Oxford City Council is to become the first authority in the country to enforce a controversial new planning regime which will force landlords to seek planning permission if they intend letting a small property to sharers. It has warned that planning consents will be strictly rationed as it bids to control HMOs.
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Landlord Today reports that from next February, any landlord planning to let a house to three or more sharers will have to apply for planning permission for change of use if the property is not currently an HMO.
The move, fiercely opposed by landlord bodies, will mean that a landlord with a three-bed property currently let to a family will have to seek planning consent for change of use to an HMO if the property is then let to group of three unrelated sharers.
Each of these new smaller HMOs will have to be licensed, at a cost of £470 plus annual renewal fee of £172. It is thought that the additional licensing powers will hugely increase the number of HMOs that must be licensed in the city, from 600 to more than 4,000.
However, the city council has warned that it will not grant planning permission for change of use for more than one in five properties in any 100-yard stretch of road.
Oxford City Council says it is bringing in the measures, allowed by the coalition, to stop the city being over-run by poor-quality HMOs.
It also wants the colleges themselves to provide more purpose-built accommodation.
Whilst Oxford will be the first, it will not be the last. Dozens of other local authorities in student towns and cities are also introducing the requirement for planning permission and licensing.
Landlord bodies and specialist letting agencies have said that the change will result in less accommodation for students, and have warned that student accommodation provided by colleges or private suppliers is generally much more expensive.
Nor will the crackdown affect just students – critics point out that it could also affect young professional sharers such as nurses.
There is also the problem of a property continually having to change its status. For example, a property in one year could be rented by a hospital doctor and his family. If the following year it is to be shared by three nurses, the landlord will first have to apply for planning consent for change of use. If in year three, the property goes back to being rented by a single household, it will not be necessary to apply for change of use. But if in year four, it returns to being rented by a small group of sharers, change of use would have to be applied for.
Source: Landlord Today
Oxford City Council’s website details its reasons for introducing the measures:
Background
Historically, in planning terms, houses and flats were classified as class ‘C3 dwellinghouses’, irrespective of whether they were used by families or shared by unrelated persons.
On 6 April 2010 privately-rented shared houses, with up to six unrelated tenants, were reclassified under a new planning use class ‘C4 Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (HMO’s).
Currently changes of use between these two use classes (C3 dwellinghouses and C4 HMO’s) are not subject to planning controls. However, the Government has given individual Councils the power, through the use of an Article 4 Direction, to introduce controls locally where there is a need to manage the balance of dwellings and high concentrations of shared houses.
Please note that HMO’s of seven unrelated tenants or more already require planning permission.
Problem in Oxford
Oxford suffers from an acute shortage of housing, with a high level of demand for both owner-occupied and rented accommodation. However, demand for different tenures of housing varies across the city, with some areas prone to higher demands for shared rental housing.
This creates a situation where family dwellings are frequently converted into shared rented properties, leading to a shortfall in family accommodation and an unbalanced housing mix. High concentrations of shared houses can have an adverse impact on local areas and communities.
Local Planning Controls
On 24 of February 2011 Oxford City Council served an Article 4 Direction allowing it to introduce local planning controls in terms of HMO’s. This change will be subject to one year’s notice, so as of 24 February 2012 planning permission will be required to change the use of a C3 dwellinghouse to a shared rented house (C4 HMO). This measure will apply to the entire Oxford City Council area.
Up until 23 February 2012, conversions between C3 Dwellinghouses and C4 HMO’s will not require planning permission. Planning permission will not be required for a change of use of a C4 HMO to a C3 dwellinghouse. However, once an HMO shared rented property is converted into a C3 dwellinghouse, it would not be possible to revert back to a C4 HMO without applying for planning permission first. Any such planning application proposal will be assessed against the requirements of the relevant planning policies.
