Latest news with #sharedhousing
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Darlington set to introduce tougher rules in crackdown on HMOs
Tougher rules are set to be introduced to combat the rapid increase in shared housing throughout Darlington. Councillors will vote on plans to force all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), regardless of size, to go through the full planning process under Article 4 regulations. Currently, only properties for more than six people are regulated, meaning several applications could be approved without public or council scrutiny. A council report, due to be presented to cabinet members next week, states HMOs can 'create issues' if they are not properly planned or managed. The shared housing method is often used by young professionals as an affordable and flexible housing option. News of the council's intentions is a significant breakthrough for campaigners who warned about the quality of accommodation and their concentration within certain locations. Earlier this year, residents on Greenbank Road in Darlington urged the local authority to introduce stricter measures to curb the number of properties being converted into HMOs. They said landlords are contributing to the 'uncontrolled transformation' of their neighbourhood, as more homes are reconfigured to suit multiple occupants. 'The introduction of an Article 4 direction will enable the council to control the location and quality of new HMOs,' the council report said. 'This will help deliver the council's aspiration of providing quality, affordable housing for all. It would also provide more information on their whereabouts.' Speaking ahead of a meeting on Tuesday (July 8), Council Leader Stephen Harker said: 'In a few days, cabinet will consider a report recommending introducing regulations that will mean smaller HMO conversions will be brought into the planning process, residents are concerned, and we are listening.' 9-bed HMO plan rejected after concerns Darlington street is 'losing its identity' Meanwhile, a new strategy outlining the council's vision to provide high-quality homes to meet the housing needs of residents has been created. The authority's Homes Strategy for the next five years details plans to ensure access to safe, comfortable and sustainable housing for all, with a focus on building new affordable homes. Councillor Chris McEwan, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for the economy, explained: 'Our Homes Strategy is a vital part of our bid to improve the quality of life for all in Darlington and to ensure it remains a place where people want to live, work and visit.'
Telegraph
07-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Dear Richard Madeley: ‘My housemate and I kissed and now she's avoiding me'
Dear Richard, I'm living in a shared house with one man and two women, one of whom is an old friend from university. We are all in our early 30s. We get on pretty well but tend to socialise with our own groups of friends outside the house – we don't do big Sunday lunches together or anything like that. A couple of weeks ago, one of the women – the one I don't know well – asked me if I wanted to go out to the pub. We went for a few drinks, and then we kissed on the way back to the house. Nothing has been said since, and I get the feeling she's avoiding me. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable about what happened, but I worry that if I try to clear the air I'll just make things worse. It's fine if she thinks it was a mistake – while I don't exactly hate the idea of our revisiting some sort of romantic situation, I haven't fallen head-over-heels in love or anything, plus I don't want to upset the 'chemistry' of the house. It's just that it now feels really awkward. Should I try to talk to her? –Ben, via email Dear Ben Hmm. I've always been cautious about initiating 'clear the air' conversations. In my experience, they can have the opposite effect, leaving the atmosphere clouded by confusion, embarrassment – and even antagonism. Often the wiser course is simply to let things lie and resolve themselves with the passage of time. If this woman is avoiding you, it's precisely because she doesn't want an air-clearing exchange with you. Maybe she's simply embarrassed about your brief clinch on the way home, or she feels guilty about it for some reason, or she just plain regrets it. Whatever the reason, she obviously doesn't want to talk about it. You should be sensitive to that. And in any case, it's hardly a big deal, is it? It was only a kiss or two (or maybe three?). These things happen. And if she wants to pretend that it didn't, I'd go along with it if I were you. Least said, soonest mended.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
I'm 33 and I have 4 roommates. The rent fits my budget and I love the company, but sometimes I'd prefer to live alone.
I live in a house with four roommates, and we're all in our 30s. There are some frustrating things about my living situation, but there are pros, too. It fits my budget, and the company is nice, but I don't love having to fight for fridge space. About once a week, I down my coffee and sprint to the bathroom, moments later, only to find the door locked. Someone beat me to it. I pace in the hallway for a minute or two, imagining that they must be almost done. But time is not on my side, so I take two flights of stairs to the basement to do my business in the spider-infested half bathroom, ripe with annoyance. On my long climb back up to my bedroom, I ask myself why I live in a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with four roommates. When the pandemic started, I was living with just one roommate. Then, I moved in with a partner. Our breakup led to a swift life change, and I landed in a big Denver house with a small army of companions after friends invited me to snag their spare room. It wasn't really a conscious decision to move back into a college-like environment; it was more like I slid over a cascading waterfall and into my current bedroom and found my accommodations reasonable enough. I've been here ever since. Though sometimes I wonder about my choice of housing, there are a few reasons I stay: A noisy house feels comforting to me, we're half a mile away from the train that takes me to the airport (which is extra convenient, as I'm an avid traveler), and rent control doesn't exist in Colorado, so there aren't a lot of places that fit my budget in the first place. If you had asked me where I'd be by the time I was 33 years ago, I would have told you I'd be living out of a backpack somewhere in Europe or South America with a smile plastered on my face. I thought that right now, I'd be traveling around, filthy, with a map in one hand and a baguette in the other. And for much of the year, I do, in fact, live this way (albeit it's usually an espresso instead of a baguette, and a smartphone instead of a map). What I didn't realize all those years ago, while I was dreaming up my ideal life, is that sometimes I'd crave the comfort of a home, too. I couldn't have predicted that after a few weeks on the road, I'd grow weary of red-eye flights and begin to crave my bed, a familiar ultra-processed diet, and my guitar. And I definitely couldn't have imagined that travel was going to be lonely. We're all friends in addition to being roommates, which means we often share meals and socialize while we're home. Having the company is nice, and I knew coming into the situation that it'd be a fit since I was already close with two of my new roommates. All of us are in our 30s, and we've adapted to pitch in with chores to keep the house feeling like a home. Our landlord — another friend — determined the cost of rent, so thankfully, it's fair or may even be under market value. That's really helpful as a self-employed writer who's never quite sure where my next check is going to come from There are definite pros to living with four roommates, and my vision for myself never included a cookie-cutter life, with a white picket fence and a baby on either hip. But there are still times when I'd gladly pay double the rent for a place of my own. I'd like to crap in peace whenever the urge arises. I'd also love to have my own parking space and not have to go to war for space in the fridge when I come home from a trip. But most of the time, the inconvenience of a home full of 30-something-year-olds is worth the freedom it affords me. And the laughter across the house is reason enough to stay. Read the original article on Business Insider
