Sutton Council has approved a change to local planning rules to slow down the conversion of the borough’s family homes into Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
The council now wants to withdraw ‘permitted development’ rights for any requests to the change of use of a property to an HMO, to prevent the loss of Sutton’s family homes.
Under permitted development rights, introduced in 2015 by the previous government, homeowners can convert a family house (Use Class C3) into a small HMO (Use Class C4) for up to six unrelated people without needing permission from the local council. However the council’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee has approved the proposal to change this, so full planning permission is required.
It’s understood that permitted development rights will remain in place for other minor changes to homes, but an Article 4 Direction has been put in place to give Sutton Council, and local people, a say in whether HMO applications can go ahead. These changes will come into force in February 2025.
Councillor Jake Short, Chair of Sutton’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee, has tried to assure residents the council is not against HMOs as one solution to the borough’s housing crisis. He said they offer affordable accommodation and meet diverse housing needs but must adhere to local planning rules.
Cllr Short also pointed out the lack of planning permission for turning larger homes into HMOs since 2015 has limited local input. He added: “This Article 4 Direction will ensure that any future proposals for HMOs will be scrutinised by the council against the full range of relevant planning policies ensuring that decisions are consistent. Any HMOs permitted by the council in future will be high-quality and will not negatively impact on the local area.”
The council agreed last year to explore the need for an Article 4 Direction due to concerns family homes were being lost at a fast rate. The immediate effect of an Article 4 Direction would be a spike in the number of planning applications coming to the council’s already busy Planning Committee.
During a recent committee meeting, the council acknowledged that boroughs like Bromley had experienced this in the first year since removing the permitted development rights. However, they added that this number stabilised in the years following.
Several councils, especially in areas with high student populations or housing shortages, have already introduced Article 4 Directions to remove permitted development rights over certain properties. For example, cities like Brighton, Oxford, and Cambridge have implemented these measures to control the growth of HMOs.
