Greenwich Council must do more to protect family homes from increasing conversions to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), according to Conservative councillors who have put forward a council motion at the Town Hall on strengthening protections against HMOs in the new Local Plan.
As at 1 July 2025 there were 774 licensed HMOs in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (389 properties with a mandatory HMO license and 385 with an additional HMO license), with a recent surge in planning applications for 3 and 4 bed family homes to be converted into HMOs.
Concern has been raised by residents about increasing volume of applications for HMO conversions removing family homes in Plumstead, Shooters Hill and Eltham, with a recent application for an HMO on Arbroath Road causing particular controversy after being approved last month despite deep concern in the community. At the same meeting - at which the Council's planning officers had put forward 4 HMOs for approval across the borough - Conservative councillors Roger Tester and Matt Hartley joined local residents in successfully arguing for the Committee to reject another controversial application on Montbelle Road, New Eltham.
Eltham Conservative Councillor Charlie Davis, who argued Arbroath residents' case last month, said: "The conversion of family homes into HMOs across Greenwich is changing the fabric of our borough and our neighbourhoods. It’s vital that the Council equips itself, planning officers and planning committee members with the tools they require to reverse this trend. And that is what we are looking to do with this motion, making clear the long-term measures that we believe the Council needs to take as well as preventing a short-term free for all where landlords look to take advantage of our communities."
Councillor Matt Hartley, Leader of the Conservative Opposition on Greenwich Council, added: "We simply have to protect our family homes. The increasing move towards HMO conversions are changing our neighbourhoods, effectively permanently, and as anyone who has been through it will tell you - opposing an HMO application can feel like an intensely frustrating and often fruitless exercise. The forthcoming Local Plan is an opportunity for Greenwich Council to put in place the stronger protections against HMOs that our communities need - it is crucial we learn from the experiences of other local authorities in tackling this problem, and get this right."
You can read the Conservative Group's motion for the July 2025 Full Council meeting here.
