Houses in Multiple Occupation – Planning Permission to Sharing Flat

Housing and Planning Minister announced his intention to introduce new rules thats going to come into force in April would increase the circumstances under which it will be necessary to obtain Planning permissions for houses or apartments in a single person or company family to be used as houses in multiple occupation (HMO). The feature of an HMO is housing for people who are not members of one family, who share basic facilities, such as when friends combine to share accommodation.Currently rented a house or apartment with individual a maximum of 6 persons living together as a single household can be described as a dwelling for planning purposes under the provisions of the classes using the college. This means that a change of use of a dwelling by a person or family to use a maximum of six residents living together in a home does not require a Planning permissions, but the intention is that from April, the HMO, with the new definition of lower threshold of at least three occupants who are not members of one family that share basic services will take into dwelling house use the class.

Consequently where a change of a house or flat to use as an HMO takes place after the proposed new Order has come into operation the question to be considered is whether this amounts to a material change in use requiring planning permission. This depends on the circumstances, but it can be inferred from objective change in the law, london lawyers that, in most cases, the local planning council to consider a substantial change. The request for a building permit planning applications to the local planning authority to consider the impact of change. For example, there may be adverse car parking implications or a concentration of HMOs might be considered to affect the character of the area adversely.A change back to use as a dwelling house is permitted development not requiring planning permission, but after these changes in planning law, once it became a HMO, it cannot return to an HMO without planning permission if to do so would amount to a material change in use.On the face of it, the number of sharers house or apartment, if less than three to more than a very short period that the potential for flat sharers take third person - and future rights of the owner of three residents to leave - may get lost. The question is whether this slight gradual increase would be a major change, but in practice, the local planning authority is unable to know that the numbers have changed, and in most types of situations, little interest in whether any breach of planning control.