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Plans to turn Wrexham town centre property into House in Multiple Occupation allowed on appeal

PLANS to turn Wrexham town centre property into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) have been allowed on appeal.

Last year, Wrexham Council planning committee members voted unanimously to reject proposals to convert the property in Albert Street, Smithfield, into a six-bedroom HMO following a site visit.

Members voted unanimously to reject the application based on the concerns over inadequate parking provision.

But  applicant Arran Pritchard has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in the hope of overturning the committee’s decision.

Mr Pritchard appealed on the grounds that it had been recommended for permission to be granted for the development.

He said converting the property to a HMO would have no negative effect on parking and added the property is in a sustainable location given proximity to bus routes and easy walking distance to nearby shops and facilities.

Planning Inspectorate officer Clive Sproule agreed, giving the greenlight for the development to go ahead.

Mr Sproule said a report provided by Wrexham Council’s service manager for the environment, Darren Williams, showed the scheme would not be likely to result in greater on-street parking demand.

And evidence provided by Mr Pritchard supported that view.

Mr Sproule said: “Off-street car parking opportunities are limited, which will cause many vehicle drivers and owners who live in these streets to rely on on-street parking.

”While doubts have been raised regarding the basis of the appellant’s evidence, there is no convincing evidence that demonstrates the service manager environment’s assessment and conclusion on the possible impact is likely to be unreliable.

”Consequently, it is not apparent that on-street parking would be likely to increase due to the appeal scheme. In this regard, the council has failed to demonstrate that the appeal proposal would be unacceptably harmful to local living conditions or highway safety.”

He concluded: “The proposal would result in social benefit through the provision of homes for people within a particular sector of the housing market.

”They would be in a location that would provide pedestrian access to the jobs, services and transport opportunities within the centre of Wrexham.

”Occupants of the rooms would contribute to the local economy and it has not been shown that the development would have anything other than a neutral impact on local culture.

”Accordingly, the appeal scheme would be a sustainable form of development and should be allowed.”

Source: The Leader

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Have your say on how council manages houses in multiple occupation in Wrexham

Members of the public are being invited to have their say on how a council manages houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

In recent months Wrexham Council has received a spate of planning applications to turn properties into HMOs.

Some of the more notable applications reported on by the Leader recently include the refusal of a 20 room extension to an existing HMO in Pentre Felin, the conversion of a property in Pen y Bryn into a 10 bedroom HMO, which was approved on appeal, and plans to convert a property in Rhosddu Road into a self-contained apartment and a five-bedroom HMO – which was refused by the council but is now under appeal.

A consultation, which was launched by Wrexham Council at the end of last year and closes on February 19, looks at how the authority handles ‘concentrations’ of HMOs across the county.

A draft version of the ‘local planning guidance note 5: houses in multiple occupation’ made available to view on the council’s website explains how council chiefs intend to assess the proximity of existing HMOs to the site of any proposed new ones.

According to the document HMOs fall into two categories – small (occupied by three to six unrelated people) and large (occupied by seven or more people) and planning permission is required to turn any building into a HMO, as well as to turn a large HMO to a small or vice versa.

The document explains: “Most houses in multiple occupation in the county borough are found in Wrexham town and are predominately located within the wards of Offa, Smithfield, Erddig, Brynyffynnon and Grosvenor.

“Houses in multiple occupation can be of benefit to an area by providing low cost housing solutions for those who may otherwise have difficulty finding a place to live as well as accommodation for students, young professionals and health care workers.

“In fact, the Wrexham Council housing market assessment recognises that there is likely to be a need in the future for smaller units of accommodation in the county borough. HMOs can go some way towards meeting this identified need.

“The housing In multiple occupation review and evidence gathering report published by the Welsh Government in 2015 acknowledged that large concentrations of HMO can result in problems, including damage to social cohesion with higher levels of transient residents and fewer long term households and established families, greater difficulties for owner occupiers and first time buyers because of competition from landlords and a reduction in the number of family homes, increases in noise, crime and anti-social behavior and increase pressure for parking.”

Describing how the placement of HMOs will be assesed in order to avoid over-concentrations in certain areas, it adds: “Planning permission will not normally be granted for a new HMO if, including the property subject to the application, it will result in the number of residential properties in use as a HMOs exceeding 10 per cent (rounded to the nearest
whole number) within a 50 metre radius of the boundaries of the application site.

“The use of a 50 metre radius is considered to be the most appropriate way to assess HMO concentrations because it can be applied consistently to each proposal.

“In addition, to avoid concentrations of HMOs developing within streets, there must be a gap of at least two dwellings or other buildings not in use as a HMO between a proposed HMO and any existing HMOs.”

In terms of other planning requirements, the guidance note states houses in multiple occupation should have a large enough private outdoor area to provide external drying areas, cycle parking and bin storage.

Most HMOs will also need a separate licence from public protection and will be subject to conditions that require landlords to take all reasonable steps to control noise and anti-social behaviour.

To find out more, and to comment, visit www.wrexham. gov.uk/english/planning_portal/ and select ‘planning policy’ then ‘draft supplementary planning guidance notes for consultation’.

Source: The Leader

HMO licensing regime
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HMO licensing regime to be expanded to include low-rise homes and flats

Houses in Multiple Occupation that have to be mandatorily licensed are to include properties – regardless of height – that are occupied by five or more people from two or more households.

Currently, HMOs that must be mandatorily licensed are of three or more storeys.

The new rules, which have to be put before and approved by Parliament, will bring an extra 160,000 homes, including flats, bungalows and two-storey houses, into the mandatory licensing regime.

In a separate move, HMRC has revealed plans that would make it compulsory for any landlord applying for an HMO licence to be registered with HMRC first, for tax purposes.

In a consultation open until March 2, the move would crack down on overseas landlords letting out HMOs in the UK and also on UK landlords not paying the right amount of tax.

New rules will also come into force setting minimum size requirements for bedrooms in HMOs. As part of the licensing requirements, local councils will be able to make sure that only rooms meeting the standard are used for sleeping.

Rooms used for sleeping by one adult will have to be no smaller than 6.51 sqm and those slept in by two adults will have to be no smaller than 10.22 sqm. Rooms slept in by children of ten years and younger will have to be no smaller than 4.64 sqm.

Housing minister Alok Sharma has also confirmed that the blacklist of landlords and letting agents will be implemented this April.

He was, however, silent on who will have access to this blacklist. As things stand, only local councils and the DCLG will be able to access the list – not tenants, nor landlords or other members of the public, and not prospective employers hoping to avoid recruiting agents with bad track records.

The Government has however set out details of criminal offences which will automatically result in a ban from being a landlord. Convictions for crimes such as burglary and stalking will be added to convictions for housing offences resulting in bans.

Separately, Labour has announced that it will ban ‘no fault’ evictions if it comes to power. Leader Jeremy Corbyn said it would be a manifesto commitment. The Scottish government has already brought in a ban.

Source: Property Industry Eye

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HMRC “Tackling the Hidden Economy”

The HMRC consultation titled “Tackling the Hidden Economy” has identified HMOs and selective licensing in the private rental sector as an option for developing tax-registration checks.

The consultation proposes to tackle different areas of the hidden (non tax paying) economy by making access to licences needed to trade conditional on tax compliance, known as ‘conditionality’.

Click Here to see the full  HMRC paper.

HMRC wish to target Licences issued under the Housing Act 2004 as the government believes they
may be suitable for conditionality.

Selective licensing for private rented properties:

Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 (the Act) sets out a scheme for licensing private rented properties in a local authority area in England and Wales. Under section 80 of the Act, a local authority can introduce selective licensing of privately rented homes in order to tackle problems in their areas (or any part or parts of them) caused by low housing demand or significant anti-social behaviour. In 2015, DCLG introduced further grounds for implementing selective licensing schemes: poor property conditions, high levels of migration, high levels of deprivation and high crime.

Where a selective licensing designation is made it applies to privately rented property in the are a, and all properties in the private rented sector are required to be licensed by the local housing authority (subject to certain exemptions). Local authorities in England are required to obtain confirmation from the Secretary of State for any selective licensing scheme which would cover more than 20% of their geographical area or would affect more than 20% of privately rented homes in the local authority area.

Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) licences:

A house in multiple occupancy (HMO) is a property rented out by at least three people who are not from one ‘household’ e.g. a family, but share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen. Licences are required for those who rent large HMOs. There are approximately 510,000 HMOs in England and approximately 64,000 of these are currently required to be licensed. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) recently consulted on changing the definition of mandatory licensing which would bring a further 160,000 HMOs in scope.

Local authorities have the power to introduce additional licensing schemes, which would capture further
HMOs. These licences must be renewed every 5 years.

The Paper goes on to say:

“The government values the private rented sector and wants to see a strong, healthy and vibrant market, which meets housing needs in a professional way.

This includes ensuring that landlords are reporting and paying the tax they owe.

To support this aim, HMRC is increasing its targeted compliance activity across the private rental sector through taskforce activity. It is also encouraging those who have been non-compliant to come forward through activities such as the Let Property Campaign

Applying conditionality to HMO licences could support existing HMRC compliance activity by helping and encouraging more landlords to ensure they are compliant with tax laws before renting out properties.

Similarly, there may be potential for tax-registration checks to be incorporated into selective licensing schemes where appropriate and proportionate.”

Source: Property 118

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Landlords fined for failing to look after property in Camborne

Two landlords who failed to ensure a house of multiple occupation in Camborne was maintained adequately have been fined £2,000 by the courts.

Anthony Pickering and Alan Short pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates Court this week to breaching several requirements of the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations 2006 (“HMO Management Regulations”).

The charges were brought by Cornwall Council in relation to a property at Pendarves Street, Tuckingmill, Camborne.

On the 19 January 2017, Cornwall Council Private Sector Housing Team visited the premises and found that the communal kitchen and bathroom, staircase, rear out building and garden were poorly maintained.

The pair were given an opportunity to put right the problems but failed to do so.

Pickering, aged 57 of St Francis Meadow, Mitchell and Short, 53 or Hunter’s Gate, Okehampton were facing several charges.

The admitted failing to ensure that the common parts of the premises were maintained in good and clean decorative repair, maintained in a safe and working condition free from obstruction in relation to the kitchen and bathroom amenities and that they failed to ensure all hand rails and bannisters were at all times kept in good repair.

They also admitted failing to ensure that outbuildings, yards and forecourts used by residents of several properties were maintained, clean and in good working order.

Two other offences – failing to ensure that the common parts of that premises were maintained in good and clean decorative repair, maintained in a safe and working condition and free from obstruction in relation to the kitchen amenities and that every window and means of ventilation were kept in good repair were withdrawn.

They were ordered to pay a total of £3,847 – £2,000 for the offences committed, £1,647 in prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £200.

Cornwall Council cabinet member for homes Andrew Mitchell said: “Well managed multi-occupancy houses are an important part of the housing market in Cornwall. However where the standards of management are poor, it can place tenants at significant risk of serious harm.

“In situations such as this, the Council will take enforcement action to protect the health, safety and welfare of occupiers.”

In 2018 it is anticipated that the Government will widen the coverage of the existing mandatory licensing scheme to cover all rented housing shared by five or more people.

To find out more and keep abreast of changes to the private rented sector, landlords are encouraged to join the free Cornwall Responsible Landlords Scheme.

Source: Cornwall Live

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Council collects £30,000 in housing fines from landlords

£31,606 has been collected in fines by Oxford City Council for housing offences since new financial penalty powers came into force in April 2017 to help clampdown on rogue landlords and protect the safety of renters.

The new powers, granted under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, allow local authorities to impose penalties to a maximum of £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for various housing transgressions. Councils can keep all the income and spend it on private sector housing enforcement.

In a press release, Oxford City Council outlined the fines they have imposed: “In the biggest of the three fines, a landlord who owns a rented property on Garsington Road received financial penalties totalling £25,298 for failing to licence it as a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and uphold HMO management standards.

“The landlord was issued a financial penalty of £7,149 for failing to licence the property as well as an additional £18,149 for four separate fire safety failures.

“The third landlord was given a financial penalty of £1,234 for renting out an HMO on Iffley Road whose licence had expired in 2014. All three landlords cannot be named for legal reasons.”

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Board Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, has spoken on the issue: “I’m pleased that the Council can now take swift action against landlords who break the rules, and do it without the costs of taking a case through the courts. We will continue to use these new powers to drive up standards in the private housing sector and protect tenants from unsafe homes and rogue landlords.”

Source: Oxford Student

Bridging Loan HMO licensing
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‘Alarm bells ring’ as councillors examine ‘understaffed’ privately rented HMO licensing

A councillor has described how ‘alarm bells are ringing’ after considering a report on the ‘pressures’ in respect of licensing the private rented HMO sector by Wrexham Council.

The Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee were examining this report that details the reduction in staff available to regulate housing standards in privately rented houses of multiple occupancy – known as HMO’s.

The staffing reduction over the years is detailed, with 6.9 full time equivalent staff (FTE) dealing with the licensing workload, which is now at 3.15 FTE. The report notes that there is no additional administrative support or an extra Environmental Health Officer post as there was previously.

The recent ‘Difficult Decision’ savings programme is referenced in the report, saying it “…has identified that the Public Protection Service is lean and that any future savings is only likely to be achieved via a shared service with other Local Authorities in a regional or sub-regional model. This in reality will provide additional resilience, but is likely to lead to a reduction in officers.”

Despite the staff cuts, the report states: “The workload for licensing has increased from the last additional licensing scheme.”

Detail was given to the meeting over the five year inspection periods, with an officer explaining that although the five years is the maximum mandatory inspection period, HMOs that are of concern could be inspected much more regularly such as six monthly.

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr D J Griffiths, did point out that it was a chicken and egg situation at times as without investigating properties the council would not know of any issues to deal with, but without the staff to do so then investigations may not be as frequent.

Officers explained how data is being used, such the energy efficiency certificates that are now issued, cross referenced against registered HMO’s to then deduce which could be the coldest properties. Such data is then referenced with possible high risk occupants, and therefore a priority list is created. Council officers were very careful not to criticise the staffing levels, however were clearly uneasy at definitively saying they had enough resources to deal with the possible issues in HMOs.

Cllr Benbow-Jones raised the issue of properties being rented on domestic mortgages: “These would not appear on buy to let lists, do we have an audit of all the homes in the borough?”

The council officer replied: “If anyone is renting a property is needs to be registered. If there is a property being managed or sub managed, they need to have a licence.

“At the moment the last statistics shows 105% of properties registered, which is clearly wrong, but is based on the census of 2011.”

More detail was given on work done to locate unregistered HMOs, including: “There are probably more HMOs than are legally registered, but it is finding them is the challenge. We look at various sources, council tax bills, housing benefit information, or even looking on the internet to see what is to let locally.”

Cllr Griffiths said: “If you know of people abusing the system, then let us know.”

Cllr Alun Jenkins thanked officers for a ‘very honest report’, adding: “The picture presented has set alarm bells ringing. I knew there were problems but did not know the extent. The bottom end of the private rented sector is dire.”

Comparisons were made about the huge Housing Revenue Account budget inside Wrexham Council that is managed by a sizeable team, and looks after around 11,000 council houses. Cllr Jenkins pointed out that with data given ‘there is a small team that works their socks off on the private rented sector’ looking after 11,000 houses.

“It is a dire story in the decline of the staff numbers. We have to do it because of austerity, but we are asking too much of the officers there. They can’t cope with the size of the problem.

“There are so many properties that are privately rented operating below the radar. We are working on percentages, but we do not know the total numbers, and we can’t find out. The small team simply does not have the resources to locate all the private rented property in Wrexham.”

Cllr Jenkins gave anecdotal evidence on how private rental issues are brought forward to the council with a response of “it was not registered therefore we didn’t know about it” being given as a reply.

Cllr Griffiths said: “I won’t disagree with what Cllr Jenkins has said.”

Cllr Skelland briefly spoke to say he was unaware of any HMO’s in Bronington (his ward) ‘thank goodness’, adding such issues “must be demoralising.”

Cllr Graham Rogers enquired about enforcement methods, and what actions are taken against landlords. In a detailed answer a council officer explained the various levels of intervention, adding an overview of a recent case where a landlord who was in prison had a property with a broken boiler – padlocked away so unfixable. The meeting was told the landlord in question has got a Christmas present from the council, a large bill.

Chairman of the meeting Cllr Paul Pemberton voiced his concern at the ‘understaffing’, and said: “With the under the radar properties, do you feel if you had more staff you could investigate that further?

“My concern is if you have properties under the radar we could have major health and safety issues, problems with flues, carbon monoxide and the like and we would not know.”

“I applaud what you are doing, and do not envy the department. I feel a machete has been put on offices and the department to cut rather than a stanley knife. This could be a major health and safety issue.”

The officer replied: “If there was more staff we would have more resources to identify properties.”

Councillors then shared various snippets of information from either what they had encountered on planning committees or in their wards. Cllr Rodgers observed: “We get registered social landlords not bringing their properties up to standard, then they have the audacity to submit more planning applications.”

Cllr Jenkins told the meeting there were ‘a number of HMOs in the town centre with no licence for more than three months, they are amongst the worst we have’.

Councillors looked to form a recommendation, led by Cllr Jenkins, settling on thanking officers for the report, with additional recommendations to restore staffing to two years ago and oppose any moves to share the service with another authority to save money. These recommendations were unanimously approved.

Interestingly in the meeting the council officer pointed to the Rent Smart Wales website as it has a public register that you can pop an address in and see if it is registered, and who the agent is (if there is one) – you can find the form here.

Source: Wrexham.com

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Armley: New flats recommended for approval, despite concerns

Plans to turn a family home in Armley into a house into three flats could be approved by councillors next week, despite local concerns.

Applicant L&L Capital wants to turn the five-bedroom property into three individual flats at 4 Brentwood Terrace. The flats would create seven bed spaces between them.

brentwood terrace armley LS12

Image: Google Maps

Five local residents have objected as well as the three Armley ward councillors, who maintain there are too many flats and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) being let out to single people, which leads to an increase in anti-social behaviour and noise.

A planning officer’s report recommends approval and concludes:

“Taking all relevant matters into account including the development plan and all representations received, the principle of the development on this site within the immediate location is considered to be acceptable in policy and planning terms and the impact is residential amenity is not considered to be, on balance unduly harmed.”

The south and west plans panel meets at Leeds Civic Hall next Thursday, 7 December, at Leeds Civic Hall, starting at 1pm. The agenda, and reports, can be read in full here.

The Dispatch has been following issues with shared housing (HMOs) and flats in Armley in recent months. Last month we reported a landmark decision to refuse planning permission for a shared house in Armley would be challenged after the developer launched an appeal.

Source: West Leeds Dispatch

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Potters Bar Landlord Fined Nearly £7,000 For Failing To Obtain HMO Licence

A Potters Bar landlord is facing a fine of nearly £7,000 after he failed to obtain the correct HMO licence for his rental property.

Andrew Harvey avoided paying the £500 licence fee, leaving him with a bill of over ten times this when Hertsmere Borough Council bought legal action against him.

Harvey appeared at St Alban’s Magistrates Court on Wednesday 22 November due to his failure to obtain a HMO Licence for the rental property he let, located on Oakfield Close. The property had been operating without a licence from March 2012 to June 2017. The court was told that Harvey, 50, from Stevenage, avoided all contact from the borough council, failing to respond to emails and other correspondence on multiple occasions. Harvey defended himself by claiming that he had not received the emails from the council.

When sentencing the Potters Bar landlord, magistrates said they believed Harvey should have been aware anyway that his property was meant to be licenced. It was therefore his duty to ensure that the correct licensing for the property had been obtained.

It is a criminal offence for anyone to control or manage a house with three or more storeys which is occupied by five or more people in more than one household without a licence.

An inspection by the council’s private sector housing officer in June revealed five veterinary students living in the home.

Harvey was fined £5,542 and was also ordered to pay £1,319.29 in costs, as well a £125 victim surcharge.

A House in Multiple Occupation licence costs just £542 for five years, proving that in aiming to avoid the licence fee Harvey was in fact subjecting hiself to a far higher fare.

Portfolio holder for housing, Councillor Jean Heywood, said: ‘Everybody has a right to live in decent accommodation, and the council takes its responsibilities to enforce basic living standards very seriously. As a landlord, you are responsible for the welfare of your tenants and there are strict rules in place to ensure certain conditions and duties are met. This is for the protection of all. The vast majority of landlords are happy to work with us to ensure they are managing their properties and looking after their tenants according to the letter of law. However, we will not hesitate to take other landlords who deliberately fail in their duties to court, where they could receive unlimited fines.’

Source: Residential Landlord

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Council plans crackdown on HMOs in the Dales

Plans to crack down on the number of HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation) in the Dales neighbourhood of Smithdown have been revealed.

Liverpool City Council says the over concentration of shared housing is impacting on the lives of local residents with noise complaints and anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents above the city average.

Currently, no planning application for a change of use from a house to HMO for up to six people is required as planning permission for such a change is automatically granted.

Council evidence shows that the Dales neighbourhood, bounded by Wellington Road/Gainsborough Road, Smithdown Road, and the West Coast Main railway, has a higher than average concentration of HMOs (39%) and that this is adversely impacting on local residents’ quality of life.

Between April 2015 and October 2017, there were 275 complaints to the council’s noise team; whilst between April 2014 and February 2017, there were 360 ASB incidents reported to the police.

Almost 80% of the properties on one road, Borrowdale Road, are listed as HMOs.

To combat the situation, the council wants to use an Article 4 Direction to remove permitted development rights that allow a change of use from class C3 (Dwelling House) to C4 (HMO for up to six persons) to happen without the need for planning consent.

The Direction is recommended for approval at a meeting of the council’s cabinet this Friday (24 November).

Source: Your Move Magazine