Council prompts national planning probe into what’s an HMO… and what NOT!

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) is trying to block a property firm’s plans to convert a house into serviced accommodation, with Labour councillor Zoe Smith (pictured) claiming it would set a dangerous precedent as it is an HMO.

There is a very grey area between what constitutes an HMO and serviced accommodation, and the Council is now facing an appeal to the planning inspectorate over the issue.

A house in multiple occupation is a property rented out by at least three people who are not from one ‘household’ but share facilities like a bathroom and a kitchen.

Massively over-saturated with HMOs.”

Serviced accommodation, on the other hand, operates more like a hotel with short-term lets and often has a range of amenities included.

The council’s planning officers initially recommended that the plans from RGC Property Solutions be approved, but the scheme was called in by councillor Smith who said it was, in effect, an HMO.

She told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo that the area was already “massively over-saturated” with HMOs which made up 28% of the properties within a 50-metre radius of the house in question.

Dangerous precedent

And she warned that by not designating the conversion as an HMO, it meant it was not subject to the council’s density limits and there was a “huge danger” that it could set a precedent for future applications.

RGC Property Solutions countered, saying the property: “Provides a safe and managed home-from-home, attracting professional people who are helping to develop the economy and infrastructure in Northampton.”

Adding that: “As they are working during the week they will not be partying or making noise. There will also be families relocating to Northampton who need temporary accommodation until they find somewhere long-term to live.”

Credit - The negotiator