission for new small HMOs—but not until 6 May 2027. Reform UK Hertsmere is asking why residents must remain exposed to further uncontrolled conversions throughout the waiting period.
