Planning House are very pleased to announce that we have secured a certificate of lawfulness for the use of a C4 HMO (occupied by 3-6 people) as a Sui Generis HMO, for 7 people at appeal, and secure costs from the Council to cover our clients expense.
The appeal property is currently used as an HMO with 6 residents within Portsmouth. Use of a dwellinghouse as an HMO by not more than 6 residents is a use within Schedule 1, Part 3, Class C4 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended). The use of the building as an HMO by 7 residents would therefore fall outside of Class C4. However, and having regard to section 55(1) of the Act, development requiring planning permission would only occur if the addition of a 7th resident would result in a material change in the use of the building. For a change of use to be material there must, as a matter of fact and degree, be some significant difference in the character of the activities from what happened before.
Portsmouth Planning Committee refused the Certificate of Lawfulness on the basis that the addition of 1 occupier would result in increase parking demand, waste production, noise and anti-social behaviour. The refusal was against officer recommendation. The Inspector concurred with the Council Planning Officer recommendation and our evidence and allowed the appeal.
The Inspector in the award of costs decision confirmed that the Council failed to present evidence or objective analysis to substantiate a material change in any factor on which its stated decision rests. That was sufficient to confirm that the Council acted unreasonably and so forced the applicant to pursue the appeal and incur all the costs that followed. We don’t apply for an award of costs lightly however in this case given the amount of cases to support our clients proposal and that the majority of these were within Portsmouth itself it was considered necessary to try and shine light on the financial cost that a decision can make, take a look at our article on Should I Apply for an Award of Costs During a Planning Appeal? for further information on this.
Related Content
Our Practical Guide to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) covers all the town planning basics relating to HMOs. And our FREE Practical Guides cover the basics of for Certificate of Lawful Proposed Use or Development (CLPUD) and Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development (CLEUD) are available on our website in our HMO Collection.
You might also find our article about HMO’s & Certificates of Lawful Development and Understanding the Certificate of Lawfulness Development: A Key Step in Your Planning Journey which could be useful.
We have published a free eBook titled Free eBook on Basics of Appeals that outlines the appeals procedure. You might also find the following articles helpful:
- Know your options if your planning application is refused
- Securing planning permission for a site which has been refused planning permission
- How to overcome the top 10 reasons for refusing a planning application
- Top 10 tips when considering appealing a planning refusal
However, if you need assistance then don’t hesitate to Contact Us for a free initial consultation If you’re not sure if you need help from a Town Planner take a look at blog on When to Hire a Town Planner our download a Guide on How to Choose a Town Planner.
