News

New student HMO's may not need planning after all

20th July 2010

Student landlords may not need planning permission to convert a former family home in to a house in multiple occupation (HMO).

Councils may be misinterpreting planning rules by implying new class order legislation means property investors have to apply for planning consent when switching a family home to an HMO.

This revelation could leave the way open for landlords to switch family homes to HMOs without applying for planning permission and leave councils up in the air when trying to control new HMOs on planning grounds.

Writing in Planning Magazine, Stephen Ashworth explains use classes order rules only require permission for "development" that includes material changes of use and that the legislation says a change of use in each class is deemed not to be development.

In April, a new use class C4 was created for HMOs - with standard residential homes classified as C3.

Councils have widely interpreted this as meaning new HMOs switching from C3 use to C4 use need planning permission.

The rules do not say that permission is required for changes between use classes, although there is a commonly held misapprehension that permission is always required for such changes, wrote Mr Ashworth.

He cites a government circular (05/2010) issued to councils to support his view that says 'planning permission "may" be required if there is a material change when a property changes between different use classes'.

A recent planning appeal decision (DCS Number 100-067-072) concerned continued use of a dwelling as an HMO.

Mr Ashworth wrote: "The inspector found no evidence to support the assertion that HMO residents are intrinsically more disposed to make more noise than occupiers of other property types, particularly families with children.

"Whether a dwelling is occupied by a family or a number of unrelated people does not alter the nature of the use.

"This view is plainly right and will make it difficult to enforce against changes in occupation covered by the new use classes.

"If a large family including adult children with cars occupy a house and then rent it out to a similar number of unrelated individuals, is that really likely to lead to a genuine change in use? The external impacts are likely to be largely the same.

"Similarly, if a seventh person joins a group house, are the impacts likely to change materially? How long does the additional person have to stay for the impacts to become material? Is it really a material change of use if one of the occupants starts living with her boyfriend?

"How will occupants and their relationships be monitored?"

Source: http://properties.studenthousing.co.uk/