They're causing the 'breakdown of communities' according to one councillor – and yet low-cost house shares are becoming increasingly common in Salford.
The comments came as Salford council's planning panel considered whether a property in Eccles could be turned into a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
In this case, the panel refused to grant planning permission to a family which wanted to convert the terraced house in Cecil Road into a five-bedroom HMO.
READ MORE: Low-cost shared accommodation 'spreading like the plague' in Salford, councillors claims
Councillors criticised the design, with one describing it as 'lazy' and another complaining that tenants would have to share bathrooms with each other.
Some also raised concerns about the loss of family houses in the city, while neighbours complained of an 'oversaturation' of HMOs in the area.
Community cohesion is also at stake, objectors argued, claiming neighbours are 'falling out' with each other because they cannot park their cars nearby.
Mark O'Meara, who lives directly opposite the property, was one of three objectors who spoke at the planning meeting on Thursday (September 2).
He said: "Small houses like this in Cecil Road were traditionally family houses.
"These houses now are starting to be used for units that have no social interaction whatsoever.
"They live as single independent units akin to one-beds which is totally inappropriate.
"Salford [council] should actually solve the problem of inadequate housing."
Across Eccles, there has been a 460 pc rise in the number of HMOs in the last five years – and a similar trend was seen in Langworthy, Weaste and Seedley.
In an effort to raise standards, Salford council introduced a licensing scheme for HMOs in April, requiring all landlords with three or more tenants to register.
However, Salford still needs low-cost accommodation for single people.
Thousands of households are waiting for council housing in the city – and most are waiting for a single bedroom – but more than 200 people apply whenever an affordable one-bedroom flat becomes available in Salford.
But speaking against the Cecil Road application, Barton and Winton councillor John Mullen said there is a 'desperate' need for family houses in the city too.
He said: "I've got families coming to me as a councillor, begging me to find a family home so they can be close to their community and networks of support.
"And I can't help them. Even in the private sector.
"With the best will in the world, HMOs are causing the breakdown of communities in Barton at this particular time."
Earlier in the meeting, the planning panel approved a similar application for an HMO elsewhere in Salford – a terraced property, this time in Kennedy Road.
This was not the first time councillors were asked to consider this proposal.
When the panel last met in July, the decision was deferred and council officers were asked to find out how many HMOs are already in the surrounding streets.
But despite learning there are seven house shares in the immediate area, it was still not clear to councillors whether this would be an 'overconcentration'.
Planning officer James Ketley told the panel that the local authority does not have a 'threshold limit' for the number of HMOs – and he later explained why.
He said: "There could be a barometer introduced, but that would risk applying a one-size-fits-all policy to areas which vary differently in character.
"In some cases 10 pc might be deemed to have a very significant impact on the character of an area whereas in other areas there might be a perception that there's a bit more capacity and the local community feel better able to accommodate a higher figure than that. In short, it is a judgement."
Reluctant to endorse it, seven out of 10 members abstained from voting at all.
Quays councillor Phil Tresadern was the only panel member who suggested approving the application in line with the recommendations of officers.
He argued that the council's policy on HMOs is not consistent if the planning panel keeps refusing permission for applications which do meet the criteria.
He said: "That's a problem with the policy and not the panel. It feels like a big waste of applicants' time and the panel's time to be judging those things here."
The panel was also reminded of a recent decision by the planning inspectorate regarding an HMO application in Salford which was approved after an appeal.
Plans to convert the semi-detached house in Delamere Avenue into an HMO were thrown out by councillors who concluded that the bedrooms would be too small and the house lacked any living space – but an appeal was allowed.
The government-appointed inspector ruled that the property would provide adequate living conditions for future residents and overturned the decision.
A condition limiting the number of residents living in the house share to four was also included – but councillors questioned how this could be enforced.
Weaste and Seedley councillor Philip Cusack said it is 'just not enforceable'.
He said: "Nobody is going to inform on somebody whose partner is sharing a bed with them. I think it's crazy to even suggest that that is something we can enforce in any way, shape or form.
"I think we've got to accept that if we're granting permission for a five-room HMO, then potentially it's an HMO for 10 people. It's not necessarily going to be an HMO for five people and there's very little we can do to prevent that."
Planning chair Ray Mashiter told councillors to take note of this decision by the inspector, which he said shows there is a need for this type of 'product'.
However, Conservative councillor Bob Clarke, who has consistently voted against HMO applications on the grounds of opposing the loss of family homes, expressed indifference to the planning inspectorate's decision.
He said: "I'm not here to discuss the inspectorate.
"I've no interest in what the inspectorate says afterwards when it goes to appeal. I'm here at a planning panel and it's my opinion and it's my view.
"I'm not going to base my judgement on an inspectorate's decision."
The local authority will be re-examining its policies on HMOs later this year.
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