HMOs, or houses of multiple occupancy, are properties housing at least three people where each room is rented individually with shared facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms. Red Cross Areas Residents Association (RARA) represents people living near Addenbrooke’s Hospital where there is a large concentration of HMOs – many housing hospital workers. The group has asked the council to go even further and introduce a numerical threshold and a ban on HMOs “sandwiching” family homes between them. Councillor Karen Young, of Queen Edith’s, said they have quite a lot of HMOs in the area. She’s not aware of any plans to limit the proposed restrictions to certain areas of Cambridge, rather than covering the whole city.