North Jesmond councillors James Coles and Philip Browne have called for reforms to the mandatory House of Multiple Occupants (HMO) licence fee-system, arguing that a higher charge is needed to fund Newcastle City Council’s licensing department and reduce pressures caused by Jesmond’s crowded student population.

In response to growing demand, student landlords continue to buy homes in Jesmond and convert them to house eight or nine tenants in properties that were built for far fewer.

Once a property houses five or more unrelated tenants, it is legally termed an HMO and must be officially licensed before being rented out. At present, landlords pay £1,100 every five years for both mandatory and additional licences, but Coles and Browne say this no longer covers the cost associated with Jesmond’s growing student population. 

“The sole beneficiaries of the current system are the HMO landlords,” Coles told JesmondLocal. Describing the impact that mass student housing has had on permanent residents, Coles said several residents have told him they feel they are “reaching breaking point”. Common issues include landlords leaving bins permanently on pavements, despite licence conditions requiring them to be stored within the property except on collection days.

To address this, the councillors submitted a motion to Newcastle City Council in September, calling for a full review of HMO licence fees. Coles told JesmondLocal about plans to implement a sliding-scale model where fees are charged per tenant rather than per property. He believes this would discourage overcrowding and generate additional funding for council services.

Students are exempt from council tax, meaning a significant share of Jesmond’s population is unable to contribute to the services they rely on. Waste collection, street maintenance, parking management and noise complaints all require additional resources, yet the council lacks the funding to meet demand. At the same time, the council’s licensing team is small and underfunded, limiting routine inspections and slowing responses to minor and major misdemeanours. As a result, the enforcement of licence conditions often go unchecked. 

Newcastle University student Lucy Barber told JesmondLocal about the effects this is having on students.  “It feels like the landlord communication established early on [in the tenancy] drops off very quickly,” she said. “I don’t feel like we’re told half of what we should know, and that has knock-on effects for everyone living in Jesmond.”

Some landlords argue they are being unfairly targeted. One told JesmondLocal that councillors “need to remember it may be the landlord’s property, but it is the tenant’s home and the law says we can’t tell them how to live there or it is harassment”. Another warned that responsible landlords “keep getting penalised”, adding that higher fees would “only just increase the prices for the tenants”. “We can only try and educate them the best we can by providing them the details we receive from the council,” they said. 

Coles said the aim of the proposed reforms is to strengthen enforcement, improve landlord and tenant relationships and reduce pressure on local services. He emphasised that the motion is “not an anti-student measure,” but an attempt to create a more balanced system for all.