Louie French MP's latest column in the News Shopper.
Bexley’s family homes could be broken up and lost if the Government doesn’t change its policies. The rapid rise in so-called ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation ’across London is making it harder for young families to buy their first home and forcing renters to live in cramped conditions. Families and renters deserve better than this.
Developers are purchasing three and four bedroom family homes on quiet residential streets and subdividing them into low-quality, high-rent rooms. In some properties that once housed a family, you can find as many as eight unrelated people living, sharing facilities.
Sometimes there are no problems with HMOs. Some landlords manage them well, and a small number have provided student accommodation in Sidcup for many years. They can also house someone from Bexley fleeing domestic abuse or who has fallen on hard times. But traditionally, these have been few in number across the borough.
But the rapid rise in new HMOs is now harming communities across London. They too often lead to antisocial behaviour, overcrowding, and pressure on local services and parking. They can also turn a quiet, tight-knit residential street from family-friendly into a less welcoming place to live. Some bad landlords, such as the Reform UK councillor in the Midlands who was found to own two illegal HMOs, knowingly let bad-quality homes.
Bexley is fighting back to protect our family homes. In 2017, Bexley Council used its powers to require anyone converting a family home into an HMO to apply for planning permission. In 2023, new local plan policies were introduced to protect family homes. That’s why, for the last two years, Bexley Council successfully refused a majority of HMO applications.
This strong action by Bexley Conservatives has helped protect more family homes than neighbouring Labour boroughs, which failed to act. Thirteen HMOs were approved in Bexley in 2025, while Greenwich approved 472 and Lewisham 263 in just nine months last year.
Despite this approach, Bexley Council is still too often unable to stop family homes being converted into inappropriate HMOs. This is because national planning policies and London planning policies override our local rules. The national rules encourage the spread of HMOs to meet unachievable housing targets. Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan’s London Plan protects HMOs, not family homes.
That’s why I’ve launched a campaign together with Conservative councillors to say no to HMOs locally. We want the Government and the Mayor of London to change their planning rules, so Bexley Council can introduce even tougher rules to protect family homes.
More than 2,000 Bexley residents have signed my petition to stop HMOs. I’ll be presenting the petition in Parliament and writing to the Mayor of London on behalf of all those who sign. By signing the petition, you can help put the issue on the agenda in Westminster and City Hall, forcing Labour politicians to listen.
Together, we can ensure Bexley remains a family-friendly borough, prevent renters from being squeezed into squalid homes, and protect family homes for young families seeking space to grow.
You can sign the petition here:
