Planning refused HMO permission – he did it anyway!

Planning refused HMO permission – he did it anyway!

0:02 AM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago 16

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Hello, I’d be really grateful for suggestions on what I could try next – Neighbouring property applied to planning for a change of use from residential to HMO (we’re an Article 4 area) and the council quite rightly, refused two times. Subsequently, the same owner went ahead and did it anyway and even registered for an HMO licence.

Now the man at the neighbouring property has built a one-bedroom flat at the bottom of his garden and rented that out too (needless to say without planning permission). I informed Planning Enforcement of this breach in Feb 2023 (had to due to excessive nuisance issues) but since then I can’t get them to update me even though their website says it’s something they commit to do.

I had one email at the beginning to confirm they’d received my notification. Still, since then I’ve persistently emailed, phoned, and spoken to planning’s receptionist asking to pass on messages and left voice messages for many people in the department but nobody ever replies.

In the end, I went through the council’s formal complaints procedure which has a 10-day timeframe to liaise with planning enforcement and come back to me. The time elapsed and I didn’t hear a peep out of them so I chased them again, they confirmed receipt but now another 10 days have elapsed and still nothing from them. Apparently, 20 days are reserved for complex complaints (but mine is that I merely want someone to reply to me!) but I’m past 20 days now anyway.

Any ideas on where I go from here?

Welly


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David Houghton

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11:06 AM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

Probably be best to wait a few months at the very least. Planning departments move very slowly. I would wait a year or so before escalation. It's not they have taken his side, it's a timing thing

dismayed landlord

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11:38 AM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 21/06/2023 - 07:44
Forget that , they are biased beyond belief.

Alistair Cooper

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12:42 PM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

Have a look at the Local Authority Website and find the Chair(man) of the Planning Committee
Email him/her with your concerns and they are very likely to have a working relationship with the Head of Planning
Try not to be too critical in your approach and just stare the facts

Have the council granted an HMO license as they are very unlikely to without planning in an Article 4 area ?

The landlord has thus far complied with his legal obligation to apply for a license. There is no legal requirement to apply for change of use to a c4 HMO (small) even in an Article 4 area however both matters do become criminal matters if and when the landlord continues to operate the property once any enforcement notice becomes valid (usually 28 days from service but as he would need to evict tenants in order to comply they may grant 90 days) and/or he continues to operate once a license application has been refused

The HMO License register is a public document and should be viewable again from the council website

Welly

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13:55 PM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Alistair Cooper at 21/06/2023 - 12:42
Thanks. Yes, he has been granted an HMO licence which I confirmed by checking the register. The illegal garden flat isn't detailed on the licence though but he's trying to pitch that as a self-contained unit by cutting his garden in half and getting the tenant to use the back alleyway as entrance / exit. He probably should need a selective licence for that at a minimum or add it to the HMO licence but there's no record of that online.
Yes, I agree that once an enforcement notice becomes valid his legal status changes. Given that he applied for C4 change of use and was turned down once then again on appeal and then went on and built what he'd been refused permission for plus added a flat in the garden then if I could just get someone in planning to look at this I don't think there's much defence against this. I just can't get anyone in planning enforcement's attention.

Simon F

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15:50 PM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

You might get a better response from Licencing rather than Planning. If, with the addition, there are 5+ people now living there, he'll have the wrong licence. They'll be more likely to take note of the nuisance issues too.

Welly

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16:05 PM, 21st June 2023, About 2 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Simon F at 21/06/2023 - 15:50
You may be onto something as online it says "Mandatory HMO Licence" and "5 Maximum Permitted households" for him. Now the self-contained unit might push him up to 6 households. In case planning is a non-starter I might try these guys about the nuisance issue. Thanks 🙂

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