South of England council latest to clamp down on smaller HMOs

The borough council that includes Staines, Sunbury and Egham to the south of Heathrow Airport has become the latest to clamp down on HMOs.

Spelthorne council is to use an article 4 direction to remove current permitted development rights that enable landlords to turn family homes into HMOs for up to six individuals without planning permission.

From Friday 29 August, any property in three wards not already operating as a small HMO will require full planning permission for such a change of use.

These are Staines, Ashford North & Stanwell South, and Stanwell North, although the council will make the restrictions borough-wide on 13th March next year.

The council’s decision, which was proposed last year and confirmed in February following a planning committee vote, is just the latest as many councils move to restrict the number of HMOs in their city and town centres, often following local campaigns.

Councillor Michele Gibson (pictured), Chair of Spelthorne's Borough Council's Planning Committee, says: "We have listened carefully to the concerns raised by residents about the rapid increase of HMOs in some of our communities.

“These changes will give us a vital tool to manage and control this type of development, ensuring it happens in a way that protects the character of our neighbourhoods and supports sustainable growth."

The borough’s journey to this decision has been a long one. The first meetings to consider more planning restrictions on HMOs were first discussed in 2020 and even last year action was not recommended given ‘low levels’ of complaints about them.

But after councillors claimed to have received increasing number of anonymous complaints from residents, this position was then reversed at the February meeting with an August 29th go-live date.

'Modest HMO sector'

Surrey Property Licensing says the decision is somewhat curious given that “supporting documents prepared by the council’s officers… appear to suggest that, while it is not insignificant, Spelthorne has a fairly modest HMO sector.

“This is certainly the case when compared to other parts of the region. Also, it does not seem to receive a particularly large numbers of planning complaints about them. Neither has there been a particularly large number of applications to create new HMOs in recent years.”

Pic: An HMO in Stanwell recently given permission. Credit: Google Streetview.