Brighton man says shared houses have 'ruined' his life

David Mead, 65, lives with his husband in Upper Lewes Road.

He has lived near students living in shared houses for seven years and said their noise has been so loud at times it “ricochets” around the house and rattles the glasses in his cupboards.

“They have parties through the night, sometimes starting at midnight and not finishing until 6am the next day,” said David.

“I feel like getting my umbrella out and taking matters into my own hands.”

He said the number of shared houses in his area has caused “enormous, incalculable and irretrievable damage” to his life.

He added the number of shared houses has “destroyed” the sense of community in Brighton.

“I have lived in this house for seven years and only know people from two houses in the area,” said David.

“Everyone else is transient and always moving in and out.”

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are often home to students and young professionals.

They represent a significant proportion of the housing market in Brighton and Hove.

According to the council, there are about 5,000 licensed HMOs in the city.

But David believes the real number could be much higher, saying he believes there are many unlicensed, illegal HMOs in his area.

He described one house nearby as a “rabbit hutch” with seven or eight students living in it.

The council says HMOs make “an important contribution” to the city’s housing stock, providing flexible and affordable accommodation for students and residents.

This, David said, is part of the problem.

“The issue is, it is much more affordable for students to rent here than up in Falmer where the student residences are.

“So of course they come down here and destroy our neighbourhoods.”

This comes as council data has revealed the streets with the highest number of HMOs in the city.

The section of Upper Lewes Road where David lives has 32 HMOs, making up 26 per cent of the dwellings there.

But he lives near St Mary Magdalene Street, where half of the properties are HMOs.

Upper Lewes Road, where 26 per cent of dwellings are HMOs (Image: The Argus)

The council has acknowledged that high concentrations of HMOs can have a negative impact on communities.

As a result, they have introduced a new city plan which aims to cap HMO concentrations.

David welcomes the measures, but said it was “too little too late”.

Councillor David Gibson, co-chair of the housing committee, said: “The new city plan sets out better management of the supply of houses in multiple occupation.”