New 2012 Planning Laws Renting to sharers

Small-shared houses or flats occupied by between 3 and 6 unrelated individuals who share basic amenities were reclassified under planning laws from "C3 Dwelling Houses" to "C4 Houses in Multiple Occupation".

Areas you will I need Planning Permission - Please click here?

Under Legislation changes introduced 6th April 2010 this meant the Landlord required planning permission. Although the new coalition government then overturned this many councils have decided they want the renting of shared houses be controlled by planning applications. Long term this will have a major implications where and the type of properties Landlords invest in.

Overview HMO & Licencing

Selective Licencing -Low demand areas

Renting Rooms vs Houses

Your are refused Permission

If you do not have permission you cannot let to sharers

A council has the power to insist Landlords apply for planning permission - All councils need to do is invoke Section 4 of Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. Once implemented the council removes the right of the Landlord to claim they can rent to sharers because this was allowed under their ”permitted development rights". Councils are giving 12 months Notice for this negates the Landlords right to claim compensation for loss

What does this mean in reality

If the council do not want shared houses(C4) in a part of town, they can refuse planning permission. Your right of appeal will be limited.
Just because you rented the property previously as a shared house (C4) this does NOT mean you will be entitled to continue to do so in future.
If the property is a shared house (C4), you may have to sell as a shared house for the council may not allow a change of class use to a family home (C3).
Penalties - court fees and fines and possibly problems eviction the tenants if in an area of Selective Licensing

Renting to three or more sharers

Class C4: small shared houses or flats occupied by between 3 and 6 unrelated individuals who share basic amenities.
Class C3 :(a) those living together as a single household as defined by the Housing Act 2004 (basically a related family)
Large houses in multiple occupation (those with more than 6 people sharing) – these are unclassified by the Use Classes Order. In planning terms, they are described as being sui generis (of their own kind).
In consequence, a planning application will be required for a change of use from a dwelling house to a large house in multiple occupation or from a Class C4 house in multiple occupation to a large house in multiple occupation see HMO
The point here is if a council wishes to impose restrictions on where Landlords can rent to Tenants (sharers) they can do so.

Now if councils widen Selective Licensing they can charge you a fee for planning permission and a fee to rent in that area (this could be £700+). You cannot ignore this for if you do not have a licence you are unable to evict a tenant using the Section 21 route

The effect of such a Direction is to remove permitted development rights, thereby necessitating a planning application to be made.

Which areas are affected?

Bath, Leeds, Manchester and Oxford are amongst the 22 Councils that have already announced the dates when Landlords will have to a apply for planning permission click here

No Go HMO

What happens if you are refused permisson "During our initial conversation with the council they stated that they would simply not be issuing any more HMO licences in the town as there were simply too many of them." click here to read article

Refused permission Shared Houses Location Location

Typically areas that are predominantly owner occupied do not want a litter of beer cans, old shopping trolleys and traffic cones lining their street and will often vehemently object to a property being let on a room by room basis.read more buying in the right part of town

Below we review the implication of Change of use from shared house to family let and backto shared house

Article 4 Directions are not issued without careful consideration, because the Council may be required to pay compensation in circumstances where you cannot obtain planning permission for development which otherwise would be treated as permitted development.