Residents speak out after hundreds of complaints about HMOs in the city

READERS are frustrated that nearly 900 complaints about unlicensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) have been submitted to Coventry City Council since the start of 2024.

- By CLAIRE ELLIOTT News Reporter

Council figures show 635 complaints were made last year, with a further 250 logged so far this year.

By law, all HMOs in Coventry must be licensed. The council says it is committed to ensuring properties meet required standards and is urging tenants and residents to report concerns. Officials stress that every complaint is fully investigated.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Naeem Akhtar, said: "The Council introduced Additional Licensing of HMOs in 2020, which together with the national Mandatory HMO Licensing scheme requires all HMOs in Coventry to be licensed. Any Additional Licensing scheme can only last up to five years and was therefore renewed on May 4 2025. The current scheme will expire in 2030."

He added: "As part of our commitment to improving the management and condition of HMOs in the city, we actively encourage tenants, residents and other key stakeholders to report any concerns relating to multi occupied properties and investigate all complaints we receive. We also use other data to proactively identify potential unlicensed HMOs and prioritise these for an investigation.