The new legislation relating to Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) are draconian and not sufficiently publicised.
mortgageintroducer.com – 16 August 2010
This is according to Susan Drakeford, licensed conveyancer at Adams & Remers. The new legislation requires the owners of a property intended to be a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) to apply for planning permission for change of use.
Drakeford believes that property owners may want to consider waiting till September for further clarification by the new Government on whether this scheme will be changed to give individual authorities the choice as to whether planning permission is required.
Commenting, she said: “A HMO is defined as a property where 3 or 6 unrelated individuals share basic amenities. This doesn’t include properties where the owner and up to two lodgers live. There are also other exemptions.
The change requires the owner of the property to apply to their local authority for planning permission if they want to turn it into a HMO for 3-6. However the new Government has indicated it would like individual local planning authorities to decide whether planning permission is required.”
There is further grey area around the legislation for a property where more than six individuals will live as the control limit of 6 persons defines the scope of the new class 4 planning category.
Drakeford continued: “Many landlords I have spoken with are still unaware of the proposals to change the rules again.
“At the moment the government is holding a consultation process for interested parties in September. This will be put before Government with any changes coming into force on 1 October 2010.
Anyone who is planning a HMO or planning to turn a HMO back into a single dwelling should at the moment apply to their local authority for planning permission which costs £350 or hang on till 1 October to see if the rules change.”
See also: http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/LicensingPlanningRules.pdf
A HMO is not a house with between 3 and 6 people – it is a house with two or more households.
Many landlords I deal with are not aware of the ill thought out changes to planning law introduced by the outgoing labour government. Those that are aware may not be aware that the new Housing Minister promised to overturn them, and also may not be aware that he then changed his mind on this.
Until there is further clarification the HMO sales market is likely to stay where it is (eg very quiet), where the only buyers of HMO properties are either those willing to take a risk on the law being relaxed further down the line or those that are not aware of any changes.
Comment by Simon Topple — 17/8/2010 #