A landlord who ignored a council’s enforcement notice to stop operating an HMO without planning permission has been told to return it to a ‘traditional family home’ or face a huge fine.

Muhammad Azad Jarral, who initially was not named by Barnsley Council when action against him under planning laws was revealed, must now spend considerable sums returning the property to its original use.

The property at 131 Dodworth Road in Barnsley (main image) which at one point was Jarral’s registered address, was refused ‘change of use’ planning permission for it to be converted into a guest house (rather than an HMO) taking it from four to six bedrooms, two-and-half years ago. Jarral’s subsequent appeal failed.

Barnsley’s planning department said overall the loss of a family home conflicted with its development plan for the town.

HMO conversion

Despite all this, the council found on later inspection that Jarral had configured the house into (and operated it as) an HMO.

Jarral may have been hoping his conversion would go unnoticed as Dodworth Road; it contains 11 HMOs most of which have licences for up to six residents.

The busy thoroughfare, which runs from the town’s centre to the M1, is also a snapshot of how BTL investors from around the UK have bought up northern homes to turn into HMOs; all except Jarral’s are owned by people or companies outside Barnsley.

Cllr Robin Franklin (pictured), Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, tells LandlordZONE: “The landowner has been served with an Enforcement Notice, requesting him to cease the unauthorised use of the land as a house of multiple occupation and reconfigure the property back to a traditional residential accommodation.

“We are committed to tackling breaches of Planning Control in a swift and proportionate manner. If the landowner ignores the Enforcement Notice, we reserve the right to take legal action, which is likely to result in a large fine, if found guilty of an offence by the Magistrates Court.”