THE Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) officers employed by the city council have very stringent rules of what is acceptable in terms of health and safety, insulation and living conditions.

I believe Oxford has some of the highest standard HMOs in the country’ Not all cities require three or more unrelated tenants living in a property to be licensed. Oxford does require a licence, and with this comes a healthy degree of monitoring and control.

HMO are not just a requirement, they are needed to offer relatively inexpensive rooms (when compared to apartments) to people working in Oxford.

Young professionals want to live near their work, studies or laboratories. HMOs allow the younger first-time workers to live in the city and enjoy Oxford.

ROBIN SWAILES
Walton Street
Oxford